By Kim J. Harmon

MILFORD – Coach Gregg Simon was taking the Lady Nighthawks’ recent loss to Jonathan Law with unusual aplomb on Saturday night . . . just 24 hours after his squad suffered that tough, overtime decision to the Golden Eagles down in Milford.

Well, that’s because – despite an awful night of shooting – the ‘Hawks accomplished two things that night. Not only did they hold Megan Miller, the South-West Conference’s most prolific center, to just 11 points (only eight in regulation) but they also – thanks to New Milford upsetting Masuk – made good on one of their pre-season goals by capturing the Colonial Division title.

Coach Simon was, in fact, counting his blessings. Besides holding Miller to just 11 points and capturing the Colonial Division title, the Lady Nighthawks raised their record to a remarkable 15-3 (and stand to finish the regular season at 17-3).

And how could he have asked for anything more considering the season-ending knee injury to his star center, Amanda Marsilio?

With their clinching of the Colonial Division title, the Lady Nighthawks locked up the No. 2 seed in the SWC playoffs, which begin this Saturday at Bunnell High School in Stratford. The ‘Hawks will face the No. 7 team (the playoff picture was still very cloudy as of this writing since six teams in the Colonial Division have 10-5 records and at least one of them will be left out in the cold) in a 3:00 contest.

The semi-finals will be Tuesday at Pomperaug High School in Southbury, with the finals to follow on Friday, also at Pomperaug.

An Overtime Thriller

The ‘Hawks main task last Friday night down at Jonathan Law was not to let Megan Miller run wild down in the post. Miller, who is no stranger to a 30-point game, is the main offensive weapon for the Golden Eagles.

Newtown did take that weapon away, limiting Miller to just 11 points, but the rest of the team was there to pick up the slack. Kristen Pelosa and Noelle Leonelli scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, to help carry Law to the 53-49 overtime win.

Lori Iwanicki led all scorers with 18 points and Lisa Masella added 13, but despite rallying back from a 10-point, third-quarter deficit – taking a 43-42 lead with 2:32 left to play in the fourth - the Lady Nighthawks ran out of gas in overtime.

The ‘Hawks led 12-11 after one period thanks to strong efforts from Iwanicki (four points, one assist) and Masella (four points, one big block), but the Golden Eagles used their speed and the ability to beat the Newtown press to take a 23-20 lead at halftime. Miller opened the second quarter with a pair of baskets to give Law a 15-12 lead.

In the third, a Pelosa three-pointer put Law up by six, 26-20, a lead which was later extended to 10 points thanks to a three-pointer from Leonelli. Iwanicki drained a three from the corner, though, at the close of the third quarter to knock the Law lead down to seven, 37-30.

In the fourth, the ‘Hawks put some gusto into their comeback. Masella, Morgan Haines, and Ally Gellert all scored baskets and Masella hit 1-of-2 from the foul line to fuel a 7-0 run that trimmed the Law lead right down to one point, 38-37. After the Golden Eagles spread the gap a little, Iwanicki made a nice, tough drive to the basket (after a steal), converted the hoop and the subsequent foul shot to get the ‘Hawks to within one again, 42-41.

Iwanicki (nine points in the fourth quarter) then banged a baseline jumper with 2:32 left to give the ‘Hawks the lead. That lead flip-flopped four times before Law sank a free throw with 1:05 left to tie the score at 47-47 and force an overtime.

The Golden Eagles scored the first basket of overtime and later added a foul shot to take a 50-47 lead with 50 seconds left. Lauren Adamek made a nice move to the post with 26 seconds left to get the ‘Hawks to within one, 50-49, but that was as close as it would get. Miller hit a basket and, later, a foul for the 53-49 final.

In a 54-41 win over Lauralton Hall on Monday night, Jayme Beckham hit 9-of-11 shots and finished with 19 points to lead the ‘Hawks to their 16th win of the season. Morgan Haines dropped in nine points while dishing off five assists. Iwanicki chipped in with 12 points and Masella contributed eight to the cause.

The ‘Hawks finished up the regular season on Wednesday night (after press time) with a home game against Foran.

NEWTOWN  12    8  10  17   2 - 49

LAW          11  12  14  10   6 - 53

 

NEWTOWN (49): Beckham 2 0-2 4, Ryan 1 2-2 4, Masella 4 5-9 13, Gellert 2 0-0 4, Haines 2 0-0 4, Iwanicki 8 2-5 18, Adamek 1 0-0 2, Bell 0 0-0 0, Oswald 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 9-18 49.

JONATHAN LAW (53): L. Miller 2 2-2 6, Mills 0 0-0 0, M. Miller 5 1-3 11, Stirk 1 3-5 5, Kopp 0 0-0 0, Leonelli 7 1-3 14, Thomas 1 0-0 2, Rosa 0 0-0 0, Pelosa 7 3-4 15. Totals: 23 10-17 53.

Three-pointers: Iwanicki (N), Pelosa (JL) 2, Leonelli (JL).

 

NEWTOWN        22    8 15   9 - 54

LAURALTON HALL 13  9  9  10 - 41

NEWTOWN (54): Beckham 9 1-2 19, Ryan 1 0-0 2, Masella 4 0-0 8, Gellert 1 0-0 2, Haines 3 3-3 9, Iwanicki 5 0-1 12, Adamek 1 0-2 2, Bell 0 0-0 0, Oswald 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 4-8 54.

LAURALTON HALL (41): McEttrick 1 0-0 2, Zelek 5 3-4 13, Devaney 1 0-0 2, Birge 0 0-0 0, Flaherty 6 0-3 12, Kodz 1 2-3 4, O’Donnell 3 0-0 7, Miller 0 1-2 1. Totals: 17 6-12 41.

Three-pointers: Iwanicki (N) O’Donnell (JL).