Jackson’s 33 powers Grinnell past Newton girls in LHC contest

Progress is being made by Newton High’s girls on the basketball court. The process hasn’t translated into many victories, but the Cardinal coaches are pleased with the growth of the team.

“The girls played tough tonight and were competitive with probably the best team in the conference,” said Erick Zehr, Newton assistant coach, who stepped in to coach the varsity as head coach Brandon Sharp was away on a family matter.

Sharp was on the varsity bench in the second half of the 60-48 loss to Grinnell Tuesday at home. He said he wanted Zehr to comment on the game since he coached the entire contest.

Zehr said he was pleased with how the Newton players competed throughout the game. Unfortunately, Grinnell senior guard Deja Jackson “had a special night” scoring 33 points.

“Grinnell has a lot of weapons. You shut down one girl and another steps up to hurt you offensively. Deja is a special player,” Zehr said. “We decided not to let her attack the basket on us, but she hit step-back jumpers all night.”

Jackson had 18 points by halftime for the Tigers, who improved to 8-1 on the season. The Tigers have three of the top 10 scorers in the Little Hawkeye Conference led by Jackson, who is tied for eighth in scoring in Class 4A.

Jackson opened the game with one of her three 3-pointers. The Cardinals tied the game with a basket from Jessica Reynolds and a free throw by Sydney Jenkins.

The Tigers rattled off six straight points to open a 9-3 lead. Ellie Horn came off the Newton bench to score inside. Hannah Rhoads knocked down a three at the 3:13 mark to make it 11-8.

Newton trailed 15-10 after one quarter.

Zehr said the Cardinals did a good job contesting 3-point shots by Maddie Wilkins, who only had two on the night. Wilkins delivered one of those to start the second quarter for Grinnell.

Alex Hutchinson, who broke loose for a team-high 12 points in the game, answered with a trey for Newton.

The Cardinals dropped back to a 13-point deficit midway through the second quarter. Michaela Jacobsen scored with 3:40 on the clock to make it 26-15.

Jacobsen drained a three with 35 seconds left before halftime to pull the Cardinals to within 10. Jackson scored just before the buzzer for a 30-18 lead for the Tigers.

Newton scored the first five points of the second half on a 3-pointer by Jenkins and basket by Reynolds. That was as close as the Cardinals would get, 30-23.

Jackson stepped back and nailed a 3-pointer for Grinnell. Sienna Durr, who had 13 points, had back-to-back baskets inside. By the end of the third quarter, Newton was down 49-28.

“The girls have had a couple strong weeks of practice. We, as coaches, have seen the difference between now and the beginning of the season,” Zehr said. “We had a good game at Knoxville Saturday and followed up with a good effort tonight.

“Grinnell is one of the best, if not the best, teams in the conference. We competed with them all night long. The girls never gave up. It was a 12-point difference at halftime and that’s what it ended up being at the end.”

After Jackson had three baskets to stretch Grinnell’s lead to 55-28, the Cardinals battled back. They outscored the Tigers 20-5 over the final six minutes.

Jackson left the game with 1:25 remaining in the contest.

Jacobsen ended up with nine points. Rhoads and Ryanne Rausch each tossed in eight points.

Newton’s junior varsity fought back from a 21-13 halftime deficit to beat Grinnell 33-30. A free throw by Taylor Moon tied the game at 29-29 with 1:10 to play.

Jace Twaddle, who led the Cardinals with 10 points, put Newton in front, hitting 2-of-4 free throws. Newton’s Taylor Shipley sank two free throws at the end for the final margin. Megan Pressgrove had six points.

Newton’s freshman girls lost 38-31 to Ankeny Tuesday at home. They were down 20-13 at halftime. Marcelina Marvelli paced the Cardinals with nine points. Taylor Ryan and Addy Blom each had eight points.

Newton’s varsity is 1-8 overall. It takes a 1-2 Little Hawkeye Conference mark into Friday game at Oskaloosa.

Grinnell  15-15-19-11—60

Newton  10-8-10-20—48

Newton (FG/3-pt): Rausch 1/2-0-0-8, Jenkins 2-1-0-5, Moon 0-0-1-0, Jordan 0-0-2-0, Hutchinson 2/2-2-0-12, Reynolds 2-0-2-4, Horn 1-0-0-2, Jacobsen 3/1-0-1-9, Pressgrove 0-0-1-0, Rhoads 1/2-0-1-8. TOTALS: 12/7-3-8-48.

Grinnell (FG/3-pt): Finch 1/2-0-2-8, Wilkins 0/2-0-2-6, Deppe 0-0-2-0, Kriegel 0-0-1-0, Durr 6-1-0-13, Jackson 11/3-2-2-33, James 0-0-2-0. TOTALS: 18/7-3-11-60

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535
or jsheets@newtondailynews.com