Turnovers plague Cardinal girls in losses to Grinnell, Nevada

GRINNELL — A tough shooting night and 22 turnovers were too much for the Newton girls basketball team to overcome on Friday night.

The Cardinals shot 30 percent from the floor and fell behind early during a 71-36 road loss to Class 3A No. 11 Grinnell in Little Hawkeye Conference action.

The Tigers led 17-8 after one and outscored the Cardinals 19-8 in the second and 33-16 in the final two quarters.

“We rushed too much and weren’t strong with the ball,” Newton head girls basketball coach Eric Vander Velden said. “There were too many unforced turnovers. They are a great team, too.”

Sophia Reynolds scored 15 points, grabbed two rebounds and dished out four assists and Hailey Dickerson matched a career-best with nine points and added five boards and two assists.

Cadie Horn registered seven points, eight rebounds and two blocks, Alex Garvis had three points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals and Emily Wermager grabbed three boards.

Riley Plowman had two rebounds and two assists, Alex Riney tallied two rebounds and two steals and Tori White grabbed two boards.

The Cardinals (3-8 overall, 1-6 in the conference) were 3-of-12 from long range and 3-of-5 from the free-throw line.

“We think our kids can play harder,” Vander Velden said. “I know they are tired and sore. We need to fight through it and battle.”

Haidyn Hull led the Tigers with 22 points. Grinnell made seven 3-pointers and Hull buried six of them. Leah Harris added 13 points.

Grinnell (9-3, 6-1) has won eight straight games since starting the season 1-3.

In the junior varsity game, Grinnell defeated Newton 38-20 and Riney finished with eight points.

Nevada 44, Newton 35

NEVADA — Reynolds scored more than half of the Cardinals’ points against Nevada on Thursday.

But the Cardinals couldn’t keep their momentum from a solid first half and shot just 30 percent from the floor during a 44-35 road loss in non-conference action.

The game was tied at 7-all after one and the Cardinals led by one at halftime. But Nevada outscored Newton 28-18 in the final two frames to pull away.

The Cardinals were plagued by 29 turnovers.

“In the last four years we’ve played them, they always run a 1-3-1 defense,” Vander Velden said. “But in the last four games, they didn’t run that at all. It just kills us every year though.

“We practiced it and prepared for it, but we struggled to bring the ball up the floor.”

Reynolds finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals. She was 9-of-10 from the foul line.

Horn tallied six rebounds and five blocks, Dickerson grabbed four boards, dished out three assists and blocked three shots in her first career varsity start and Riney registered three points, two assists and two steals. Garvis pulled down three boards and recorded two steals.

Newton was 4-of-13 from 3 and made 9-of-13 from the foul line.

Bridget Cahill led the Cubs (6-7) with 12 points and Emma Strottman added 11 points and five rebounds. Isabelle Nelson registered eight points and seven rebounds and Reagan Davis pulled down eight boards.

The Cubs shot 30 percent from the floor, connected on 4-of-21 from 3 and hit 8-of-13 from the foul line. They also committed 15 turnovers.

The Newton JV defeated Nevada 38-33. Bella Winther scored nine points, while Riney and Moriah Reynolds each scored eight and Evie Main put in seven.