By Kim J. Harmon

You want thrills?

How about the girls’ basketball team missing four consecutive free throws in the final 37 seconds of its South-West Conference quarterfinal game with Kolbe Cathedral and then throwing up great defensive pressure to win in overtime?

How about the hockey team rallying back from a 2-0 deficit on Senior Night to pin a 3-2 defeat on Amity?

And there will probably be more thrills next week when the hoop girls open the CIAC Class LL state tournament and the swimmers head to the SWC championships.

Read on ...

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Newtown 51, Hall 38

Newtown 55, Kolbe 51 (SWC)

PHS 54, Newtown 41 (SWC)

It is an irrefutable fact of (basketball) life that players will miss free throws – just don’t miss ‘em in crunch time.

In the final 37.7 seconds and with the score tied at 46-46 in the fourth quarter of their South-West Conference quarterfinal game against two-time defending CIAC Class S champion Kolbe Cathedral, the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team saw four consecutive free throws clank off the rim.

But before a single soul could even utter the word choke, the Lady Nighthawks played 14 seconds of their best defense – not even allowing a buzzer-beater to get off – and then went on to defeat the Lady Cougars, 55-51, in overtime at Pomperaug High School in Southbury.

“That ranks, in my 20 years of coaching, as one of the guttiest efforts a team could make,” said head coach Shawn O’Brien. “Kolbe is the defending state champs and to beat them two out of three times (this season) is amazing.”

But all the impetus from that win faded in the intervening two days and the No. 5-seeded ‘Hawks dropped a 54-41 decision to No. 1-seeded Pomperaug on Tuesday night at Weston High School in the SWC semi-finals.

All of the things the ‘Hawks were able to do against Kolbe Cathedral on Saturday they were unable to do against Pomperaug. Their push-the-ball-up-the-floor offense was slowed to a crawl and their great pressure defense was nullified by superb dribbling, ball movement and clutch shooting.

“You can see why they are the No. 1 seed,” said coach O’Brien. “Their style is a half court game and they forced it on us. They did a great job of breaking our defense and we really struggled to try and turn this into a fast-paced game.”

The ‘Hawks dropped to 14-8 overall and now await the first round of the CIAC Class LL state tournament next week.

Beating Kolbe

Besides surviving those last frantic seconds of the fourth quarter in the semi-finals against Kolbe-Cathedral, the ‘Hawks fell into a four-point hole with 2:26 left in the overtime session. But Christie Iwanicki, who scored a game-high 22 points, banked in a basket with 2:14 to go and then added a pair of free throws with 54.6 seconds to go to tie the score.

Ciara Simek then forced a Kolbe turnover with 23.5 seconds to go and added free throws with 19.6 and 8.1 seconds to go to put the ‘Hawks ahead, 53-51. The latter foul was ruled intentional and the ‘Hawks got the ball back, leading to a pair of final free throws by Kacy Foehrenbach.

“We played our hardest,” said Iwanicki, “and after that 15 seconds of defense (at the end of the fourth period), I knew we would win.”

The ‘Hawks defeated the Lady Cougars, 64-58, back on December 16 in a non-league contest but then suffered a 64-53 loss on January 27 at the Cardinal Shehan Center in Bridgeport. Despite that loss, Iwanicki said, “We were down by 20 in that game and got it to within five, so I knew we could do well tonight.”

The locals fell into a 10-3 hole to start the game, but Iwanicki canned a bank shot and subsequent foul to kick start the ‘Hawks on a 14-0 run that didn’t end until two minutes had gone by in the second period. The Lady Cougars went on their own 7-0 run to tie the scored, but the locals went back up by as much as seven and held on to a five-point lead at the break following a soft bank shot by Carly Curran.

The third period was a cold one for the ‘Hawks. But it was a cold one for the Lady Cougars, as well. The fouls piled up as the shots failed to fall and after eight minutes of unpleasant basketball, the ‘Hawks were clinging to a 38-37 lead.

The locals went up as much as five points in the final stanza, but the Lady Cougars – with the benefit of only two field goals, whittled away at the lead to tie it, 46-46, with 55.6 seconds to play.

Simek finished with 10 points on the nine while Morgan Knees chipped in nine as Foehrenbach and Curran tossed in six apiece. As a team, the ‘Hawks had fewer field goals than the Lady Cougars, but shot 22-of-34 from the free throw line.

Falling To Pomperaug

After watching a thrilling finish in the Joel Barlow-Masuk semi-final game (won by Barlow on Jacqueline Shinall’s last-second three-pointer), Newtown and Pomperaug got off to a sluggish start in the first period of their semi-final match-up.

But when Paige Moore hit the first of her three three-point baskets near the end of the opening session, the Lady Panthers took control of the game and kept the Lady Nighthawks at bay the rest of the way.

The ‘Hawks dropped in only three buckets in the first eight minutes – on a drive by Iwanicki that staked the locals to a 2-0 lead, on a low post move by Morgan Knees, and on a buzzer-beating lay-in by Iwanicki.

The ‘Hawks wanted to boost the tempo of the game, but the Lady Panthers slowed them down and when the ‘Hawks were forced to settle into their half-court offense, they had trouble finding anyone open on the perimeter or in the low blocks.

That left Iwanicki (20 points on the night) to do most of the damage while cutting down the lane or across the baseline. Kristi Nowak chipped in seven points and Knees added five, but both combined for just two field goals – pretty much all the Lady Panthers would allow from Newtown’s front court.

Throughout the first half and deep into the third period, the ‘Hawks were never really out of reach. They fell behind by as much as seven points in the second quarter after Moore and Carla Zinno drained back-to-back three-pointers, but the Lady Panthers were not flawless from the free throw line (18-of-31 on the night) and the ‘Hawks managed to get as close as three points.

But Moore dropped in her third three-pointer of the night near the close of the third period and the Lady Panthers had their biggest lead of the night – 11 points.

Despite eight points from Iwanicki and a three-pointer from Darcy Fiscella, the ‘Hawks would get no closer than nine the rest of the way.

Newtown 51, Lauralton Hall 38

NEWTOWN (51): Ciara Simek 1 4-5 6, Carly Curran 5 2-3 13, Kacy Foehrenbach 2 0-1 5, Christie Iwanicki 6 6-8 18, Kristi Nowak 1 1-3 3, Darcy Fiscella 1 0-0 2, Casey Frobey 0 0-0 0, Morgan Knees 2 0-0 4, Katie Condon 0 0-0 0, Kelley Tenney 0 0-0 0, Lucy French 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 18 13-20 51.

LAURALTON HALL (38): Molly Yardley 0 0-0 0, Alisha Dibenedetto 1 1-1 3, Bridgett O’Donnell 2 3-4 7, Kelly D’Ambrisi 0 0-0 0, Margaret Galiani 6 2-2 15, Morgan Dunne 2 2-3 6, Kat Flaherty 2 1-3 5, Catie O’Connell 1 0-0 2, Lauren Chase 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 14 9-13 38.

Three-pointers: Curran (N), Foehrenbach (N), Galiani (L).

Newtown 55, Kolbe Cathedral 51

NEWTOWN (55): Ciara Simek 2 6-13 10, Darcy Fiscella 0 0-2 0, Kristi Nowak 0 2-2 2, Carly Curran 2 2-2 6, Christie Iwanicki 7 7-9 22, Kacy Foehrenbach 2 2-2 6, Morgan Knees 3 3-4 9. TOTALS: 16 22-34 55.

KOLBE CATHEDRAL (51): Deja Mann 0 0-0 0, Kamiya Burwell 3 3-5 10, Brianna Barnes 2 1-2 5, Bianca Young 2 4-6 8, Curtia Humbert 5 0-0 11, Ashley Prim 2 3-6 7, Lena Fracasini 5 0-0 10. TOTALS: 19 11-19 51.

Three-pointers: Iwanicki (N), Burwell (KC), Humbert (KC).

Pomperaug 54, Newtown 41

POMPERAUG (54): Kaitlynn Cates 2 0-0 5, Tara Koliani 0 0-0 0, Carla Zinno 5 4-8 16, Lizzie Dunbar 2 3-8 7, Jackie Johannes 4 6-6 14, Amanda Shortt 0 2-2 2, Paige Moore 3 3-7 12, Jillian Cipriano 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 16 18-31 54.

NEWTOWN (51): Ciara Simek 0 0-0 0, Carly Curran 1 1-2 4, Kacy Foehrenbach 1 0-0 2, Christie Iwanicki 7 6-6 20, Kristi Nowak 1 5-6 7, Darcy Fiscella 1 0-0 3, Morgan Knees 1 3-5 5, Katie Condon 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 12 15-19 41.

Three-pointers: Moore (P) 3, Zinno (P) 2, Curran (N), Fiscella (N).

WRESTLING

21st at CIAC Class LL

The Newtown High School wrestling team failed to get a wrestler into the medal rounds of the CIAC Class LL state tournament last weekend at Trumbull High School, but did tally 30.5 points to finish 21st overall.

Danbury easily took the state title with 274.5 points while New Milford (172), Amity-Woodbridge (156) and Southington (147.5) were a distant second, third and fourth. The locals finished just behind South-Windsor (35.5) and ahead of Westhill of Stamford (29.5), Fairfield Prep (18), New Haven Co-Op) (16) and Platt Tech of West Haven (0).

Jeff Lipnick (130), Jeff Bray (145), Gary Andrews (152) and Aadil Ansari (275) all finished eighth. As for the season, freshman John Gouveia (112) finished with the best individual record – an impressive mark of 26-10.

As for the rest of the varsity lineup –

WRESTLERS        WGHT         W-L

Gary Andrews           152         23-9

Jeff Lipnick               130       23-10

Jeff Bray                   145       19-11

Colin O’Connor         140       17-11

Dana Van Buskirk     119         16-1

Joel Minalgo             215       15-16

Aadil Ansari               275       15-18

Mark Bonamici         125       13-16

Jagi Enkhbaatar        160       12-12

Bryant Aliaga            189       10-15

Kim Solheim              103         6-20

Andrew Kmetetz      135         4-12

Kenny Cardelle         171           3-6

Matt Meehan            171         3-10

Mitch Rucinski          135           3-0

Anthony Klabonski    152           2-6

Matt Kuruk               189           1-1

Colin Smith               103           1-2

Kris Kling                   125           0-1

HOCKEY

Sheehan 4, Newtown 3

Newtown 3, Amity 2

After a stretch of 10 games in which it went 0-8-2, the Newtown High School hockey team is attempting to close out the 2005-06 season on a happier note.

The Nighthawks are 3-1-1 in their last five contests – including a 4-3 loss to Sheehan last Wednesday, a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Amity last Friday and a 6-2 win over St. Joseph’s on Wednesday morning – and will finish up against Cheshire on Friday and New Fairfield next Monday.

In the loss to Sheehan. Chris Kraft scored a pair of goals and Max Beitel added one. Mike Conroy contributed an assist as goaltender Peter Oggeri turned away 39 shots. Newtown tied Sheehan, 5-5, on February 8 and this time around the ‘Hawks opened the scoring at 6:55 of the second period. But the Titans answered back with three goals to take a 3-1 lead and then had to hold off the ‘Hawks in the final stanza for the win.

The locals managed just 18 shots on net.

In the win over Amity – on Senior Night at the Danbury Ice Arena – the ‘Hawks rallied back from a 2-0 deficit with three unanswered goals off the sticks of Blake Bell, Matt Wright and Pat Daly. One assist came from Francis Oggeri.

Bell scored at 9:37 of the second period while Wright and Daly scored within 27 seconds of each other (at 2:26 and 2:53) in the third period. Amity was whistled for five penalties, but the ‘Hawks didn’t convert on any of the power-play opportunities.

Sheehan 4, Newtown 3

GOALS: Newtown – Chris Kraft 2, Max Beitel. ASSISTS: Newtown – Mike Conroy. SHOTS: Sheehan – 43; Newtown – 18. SAVES: Newtown – Peter Oggeri 39.

Newtown 3, Amity 2

GOALS: Newtown – Blake Bell, Matt Wright, Pat Daly. ASSISTS: Newtown – Francis Oggeri. SHOTS: Amity – 45; Newtown – 21. SAVES: Newtown – Peter Oggeri 18, Mike Jurasek 25.

INDOOR TRACK

Boys – 2nd at State Open

In their final shot of the indoor track and field season, the Newtown High School boys finished tied with Wilton for 40th overall, scoring two points at the CIAC Indoor Track and Field State Open championships at the New Haven Athletic Center.

Amity ran away with the State Open championship with 41 points, well ahead of Glastonbury (29) and Weston (28).

The only Newtown points came from Zach Schwartz’ fifth-place finish in the 3,200-meter run. Schwartz ran a 9:37.45, about 26 seconds behind Jay Koloseus of Guilford, whose 9:11.34 is a new State Open record.

In other action, Alison McEmber of the Newtown girls squad finished 13th overall – out of the scoring – in the 600 meters. McEmber ran a 1:44.27, less than seven seconds behind top finisher Erika Mansson of Masuk.

BOYS BASKETBALL

B. Central 71, Newtown 39

Notre Dame 92, Newtown 68

Wow – it looked like an old-fashioned donnybrook was in order on Monday night in Fairfield after the Newtown and Notre Dame High School boys’ basketball teams exploded for 23 points apiece in the opening period of their South-West Conference tilt.

Alas, the Nighthawks soon ran out of gas and the Lancers ran away with the game, 92-68. Coupled with a 71-39 loss to Bridgeport Central last week, the ‘Hawks have dropped to 4-15 overall with just one tilt – against Immaculate on Wednesday, after press time – remaining on the schedule.

Since a 76-61 win over New Fairfield back on January 21, the locals have dropped eight in a row.

In the loss to Bridgeport Central, Dave McLaughlin was the leading Newtown scorer with nine markers on a trio of three-point shots. Mike Kennedy and Mike Mitchell tossed in six points apiece while Marc Ingerman, Mike Maher and Jack Quinn contributed five points apiece.

In the loss to Notre Dame on Monday night, the locals could not hold up under the offensive onslaught of the Lancers’ Mike Oleynick and Jonathan Fontanez. The pair combined for 53 points, with Oleynick dropping in all 27 of his points on nine three-pointers. That overshadowed an equally impressive effort by McLaughlin, who canned 23 points with the aid of five three-pointers.

Bridgeport Central 71, Newtown 39

NEWTOWN (39): Joe DeVellis 1 0-0 2, Dave McLaughlin 3 0-0 9, Mike Kennedy 2 2-2 6, Mike Mitchell 3 0-0 6, Marc Ingermann 0 5-6 5, Jack Quinn 1 2-2 5, Shawn Coakley 0 0-1 0, Dan Smith 0 0-0 0, Jason Smith 0 0-0 0, Mike Maher 2 0-0 5, Jake DeVellis 0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 12 10-13 39.

BRIDGEPORT CENTRAL (71): Travis Bostick 6 0-0 12, Greg Myers 4 4-4 12, Matt Pritchett 4 4-4 13, Jermaine Rockhead 0 2-2 2, Ramone Davis 0 0-0 0, Rashard Telfair 1 0-0 2, Anthony Hines 2 0-0 4, Cory Nelson 5 0-0 15, Marvel Johnson 3 2-4 8, Jamonte Robinson 0 0-0 0, CJ Harrison 1 0-0 3. TOTALS: 26 12-14 71.

Three-pointers: Nelson (BC) 5, McLaughlin (N) 3, Maher (N), Pritchett (N).

Notre Dame 92, Newtown 68

NEWTOWN (68): Joe DeVellis 3 4-6 10, Dave McLaughlin 7 4-4 23, Mike Kennedy 1 3-4 5, Mike Mitchell 3 0-3 6, Marc Ingerman 2 0-0 4, Jack Quinn1 1-2 3, Shawn Coakley 1 8-10 10, Mike Maher 2 0-0 5, Dan Smith 0 0-0 0, Jason Smith 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 21 20-29 68.

NOTRE DAME (92): Mike Oleynick 9 0-0 27, Thomas Sparks 5 1-2 11, John Scola 1 0-0 2, Harrison Tonne 4 1-1 10, Jim O’Donoghue 2 1-2 5, Jonathan Fontanez 11 4-8 26, Dontye Cofield 2 0-1 4, Alex Muniz 1 2-2 4, Matt Caulfield 1 0-0 3. TOTALS: 36 9-16 92.

Three-pointers: Oleynick (ND) 9, McLaughlin (N) 5, Maher (N), Tonne (1), Caulfield (1).