Cards beat Norwalk at own game

Troy Hyde/Daily News Newton’s Jordyn Thompson scored 11 points and had six rebounds against Norwalk on Tuesday. The Cards won, 36-25, and are now 8-2 on the season.

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Norwalk tried to slow down the tempo, took long offensive possessions and applied aggressive full-court pressure against Newton on Tuesday night. And for the most part, the Warriors’ plan worked. But there was only one problem — the Cardinals can play defense, too. Newton held Norwalk to 25 points, didn’t allow a single player to reach double figures and forced Norwalk into missing 21 of its 23 3-point attempts during a 36-25 victory at home. The win was the Cardinals’ first-ever triumph over Norwalk since Newton joined the Little Hawkeye Conference. The Cards have now beaten every single team in the league at least once. “We have learned how to win with defense,” Newton coach Judy Nissly said. “It was the battle of the defenses tonight.” Newton led 6-4 after one period as Norwalk’s first possession lasted a full two minutes. The Warriors used a patient offense to keep the ball away from Newton and then tried to slow down the Cardinals with full-court pressure. “You are not going to get a lot of shots when they full court pressure you,” Nissly said. “So we had to have good possessions when we had the ball.” Senior Amy Vos had another big night for Newton, finishing with 17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. She went to work in the second quarter, putting in seven points and helping the Cards to a 19-9 lead at the break. The lead stayed at 10 after three as all eight points in the third frame involved Vos as she had four points and two assists. Senior Jordyn Thompson finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three assists. Fellow senior Mallory Sturtz scored just four points, but she also pulled down six boards. The Newton trio proved once again that when all three are on the floor, the Cardinals are very tough to beat. “I feel good when those three girls are on the floor,” Nissly said. “They have a lot of experience.” The program’s first-ever win over Norwalk was the team’s eighth win this year, a major turn in the right direction from a unit that went 3-17 last season. “Our expectations this year were much higher, but I am happy for the kids,” Nissly said. “We went through a rough season last year. We learned a lot and grew as a team.” Notes: Newton ended the first half on a 10-3 run. ... Norwalk dropped to 2-5 on the season. ... While scoring was hard to come by for both teams, several other Cardinals performed well. Val Humke had three steals and two rebounds, Keria Huyser added two steals and three rebounds, while Amanda Jones pitched in two steals and two rebounds. Backup post player Jessica Mouchka also contributed three boards off the bench. ... Newton is off Friday but returns to action next Tuesday with a road game at South Tama. The Newton-Pella showdown in Newton will take place Friday, Jan. 16.

at Newton Newton 36, Norwalk 25

Scoring by quarters Norwalk 4 5 8 8 — 25 Newton 6 13 8 9 — 36

Newton individual statistics Val Humke 1 0-0 2. Jordyn Thompson 5 1-2 11. Mallory Sturtz 1 2-3 4. Amanda Jones 1 0-0 2. Amy Vos 6 5-9 17. Totals 14 8-14 36. Three-point field goals: None. Rebounds: 33 (Vos 10, Thompson 6, Sturtz 6, Jessica Mouchka 3, Keria Huyser 3, Humke 2, Jones 2, Taylor Peska 1). Assists: 7 (Vos 4, Thompson 3). Steals: 9 (Humke 3, Vos 2, Jones 2, Huyser 2). Blocks 3 (Vos 3).