By Kim J. Harmon

SOUTHBURY – It may be forever known as the shot heard ‘round the SWC.

With 7.4 seconds left on the clock, Kate Ryan hit the most dramatic, most gripping, most long-awaited shot in the history of Newtown High School girls’ basketball and – with a thrilling 46-45 win over New Fairfield – lifted the Lady Nighthawks right to the mantle of South-West Conference champions.

After Ashley Ness put New Fairfield ahead, 45-44, with 21 seconds left the ‘Hawks inbounded the ball immediately and quickly raced down the floor to try and win their first conference title in modern basketball history and the first conference title of any kind in more than 50 years.

Ally Gellert skipped inside the arc and kicked the ball out to the wing to Ryan. Ryan – who finished with eight points on the night – quickly induced a defender into the air and stepped to her right, about three feet inside the arc, and took the shot with a defender’s hand in her face.

The ball, with a high arc, hit the back iron and rebounded straight up into the air. As a hush seemed to descend over the boisterous crowd, the ball fell softly back, kissing off the front rim and then kissing gently off the back rim . . .

“Everything slowed down,” said Ryan. “It was like I was in a slow-motion movie or something.”

 

. . . before sliding through the nylon and giving the Lady Nighthawks – now 21-3 on the season following a CIAC Class LL first-round victory over Hall High on Tuesday – the league championship they had so desperately sought and had been ever so close to on at least six different occasions. The long-anticipated celebration nearly broke out there . . .

“When it clanged off the rim I almost started crying,” said Jayme Beckham. “I don’t think I’ve ever endured a longer moment in a basketball game.”

 

. . . but there were still 7.4 seconds to go and Newtown could not afford to start celebrating. As New Fairfield brought the ball up the floor, it ended up – almost predictably – in the hands of Alison Pardalis. Pardalis drove the lane and put up a tough jumper even as she was attempting to draw a foul off Newtown’s Lisa Masella.

But the shot banged off the side of the rim . . .

“It’s amazing – it’s awesome,” said Masella. “It’s the best birthday gift I could have asked for.”

 

. . . and then the celebration really began.

“I’m still in shock,” said Lori Iwanicki during practice on Monday. “It’s such a big thing and it seemed so out of reach at the beginning of the season.”

While Ryan will very deservedly be remembered for her last second heroics, there was a play at the other end of the floor by Gellert – the SWC Tournament Most Valuable Player – that was overshadowed by the dramatics of the situation but a play that very well may have had as large an impact on the final outcome.

As Gellert guarded the top of the circle, Pardalis made her move to the lane. Gellert could have decided to try and stop the play right there, but instead – figuring she would get help in the middle – she drifted off to the wing to provide some coverage on a wide-open shooter.

It was a splendid decision.

But there were so many decisions like that, so many big plays on offense and defense, that carried the Lady Nighthawks to this championship. And considering that the Lady Rebels smashed the ‘Hawks 60-31 back on January 11, it was simply astonishing.

“We were so pumped up for practice,” said point guard Morgan Haines, who finished with six points, “I was pretty sure we would win. I thought we had a good shot because we’re a different team than we were before.”

Mary Bell added, “Once we got (to the championship game), I knew we had a really good shot because we’ve come a long way.”

But while most of the team remained in a slight state of shock even on Monday, one day before embarking on their CIAC Class LL tournament run, backup forward/center Lauren Adamek said she wasn’t surprised at all.

“This was the first team I’ve been on,” she said, “we’re you could see the hunger in their eyes. I knew we were going to win it.”

A Totally Different Game

Walking out of the locker room, the ‘Hawks had convinced themselves – and with good reason – that they definitely were not the same team that had gotten crushed, 60-31, by the Lady Rebels back on January 11.

“Our confidence was actually pretty high,” said Iwanicki, who finished with a team-high 12 points. “We wanted to get them back and we felt that with the changes we had made we were a totally different team.”

Ryan added, “Going into the playoffs, I think we were a little more nervous than we should have been, but we gained a lot of confidence when we beat Bunnell and Masuk. After seeing the tape (of the New Fairfield game) and seeing the mistakes we had made, we knew we were a better team than we were before.”

And they proved it, too, by taking the lead (and control) of the game midway through the first period – on an 18-foot jump shot by Iwanicki that gave Newtown a 10-8 lead – and not relinquishing it until there was only 4:49 left to play.

“Basically,” said Beckham, “we had to put that (first) game out of our heads. We had it in our minds that we were a new team.”

Iwanicki put the ‘Hawks ahead 12-8 off the fast break, thanks to a steal by Masella, and then Haines drained a 17-footer to put the ‘Hawks ahead 14-10 late in the first. With Beckham canning two shots at the foul line and Gellert draining the first of her two three-pointers, the ‘Hawks had a surprising 19-11 lead early in the second quarter.

Gellert’s three was a study in how smooth the ‘Hawks work together. On the play, Beckham had attempted a baseline roller that missed and was rebounded by Masella. Without hesitation, Masella kicked the ball out to Gellert at the top of the arc and Gellert calmly drained the three.

But after Ryan hit a pull-up jumper on a feed from Gellert that put Newtown back up by eight, 21-13, the Lady Rebels went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to just one point, 21-20. But Beckham drove the lane with eight seconds to go, willed the ball into the basket as she was fouled and then calmly hit the foul shot to give the ‘Hawks a 24-20 lead at the break.

New Fairfield opened the third quarter, though, with a three-point basket that cut the Newtown lead to 24-23. But Iwanicki and Haines both scored quick baskets to help the ‘Hawks keep their distance. The Lady Rebels could only get as close as two for the remainder of the period, while key plays by Masella (a steal and putback on the same sequence) and Haines (a 14-foot jump shot) allowed the ‘Hawks to enjoy leads as large as five points.

The ‘Hawks went into the final period ahead, 35-32.

They extended that lead to 37-32 early in the fourth on a 17-foot jumper by Ryan, but the Lady Rebels went on a 6-0 run that gave them their first lead, 38-37, since midway through the opening period.

But the sophomore-laden ‘Hawks were not about to start questioning themselves.

“It was amazing,” said Jessica Oswald. “We had worked so hard and we really wanted it.”

Iwanicki put the ‘Hawks back ahead, 39-38, but then – with 3:26 left – the Lady Rebels were back on top, 40-39. But Gellert came back with her second three-pointer of the night (and 10th of the season) from the corner and put Newtown ahead, 42-40.

After New Fairfield tied the score again, Iwanicki – with 1:14 to go – drained a long jumper that gave the ‘Hawks the lead once again, 44-42. But Pardalis canned a free throw and then Ness hit her turnaround in the lane and all of a sudden – with 21 seconds to go – the Lady Rebels were ahead 45-44.

Then came the moment.

The shot heard ‘round the SWC.

“I knew we had to get down the floor and execute,” Ryan said at practice on Monday. “There wasn’t any time to think about it and after I shot the ball, I didn’t think there was any way it would go in. That first night I thought it was pretty cool . . . but it now seems like it’s not reality.”

Oh, but it is.

It most definitely is.

And it’s a reality that basketball fans around here will cherish for a long, long time.

NOTE:_Iwanicki, who scored 17 points in the CIAC_Class LL_first-round state tournament win over William Hall on Tuesday, has scored 253 points thus far - which is tied for the second-most ever by a sophomore. Only Lynn_Lattanzio has scored more, with 292 points her sophomore year.

Newtown         14 10   11  11 - 46

New Fairfield    11   9   12  13 - 45

 

NEWTOWN (46): Ally Gellert 3 0-2 8, Jessica Oswald 0 0-0 0, Kate Ryan 4 0-0 8, Morgan Haines 3 0-0 6, Mary Bell 0 0-0 0, Lisa Masella 3 1-3 7, Lori Iwanicki 5 2-2 12, Jayme Beckham 1 3-3 5, Lauren Adamek 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 6-10 46.

NEW FAIRFIELD (45): Corrine Makarewich 1 0-0 2, Meghan Hurley 0 0-0 0, Alison Pardalis 2 3-4 8, Catherine Makarewich 4 0-0 9, Stefanie Weise 0 0-0 0, Beth Clark 6 3-3 15, Ashley Ness 4 3-4 11. Totals: 17 9-11 45.

Three-pointers: Gellert (N) 2, Ca. Makarewich (NF), Pardalis (NF)