April 26, 2024

Newton girls pull away from Oskaloosa for LHC win

By Jocelyn Sheets

Mid-air collision — Newton High’s Taylor Shipley, right, is fouled by Oskaloosa’s Shalandra Shilling, left, in the second half of Tuesday’s Little Hawkeye Conference game at Newton. Shipley and the Cardinals notched a home victory, 58-42, over the Indians. (Jocelyn Sheets)

Just 24 hours after losing a game they led most of the way, Newton High’s girls grabbed the lead on a two 3-point field goals in the final minute of the first quarter and never looked back.

They left the visiting Oskaloosa Indians in their wake for a 58-42 win. The win halted a six-game losing skid by the Cardinals.

“It feels so good to play at home and get the win this time. It was great to ring the victory bell tonight,” Newton senior Ryanne Rausch said. “Tonight, we stuck together and held our composure better. We moved the ball around and stayed calm against the press.”

Rausch’s trey put her team up 10-8 with 1:20 left in Tuesday’s first quarter of a home Little Hawkeye Conference game. The Indians’ stalwart player Alexis Westercamp tied the game with 20 seconds on the clock.

Marcelina Marvelli came off the Newton bench and buried a trey with six seconds left to put the Cardinals up 13-10. Newton outscored Oskaloosa 10-4 in the second period to gain a 23-14 halftime advantage.

They had consecutive baskets by Rausch and Ellie Horn to go up 17-10. Anna Forsyth, another player off the Cardinal bench, scored on back-to-back plays.

“We focused on a process tonight of get a stop, get a score, get a stop,” Newton head coach Brandon Sharp said. “We put those patterns together. We did lose sight of it for the first three or four minutes of the fourth quarter, then regrouped.”

Westercamp was held in check by the Cardinals when the game was on the line. She finished with 25 points for the Indians, but only 10 in the first half.

Westercamp opened the third quarter with a bucket. That was countered by a 3-pointer by Newton’s Randi Walters, which triggered a 17-4 run by the Cardinals. Walters had eight of those points and Rausch had nine as the Cardinals scored in transition.

Marvelli hit another 3-pointer to end the third quarter. Newton had opened 20-point gap, 43-23.

“We did a decent job on Westercamp tonight. We challenged Randi to guard her, but it was a collective effort with Taylor Shipley and Ellie Horn taking turns,” Sharp said. “We got solid minutes from our bench players as they continue to improve in their roles for the team.”

The Indians made a run at the Cardinals just like Chariton had on Monday night. Newton didn’t fold despite a 9-2 run by Oskaloosa to narrow the margin to 45-32 with 3:43 remaining in the game.

Horn stepped to the free-throw line and downed both ends of a one-and-one. Taylor Shipley would hit a couple of foul shots as would Courtney Jacobsen down the stretch. Walters added basket, and it all countered six points by Westercamp.

“I’m really proud of every one of my teammates and how they brought the energy tonight,” Rausch said. “Winning tonight helps us build momentum for Pella on Friday night.”

Newton improved to 3-8 in Little Hawkeye Conference play. The Cardinals (6-12) will face Class 4A No. 4 Pella (14-4) in a 6:15 p.m. conference game Friday in Pella.

“Now, it is Pella and we move forward and go compete,” Sharp said. “We’re playing our best basketball right now and see improvement each game.”

Rausch tossed in 16 points, made four steals and handed out three assists for the Cardinals Tuesday. Walters, who had three 3-pointers on the night, scored 13 points, had four rebounds and three assists. Newton downed 8-of-16 free throw attempts.

Horn finished with 10 points, five rebounds and blocked five shots. Shipley pulled down eight rebounds, handed out seven assists and made three seals. Ali Bestell had four rebounds as Newton held a 33-23 rebounding edge over the Indians.

Oskaloosa (2-15, 0-11) got 12 points from Marleigh Denburger to go along with Westercamp’s 25 points. The Indians were 3-of-13 from the free-throw line.

Newton’s junior varsity won 51-34 led by Taylor Ryan’s 14 points. Abbie Barr and Petyon Maher each had 11 points.

Oskaloosa 10-4-9-19—42

Newton 13-10-20-15—58

Oskaloosa (FG/3-pt): Holmberg 1-0-1-2, Strovers 0-0-1-0, K. Smith 0/1-0-2-3, Westercamp 11-3-3-25, S. Smith 0-0-2-0, Denburger 6-0-3-12, Shilling 0-0-3-0. TOTALS: 18/1-3-15-42.

Newton (FG/3-pt): Rausch 6/1-1-1-16, Forsyth 2-0-0-4, Walters 2/3-0-2-13, Marvelli 0/2-0-2-6, Shipley 0-3-1-3, Jacobsen 1-2-2-4, Horn 4-2-0-10, Bestell 1-0-2-2. TOTALS: 16/6-8-10-58.

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