March 28, 2024

Newton girls get first win, blow past Marshalltown

Newton seniors Chassidy Henwood and Jerrica McGuire suffered ankle injuries within 15 minutes of each other during a practice last week.

Senior Meg Callaghan sported a black eye in Thursday's game against Marshalltown after getting hit in the face with a ball during practice.

The Cardinals had much better luck on the floor against the Bobcats, jumping out to an 8-0 lead and never trailing during a 68-36 non-conference home win.

"They had only one returning player so we didn't know what to expect," Newton coach Eric Vander Velden said. "We wanted to set the tone from the get go. It was their first game so we didn't know much about them."

The Cardinals forced Marshalltown into several turnovers and most of those miscues ended in layups at the othe end.

Newton also had its way inside the lane as Callaghan and fellow post player Kealey Manning combined for 28 points and 11 rebounds.

Callaghan scored a team-high 21 points, grabbed nine boards, dished out three assists and swiped five steals.

"The way we run our offense, the plan is to get the ball inside where the percentages are higer. We were able to do that tonight," Callaghan said. "Coming off a loss, this one boosts our confidence a bit. It shows us that we are capable of doing good things."

The Cardinals (1-2) led 19-4 after one period. All but five of those points came within a few feet from the bucket.

Callaghan, who also is playing with an injured finger, started the game with a basket inside and then made a pair of free throws.

The next six baskets were layups directly off steals by junior Aurora Nehring, sophomore Audrey Rausch and Henwood, who played through her ankle injury to produce 13 points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Callaghan and Manning each added baskets inside and senior Victoria Reynolds buried a 3-pointer and finished the quarter with a layup.

"We got a lot of inside shots," Vander Velden said. "Our 3s aren't falling yet, but we were able to get enough inside."

The Cardinals led 33-13 at halftime. They scored 14 points in the second, six of which came from Henwood. They led by as many as 24.

The third quarter belonged to Callaghan, who put in nine of her 19 in the frame. Newton outscored Marshalltown 18-11 in the third and 17-12 in the fourth.

The continuous clock kicked on when the home team went in front 60-24 on a layup by Reynolds, who had seven points and three rebounds despite playing through foul trouble.

Rausch finished with 12 points and eight steals, Manning chipped in eight points and six rebounds and Nehring, who also battled early foul trouble, collected five boards and four assists.

Paige Hertzberger led Marshalltown (0-1) with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Bobcats committed 35 turnovers in the game and was out-rebounded 38-28.

"We knew there would be an opportunity to create some turnovers," Vander Velden said. "We need to make more layups. It drives me nuts when we don't make layups."

Notes: Vander Velden said McGuire’s ankle injury will require her to miss three to four weeks. ... Newton was 16-of-26 from the free-throw line, while Marshalltown was 4-of-6. ... The Cardinals turned it over 15 times, swiped 21 steals and shot nearly 40 percent from the floor.