Girls’ Basketball—

Speedy Hawks Will Look To Push The Floor

By Andy Hutchison

At a recent preseason practice, coach Shawn O’Brien had his Newtown High School girls’ basketball players going quickly from one drill to the next. As part of the preparation, groups of three — constantly in motion — alternated between picking a ball up off the ground and shooting it; playing the role of a rebounder who placed the ball on the ground for the shooter; and jumping rope in intense 30-second intervals.

The Nighthawks plan to use their speed and stamina to push the pace against tough South-West Conference foes this winter.

Graduates Morgan Knees, Katie Condon, and Kate Power means the loss of most of the height from last year’s 10-10 team. Newtown will have to capitalize on its athleticism and speed to compensate.

“We lost our height, so we’ll be looking to push the ball in transition,” O’Brien said.

A breakdown of this year’s team:

At The Helm: O’Brien is in his sixth season in the program — his fifth as head coach.

Last Year’s Results: The Nighthawks were 10-10, lost in the quarterfinals of the SWC tourney and fell in the first round of the Class LL State Tournament (after winning a qualifying round contest).

Shoes To Fill: Knees, Condon, and Power were key members of the Nighthawks.

This Year’s Captains: Seniors Jordyn Good, Nora Lynn Shimko, Emily Leidlein, and Jen Brewer.

“We’re a really athletic team. We have a lot of girls on this team who can run and play good defense,” Good said.

Other Players To Watch: The varsity roster is rounded out by juniors Sara Kelley, Kate Bowen, and Ally Modzelewski; sophomore Maggie Donohue; and freshmen Arianna Papaj and Marilyn LaCroce.

Strengths: Quickness. “I feel like we have good team chemistry too,” O’Brien said. … Scoring should be a strong suit with Kelley, the team’s leading scorer a year ago, back in the fold.

Question Marks: Will the Hawks be able to outrun to teams effectively enough to have success in the always competitive SWC? Many of the players lack varsity experience and will have to adapt to the step-up quickly to help the returnees compete.

Coach’s Goals: “Our goal is to qualify for SWCs and the state tournament,” O’Brien said.

Circle It On The Schedule: Kolbe Cathedral, Pomperaug, Lauralton Hall and Notre Dame-Fairfield were the top-four SWC teams last year and O’Brien believes those will be the top teams again this campaign. The season was scheduled to get underway (at Lauralton Hall) Wednesday (after The Bee sports section went to press). The SWC Tip Off Tournament is at Bethel on Friday, December 12. Newtown’s home opener is a week later, December 19, against Bunnell at 7 pm. The Hawks will host the SWC Holiday Tournament on December 29. They host Pomperaug on January 2, host Hall February 6, visit Kolbe February 10, and go to ND Fairfield February 16.

“It’s going to be a tough year; there are a lot of good teams, but I also think we can be competitive with a lot of them,” Good said.