Girls basketball: Newman sets tone from start to dominate Hiawatha

AMBOY – Newman set the tone from the start with aggressive defense and fast-break points in its Amboy Holiday Tournament opener Tuesday evening, dominating from start to finish in a 43-11 victory over Hiawatha.

The Comets (8-9) scored the first seven points, then after Hiawatha got on the board with a baseline jumper from Nelly Delvalle, Newman scored the next nine. Elaina Allen, Jess Johns and Lauryn Francque all scored baskets for the Comets, who led 16-4 after the first quarter.

[ Photos from Newman vs. Hiawatha girls basketball ]

The lead ballooned to 36-4 by the end of the third quarter, as Newman shut out the Hawks in the next two quarters. Hiawatha’s scoring drought stretched for more than 17 1/2 minutes between Delaney Wood baskets to close the first quarter and open the fourth.

“We got everyone into it right away. When we go on a run, it fuels everyone and gets us all playing with more confidence,” Johns said. “You just feel like if you don’t have a shot, you can kick it out and whoever is open will make it. It’s good to have everyone on the same page on both ends of the court.”

The Comets scored on the fast break, after offensive rebounds and in their half-court sets in a balanced attack. Helen Papoccia and Macie Rosengren joined Allen and Johns in the scoring column early in the second quarter, and Anna Propheter nailed a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 27-4 with 2:08 to play in the first half.

Up 30-4 to start the second half, Brooklyn Smith and Allen both hit 3s in the third quarter to make Newman’s lead 36-4 going into the fourth.

“We definitely had the speed and strength, and we put it all together tonight,” Allen said. “We just had to get out there and be aggressive and get the job done.

“It feels amazing when we all play well, because once one of us gets going, it brings us up and we just support each other, and everybody starts playing better.”

Smith and Allen each nailed another 3 in the final period, and the Comets finished with 10 assists on 15 baskets while turning the ball over only eight times. Newman amassed a 48-34 rebounding edge – including 22-4 on the offensive glass – and collected 13 steals while forcing 24 Hiawatha turnovers.

The Comets have played with a lot of energy the past few games, winning three in a row by an average of 26 points after a 43-42 loss to the host Marcos on Dec. 16 to finish 0-2 on the opening day of the Polo Holiday Tournament. They bounced back with wins over Forreston (44-25) and West Carroll (47-20) last week to finish that tournament in fifth place.

“We lost that game to Polo by one point, so that kind of left a bad taste in our mouth, and we’ve wanted to get rid of that,” Johns said. “We won our last two in Polo, and we know we have a good schedule for this tournament. We have to play with a chip on our shoulder – and that’s hard to do with a younger team – so coming in here and wanting this win from the start was good to see.”

Johns led Newman with 14 points, 15 rebounds, three steals and a block, and Allen added 13 points, three rebounds and two steals. Smith had six points, six rebounds and two steals, Propheter pulled down three rebounds to go with her 3-pointer, and Papoccia added two points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists. Francque finished with two points and five rebounds, and Lucy Oetting chipped in four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

Wood’s five points, 13 rebounds, two steals and two blocks paced Hiawatha, while Delvalle finished with five points and five rebounds. Zoe Elder added two steals and two blocks.