But pass they did – with an A+ grade – in a 60-52 win over the Bears last Saturday night.

“The girls executed the game plan as perfectly as it has ever been executed,” said coach Gregg Simon. “This is a really experienced team and they have been through big games before.”

Besides going 27-0 a year ago then winning the FCIAC and CIAC Class LL championships, Norwalk came into the season ranked first in Connecticut, seventh in the east region, and 30th in the nation by Student Sports magazine out of Anaheim, California.

But in the end, those were just numbers. The numbers that ended up counting the most were the 13 points from Jayme Beckham, the 12 points from Lisa Masella, the 11 points from Lori Iwanicki and the nine consecutive free throws that Amanda Marsilio, Ally Gellert, Morgan Haines and Masella all sank together in the final two minutes of the contest.

All of that helped the Nighthawks weather a 14-point effort by Cathy Dash and a 13-point effort by Katie Cavanaugh.

“We packed the zone,” said coach Simon, “did a great job of eliminating their second shots, and did a great job off the boards. But one of the best things we did was control the tempo as much as possible.”

Only three times did the ‘Hawks allow the Bears to hold on to the lead in this game and not once after the first quarter ended in a 14-14 tie. The last lead the Bears held was a 14-13 advantage that came after Cavanaugh drained a long jumper.

That advantage ended when Iwanicki hit a free throw at the close of the period.

From that point on, the ‘Hawks seemed to take firm control of the game. Gellert hit a jumper from the corner, Marsilio hit a free throw, and Beckham hit a short jumper to put Newtown ahead by five points, 19-14.

But it wasn’t going to be easy to hold off the number one team in the state. After a quick bucket, Cavanaugh dropped in one of her three three-point baskets to tie the score at 19-19. Masella answered back for the ‘Hawks with two quick baskets and ended the half with another hoop off a nice dish from Lauren Adamek to put Newtown ahead, 25-21.

“This was the kind of game,” said coach Simon, “where Norwalk would go on runs and we had to be able to answer their runs.”

The ‘Hawks went up as much as six at the start of the third on an eight-footer by Beckham, but two inside moves by Dash got the Bears right back into the game.

It stayed close. Through the remainder of the third period the ‘Hawks never strayed more than four points away from the Bears. When Newtown held a 35-31 lead after a pull-up jumper by Beckham, Dash got Norwalk right back into the game with two brilliant moves under the basket.

But Dash stumbled a bit and Norwalk paid the price.

Dash missed four consecutive free throws near the close of the third quarter and early in the fourth, on a low post move against Marsilio, drew a charging call that gave her five fouls and ended her evening.

The Bears did get as close at one point, 45-44, midway through the fourth quarter but Marsilio converted a basket and a free throw to spread the gap a little. The Bears would get as close as one point just one more time, on a long-range jumper just inside the arc, but with a 50-49 advantage the ‘Hawks simply pulled away.

A 10-3 run – accomplished almost entirely at the foul line – saw to that.

Gellert hit four free throws in a row and Masella added a pair and then Haines put the final emphasis on the game with a breakaway layin off a nice inbounds pass from Gellert.

Oh, it was a great game – nice and fitting for a meeting between the Fairfield County Interscholastic Conference (FCIAC) and South-West Conference (SWC) champions.

“Norwalk contacted us,” said coach Simon, “and said they would very much like to play us. I thought it was a nice compliment and thought it would be great for the SWC champ and FCIAC champ to play.”

Although not many people gave Newtown – now ranked fourth in the state in the latest coaches’ poll (behind third-place Norwalk) – much of a chance to pass this test, coach Simon could clearly see how they did.

“The girls are really a close-knit group,” he said, “and I can’t say that about all the teams I have had. But these girls truly like each other and that helps.”

With a 43-30 win over St. Joseph’s of Trumbull last Thursday (which was not as easy as the score would indicate) and a 55-33 win over Joel Barlow on Tuesday, the ‘Hawks have started the season at 3-0.

And another big test is coming up next Thursday, at 7 pm, when the ‘Hawks host Kolbe-Cathedral of Bridgeport, the defending CIAC Class S champion.

So, they should have their number two pencils all sharpened and ready to go.

A Rough Start

The Nighthawks are a strong offensive team but it was the defense that saw them through a 43-30 win over St. Joseph’s of Trumbull in the 2000-2001 season opener last Thursday.

Iwanicki, Haines, Gellert, Marsilio, Masella, Adamek, Beckham – they all their cracks at the basket and nobody had much success at all (the ‘Hawks scored just six points in the second quarter). But a tough defense and some strong rebounding by Marsilio helped Newtown wear St. Joseph’s down.

The ‘Hawks, leading just 18-16 at the half, pulled away.

Iwanicki led the way with 10 points while Marsilio tossed in eight and Masella and Beckham chipped in with seven apiece. Heather Burkhart led St. Joe’s with nine points. The only trey of the nigh came from Gellert and it was her only three points of the evening.

Smashing Joel Barlow

The impetus from their stirring win over Norwalk on Saturday continued on into Tuesday where the Nighthawks hammered Joel Barlow, 55-33.

Although the offense was certainly smooth and efficient it may have been the brutal man-to-man and zone defenses which did the Lady Falcons in.

Newtown limited Joel_Barlow to just three points in the first quarter and five more in the second quarter. By halftime, the ‘Hawks held a convincing 26-8 lead.

They just cruised home from there.

Marsilio led the ‘Hawks with 12 points in her best offensive performance since returning from a knee injury. Jayme Beckham added 10 points.

Seven other players scored with Lori Iwanicki notching nine and Lisa Masella seven.

Also, freshmen Julie Iwanicki and Kelley Haines both scored their first (of undoubtedly many)_varsity points.