Huge fourth quarter propels Newton girls past Marshalltown

MARSHALLTOWN — Audrey Rausch came into Thursday’s non-conference road game with Marshalltown having scored six total points in the team’s first two games.

Through three quarters against the Bobcats, Rausch equaled that output.

But it was her effort in the fourth when her team needed it most that led the Cardinals to their first win of the season.

Rausch scored nine of her game-high 15 points in the final frame and a 19-point scoring quarter helped the Cardinals rally from a small deficit to down Marshalltown 39-28 at The Roundhouse.

“I got frustrated early because they called a few fouls on me that I didn’t think were fouls,” Rausch said. “It felt good to make a few shots. It was really important to get the win, too.”

In Newton’s first two games of the season, the Cardinals were held to single digits in all eight quarters.

They led 11-2 after one on Thursday but were outscored 19-9 in the next two and went into the final frame down 21-20.

The Cardinals’ season-high 19-point output in the final frame was highlighted by Rausch, whose personal 9-0 run gave the Cardinals a 35-25 lead.

“She’s struggling with her outside shot, but she was able to get some deflections and then got the ball inside,” Newton girls basketball coach Eric Vander Velden said. “She’s a good driver and can finish around the hoop. That was a big step for her.”

The fourth quarter started with a three-point play by Sophia Reynolds after her own steal at the other end. Marshalltown tied it with a pair of free throws, but Rori Nehring’s 3-pointer at the top of the key put Newton (1-2) in front for good.

Six of Rausch’s nine points in the quarter came inside the lane and she also buried a jumper and made two free throws. She had a pair of steals at the other end, too, that came directly off the team’s 1-3-1 press.

“We just added a 1-3-1 half-court press, and I thought that helped us get some crucial steals in the fourth quarter,” Vander Velden said. “I don’t think they were expecting a press at all. We just put that in on Tuesday. We watched some film on them and thought we could get some steals or deflections against them. We really amped it up in the fourth and got some easy shots.”

Four different players scored in the 11-point first quarter. Nehring started the game with a layup and ended the quarter with a jumper. She finished with a season-high 12 points and added four rebounds, five steals and two blocks.

The Cardinals led 16-8 at halftime but were outscored 13-4 in the third. The positive from the period was Rausch’s 3-pointer that made it 19-11 early.

“I told them at the end of the third that it was anyone’s game,” Vander Velden said. “We needed to go. We needed to get deflections. We needed to get steals. We have to finish around the rim. Sometimes, the shots don’t fall, but we need to pick each other up. We got a lot of crucial stops at the end.”

Both Rausch and Nehring benefited from drives to the basket and buckets inside the paint. Vander Velden said the team changed up their offense after the loss to Grinnell.

“We went to a three out, two in look and put Rori down low to see if we could get some post moves with her inside,” We had a lot of good looks down there, but now we just have to finish them.”

In the fourth, Newton used runs of 8-2 and 9-0 to take control of the game. The first seven points of the 9-0 spurt came from Rausch, who finished with 15 points, five rebounds and two steals.

“I wasn’t making shots from outside so the next thing to do is to take it inside and I was able to convert a few down there,” Rausch said. “I finally got some scoring in this one.”

Newton won the game despite shooting just 23 percent from the floor. The Cardinals did hit 13-of-19 from the free-throw line and committed only 13 turnovers.

Reynolds registered five points, two rebounds, four steals and two blocks, Emma Rogers tallied five points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals and Kya Butler grabbed three rebounds, dished out two assists and swiped two steals.

Kealey Manning grabbed seven boards and had two steals and Marissa Cunningham and Jaz Cooper pulled down a pair of rebounds each.

“That new offense helped a little bit. It was a good team win,” Vander Velden said.

Lily Roberts led Marshalltown (0-6) with 10 points.