Cardinal girls fall to No. 14 Boone

BOONE — Newton High’s Cardinal girls were as cold on the basketball court Tuesday as it was outside. They couldn’t afford a slow start against another ranked opponent.

The Cardinals fell behind 13-2 in the first quarter to host Boone. The Class 4A 14th-ranked Toreadors kept the pressure up for a 27-7 halftime lead en route a 48-27 win over Newton.

“We turned the ball over 18 times in the first half. We came out flat to start the game again,” Newton head coach Brandon Sharp said.

The Cardinals (7-7) have lost four of their last six games. They are on a three-game losing skid, and six of their seven losses have been to ranked teams.

Newton came out of halftime with a bit of a spark, outscoring Boone 11-9. Trailing 35-18 going into the fourth quarter, the Cardinals weren’t able to make up any more ground. The Toreadors had a 14-9 scoring edge in the final eight minutes of play.

One of the big factors in the game came at the free-throw line. Boone cashed in on 24-of-36 foul shots while Newton shot just five free throws, hitting three, in the game.

Newton senior Hannah Rhoads, who had all the free throws, led the Cardinals with 13 points. She netted two 3-pointers.

Boone’s Madlyn Danner was 13-of-16 at the free-throw line on her way to 16 points. Claire Sandvig scored 16 points, hitting 8-of-10 foul shots.

Sharp said the Cardinals will continue to work hard and get better. They are working to find consistency in their game again. Newton opened the season at 5-0 but has struggled in a stretch of ranked foes.

Newton is at home Friday in Little Hawkeye Conference play. The Cardinals take a 2-4 conference mark into the second round of LHC games, starting with Pella Christian. When the teams met in December, the Cardinals won 44-39.

The Cardinals tip off against the Eagles at 6:15 p.m. Friday in the NHS gym.

On Tuesday, the Newton junior varsity had a runaway win over Boone, 41-15. The Cardinals led 29-6 at halftime. Anna Forsyth and Ali Bestell led Newton with eight points each. Taylor Ryan scored seven and Randi Walters had six points.

Others scoring for Newton were: Marcelina Marvelli with four, Addy Blom and Harlie Durr with three points each, and Bridget Carson with two points.

Newton  2-5-11-9—27

Boone  13-14-9-14—48

Newton (FG/3-pt): Rausch 1-0-5-2, Jenkins 1-0-1-2, Moon 0-0-1-0, Hutchinson 2-0-5-4, Reynolds 2-0-2-4, Shipley 0-0-4-0, Jacobsen 0-0-1-0, Horn 0-0-1-0, Pressgrove 1-0-3-2, Rhoads 2/2-3-3-13. TOTALS: 9/2-3-26-27.

Boone (FG/3-pt); Danner 0/1-13-3-16, Shadle 2-3-4-7, Slight 0-0-2-0, Rouse 2-0-3-4, Claman 2/1-0-1-7, Erb 0-0-1-0, Sandvig 4-8-3-16. TOTALS: 10/2-2417-50.

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