Last season, it took the Newton girls basketball team 15 games to earn three wins. This time around, the Cardinals were able to do it in seven.
 

The obvious improvement could be credited to the continuity from the 2011-12 season, in which Newton became a new team in the second half of the season. Although the Cards (3-4, 0-2 Little Hawkeye Conference) still have had some struggles in the early part of this season, they have also shown just how much they have improved in a year.
 

Newton had a tough stretch to open the season as it faced ranked teams in Perry (No. 8 in Class 4A) and Winterset (No. 9), both on the road. After losing those games by a combined score of 141-70, the Cards recovered for their first win of the year against Saydel on Nov. 29. Senior Kristin Samson can be given a lot of the credit in that win, as she scored 24 of the Cards’ 44 total points.