Fourth-quarter surge leads Newton girls past Nevada

Adversity is something the Newton girls’ basketball team has dealt with all season.

When it struck again on Monday during a non-conference game against Nevada, the Cardinals responded and a big fourth quarter propelled them to a 38-31 home victory over the Cubs.

Newton overcame foul trouble to a pair of starters, a two-point second quarter and a 2-of-21 night from 3-point range in part because it made all 10 of its free throws in the final frame and grabbed 41 rebounds.

“Being able to be aggressive with the ball, draw fouls and make free throws was big,” Newton head girls basketball coach Jake Bennett said. “We got in foul trouble early and things weren’t going our way at times, but they had the confidence in the fourth to find a way and make some shots.”

The Cardinals struggled on offense overall, shooting 27.4 percent from floor and turning the ball over 20 times.

But a 17-4 advantage in the final frame was all they needed to rally back from a third-quarter deficit.

“We are getting better every day. We are building every day,” said Alex Riney, who led the Cardinals with 10 points. “We’ve played some tough teams here lately, but I think we are getting a lot better.”

Newton led 11-5 after one quarter but scored only two points in the second to go into halftime with just a two-point advantage.

The Cardinals trailed 5-4 in the first before a 3 by Evie Main and layups from Riney and Alex Garvis helped Newton (3-12) end the quarter on a 6-0 run.

Both layups from Riney and Garvis were set up by steals at the other end of the floor.

A Main jumper were the only points scored in the second by the Cardinals, but Nevada only scored six points. That helped keep Newton in front at halftime.

The Cubs led by six after three following a 16-8 advantage in the third.

Hailey Dickerson scored inside early to push the advantage to four, but Nevada (9-8) put in five in a row to take back the lead.

Newton answered with a runner from Riney and another jumper from Main, but Dickerson picked up her fourth foul and Tori White was whistled for her fourth foul a little bit later.

Riney’s bucket inside off an inbounds pass put the Cardinals in front 21-18, but Nevada ended the frame on a 9-0 run.

The home team opened the fourth with an 11-2 run that put Newton in front 32-30. The stretch featured two free throws and a putback from White, a 3 from Garvis and two free throws and a jumper from Payton Carkhuff.

But, White fouled out with 1:55 to play and Dickerson picked up her fifth a few seconds later.

“We dealt with injuries early that were long term and tonight it was a short-term thing with fouls,” Bennett said. “But we’ve talked about next man up all season. We believe in every one of our girls, and they were able to find a way. This was a gritty win.”

Leading 32-31, Riney made a pair of freebies with 28.6 seconds left and then canned two more 4 seconds later.

After Nevada missed both attempts at the line with 10 seconds to go, Carkhuff put the finishing touches on the win with two free throws in the final seconds.

“It’s huge for these girls,” Bennett said about the win. “We knew this was going to be a process. We’re trying to build something. Just to see things come into fruition and win a close game that was back and forth all night was good to see. That showed a lot about who these girls are and the heart they play with.

“It’s easy to put your head down when the gap starts to widen on you, but I was proud of the girls for staying in it. It was a fun basketball game.”

Riney was the only Cardinal in double figures. She finished with 10 points, six rebounds and six assists.

“We started working as a team, set up our offense and looked for ways to get everyone involved and not just ourselves,” Riney said. “I think that really helped us.”

White added six points, 12 rebounds and two assists, Carkhuff chipped in six points, five rebounds and two steals and Dickerson tallied four points, nine boards, two steals and four blocks.

Garvis collected five points, four rebounds and two steals and Main chipped in seven points and three rebounds.

“We don’t have to rely on just one person. It’s a unique situation, but I think it can be an advantage for our team,” Bennett said. “When things aren’t going well, we can get different people going and if we do have girls foul out, someone else can step in and score some. There’s not a ton of drop off from one girl to the next.”

Pella Christian 56, Newton 44

The Cardinals made nine 3s but turned the ball over 17 times and were out-rebounded 45-24 during a 56-44 home loss to Pella Christian on Tuesday.

Newton trailed by five after one and fell behind by 10 at halftime during the Little Hawkeye Conference contest. The Cardinals closed the gap to six after three, but the Eagles won the fourth 22-16.

Garvis had a career night in the loss. She had a career-best 12 points, dished out a career-high eight assists and finished with five rebounds and three steals. She was 4-of-10 from 3.

Main scored nine points on 3-of-7 shooting from 3 and grabbed four rebounds, Dickerson tallied nine points and two steals and White registered six points, nine boards and two steals.

Carkhuff finished with three points, three assists and two steals, Riney grabbed four rebounds and Bella Winther put in three points.

Newton (0-10 in conference play) shot 32.7 percent from the floor, made 9-of-26 from 3 and connected on 1-of-3 from the foul line.

The Eagles, who posted their third straight win over Newton, were only 3-of-16 from 3 but sunk 17-of-21 from the foul line. They shot 36 percent from the floor and committed 22 turnovers.

Karis Fikkert led Pella Christian (7-10, 3-6 in the LHC) with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Rachel Kacmarynski added 11 points and 13 rebounds and Faith Kacmarynski chipped in 14 points and seven boards.