March 19, 2024

Newton girls battle, lose to No. 12 Grinnell

Fighting back from a 20-8 first-quarter deficit, Newton High’s Cardinal girls found themselves back in the game Thursday with Class 4A 12th-ranked Grinnell. They had closed to within five points with two minutes remaining in the Little Hawkeye Conference contest on their home court.

A follow shot by Ryanne Rausch at the 1:59 mark pulled the Cardinals to a 59-54 deficit. The teams traded free throws and field goals to make it 63-58 with 53 seconds to play in the game.

Newton had began fouling the Tigers to stop the clock and get the ball back. Kameron Moore missed two foul shots and the Cardinals had the rebound trailing 64-59. They turned the ball over and never could get any closer, losing 66-59.

“We didn’t start out very well tonight. We have to understand the difference of playing quick and playing hurried,” Newton head coach Brandon Sharp said. “We allowed Grinnell to hurry us in our play in the first half. We made too many turnovers.”

Sharp said the Cardinals came out and played quick on offense in the second half, which helped them to get back in the game. He said Newton played well defensively down the stretch.

“We had three turnovers in the final 90 seconds which took away opportunities to get closer,” Sharp said. “We got better tonight, which is what we want. We are still striving for consistency of play throughout four quarters.”

The Tigers hit four of their eight 3-pointers in the first quarter to gain a 15-3 lead. There were three 3-pointers drained in a row starting with Kyra Hungerford for Grinnell followed by Newton’s Taylor Shipley and Grinnell’s Madeline Wilkins.

Alex Hutchinson had a putback for the Cardinals to make it 18-8, but Malia Durr’s bucket before the buzzer lifted Grinnell to a 20-8 lead. The Tigers opened the second period of an 11-2 run with a three-point play by Sienna Durr and back-to-back treys.

Down by 21 points, 31-10, the Cardinals began climbing back. Sydney Jenkins sank two free throws and Hannah Rhoads delivered a 3-pointer. Rausch, who had a team-high 16 points, hit the front end of a one-and-one and made a basket.

When Megan Pressgrove hit two free throws at the 2:14 mark, Newton was down by 12. The Cardinal defensive pressure created a Tiger turnover which was cashed in by Shipley for a basket. Emilee Hulsing answered for the Tigers.

Jessica Reynolds’ basket with 59 seconds left before the break, and Newton was down by 10, 34-24. The Cardinals had the ball with an opportunity to trim it to a single-digit deficit before halftime. Newton turned the ball over then got it back, but time ran out.

The Cardinals began the third quarter on a 9-3 run. Rausch scored at the 5:59 mark which was answered by a 3-pointer from Grinnell’s Naomi Jackson. Hutchinson dropped in two free throws and Reynolds scored.

A three-point play by Rausch came at the 4:18 mark and the Cardinals were within four points, 37-33. Sienna Durr scored to trigger a six-point surge by the Tigers. Grinnell went into the fourth quarter leading 52-40.

The Cardinals had a 19-14 scoring edge in the final eight minutes. The Tigers scored just enough to keep the Cardinals at bay.

“We played so hard tonight. We came back at them again in the fourth quarter. Again, we had opportunities,” Sharp said. “They were 20-of-31 from the line, but 17 of those attempts came in the fourth quarter when we put them there to get the ball back. They were 7-of-17 in the fourth quarter, just enough.”

Newton cashed in on 21-of-28 free throw attempts in the game. The Cardinals hit just four 3-pointers to the Tigers’ eight.

Rhoads finished with 12 points for Newton. Sienna Durr, who was 8-of-9 at the line, scored 16 points to lead the Tigers.

Newton’s junior varsity lost to Grinnell, 43-33. Randi Walters and Addy Blom each had eight points and Taylor Ryan scored seven for Newton.

The Cardinals are back on the basketball court Friday night in LHC action at Oskaloosa. The varsity game tips off at 6:15 p.m.

Newton is 3-6 in conference play and 9-9 overall.

“We get to get back on the court Friday and have a shot at putting another mark in the win column,” Sharp said. “We continue to grow as a team and get better as we come down the final stretch of the regular season, which is what we want.”

Grinnell  20-14-18-14—66

Newton  8-16-16-19—59

Newton (FG/3-pt): Rausch 5/1-3-4-16, Jenkins 1/1-4-4-9, Moon 0-0-1-0, Hutchinson 1-6-3-8, Reynolds 3-0-5-6, Shipley 1/1-0-3-5, Jacobsen 0-1-0-1, Pressgrove 0-2-1-2, Rhoads 2/1-5-3-12. TOTALS: 13/4-21-24-59.

Grinnell (FG/3-pt); Harris 3-2-3-8, Jackson 0/1-0-2-3, Doty 0-0-1-0, Wilkins 0/2-1-3-7, Deppe 0-0-2-0, Moore 0/1-4-4-7, Hulsing 1-0-1-2, Bailee Kriegel 0/2-0-1-6, Sienna Durr 4-8-2-16, Hungerford 0/2-2-4-8, Malia Durr 3-3-4-9. TOTALS: 17/8-20-27-66.

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