Newton girls knock back Boone in regional opener

Payton Carkhuff missed both of her free-throw attempts late in the third quarter on Wednesday.

But with the game on the line, and even more pressure against her, the Cardinal sophomore buried a pair in the final seconds to close out the Newton girls basketball team’s postseason win over Boone.

The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead and trailed only once in the game during a 41-37 home triumph in Class 4A Region 6 quarterfinal action.

“It’s a lot of pressure. I just tried to shake it off and put them in,” Carkhuff said about her late free throws. “I think the pressure helps me. I knew we needed both to win. I’m just glad I was able to make them.”

The Cardinals defeated Boone for the first time since Jan. 21, 2014. The Toreadors came into the game with a seven-game win streak in the series, but Newton held an opponent to fewer than 40 points for the 11th time this season.

“The defense was the reason we were able to pull it out. We got the stops when we needed to,” Newton head girls basketball coach Jake Bennett said.

Newton scored the first eight points of the game. Carkhuff scored five in a row with a jumper and a 3-pointer.

Boone answered back with four straight, but the Cardinals (11-11) led 10-4 after a bucket inside from Alex Riney to start the second.

The Toreadors only lead of the contest came following an 8-0 run after the Riney bucket. Boone got back-to-back triples from Macy Chesnut and Shannon Jenkins to go up 12-10, but the Cardinals answered with five straight and never trailed again.

“The start was huge. To get out to a lead was big for us,” Bennett said. “We had some cushion for most of the game. They punched back a few times, but our defense dug deep.”

Newton closed the first half on an 8-2 run that featured a 3 from Alex Garvis, a bucket inside by Addyson Cibula and three points from Hailey Dickerson.

Carkhuff scored six of her game-high 13 points in the third. Each bucket she made put the Cardinals in front by six, and Newton led 31-25 after three.

The Cardinals also got a 3 from Camryn Klein that swelled their advantage to nine points.

A 3 from Garvis to open the fourth pushed the margin back to nine and a pair of buckets inside from White kept the advantage there.

But Boone didn’t go away quietly. The Toreadors (5-18) scored seven straight to close the gap to 39-37 with 25.6 seconds to play. Sidney Adams hit her third fallaway jumper of the game and converted a layup inside during that stretch.

“We needed to stay calm and take care of the ball, and that’s what we did,” Carkhuff said.

Following a timeout from both teams, Carkhuff was fouled with 10.4 seconds left. Both of her free throws hit nothing but net.

“She made some big shots for us,” Bennett said. “We ran some actions against the zone, and she was able to get a clean look a few times and nailed a couple mid-range jumpers. She had a big night.”

The victory was the program’s first regional triumph since the 2016-17 season. The Cardinals defeated Waterloo East, 61-56, that season and current Newton assistant coach Ellie Horn posted 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in the win.

Official statistics were not available at press time, but Carkhuff led all scorers with 13 points.

Garvis buried two 3s for six points, White and Dickerson each scored five points, Riney and Cibula put in four points and Klein added three points.

Newton was 5-of-12 from the free-throw line, while Boone made only 2-of-11.

The Toreadors did make nine treys. Chesnut and Jenkins both scored 10 points in the loss.

“We talked to the girls in the locker room about how much they’ve poured into this program to help us get to this point,” Bennett said. “People don’t see the stuff that is done in the dark, and then they showed improvement with the lights on. It’s really cool to see.

“They are building a legacy here and it’s been really special to be a part of it.”

Notes: The Cardinals face 4A No. 10 Carlisle (17-4) in the regional semifinals at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Carlisle. The Wildcats swept Boone this season during conference play.