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Schools

Sports Images: Conard Girls Basketball Comes Up Short Against Newington

Costly turnovers spoil Conard's fourth quarter rally.

 

Entering Tuesday night's game against Newington (7-4), the Chieftains (3-8) knew they would have to pull out all the stops in order to achieve victory. Not only had the girls already lost to Newington (52-29) a month earlier, but they were also in the midst of a five game losing streak.

After the first 8 minutes of play, Conard found themselves trailing 9-4 with a tough task ahead. After some strong advice by Head Coach Holly Coleman, the team made a strong recovery, scoring seven unanswered points to cut the Newington lead to just two points, 11-9. 

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Unfortunately, turnovers kept Conard from cutting into the lead any further. Capitalizing on 11 Conard first-half turnovers and 20 combined points by sophomore Stasha Greenalch and junior Jalen Middlebrooks, Newington was able to close the half with a 25-18 lead.

Although the third quarter saw the Newington lead increase to as many as 11 points, Conard refused to give up the fight. Behind the ball-handling and scoring attack of junior guard Elle Fontanazza, Conard was able to slowly chip away at Newington's lead. Although Conard continued to struggle with turnovers, sound defense helped to keep the Newington scoring threat at bay.

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The fourth quarter saw a fight to the finish. Down by eight points for nearly the entire quarter, Conard was able to shift gears and mount an offensive charge in the final minute of the game, cutting the deficit to as few as four points. By the time the dust had settled, Newington held on to win by a final score of 46-41.

Elle Fontanazza lead the Conard scoring with 18 points, while Newington's Stasha Greenalch finished with a game-high 19 points.

The win improves Newington's record to 8-4. They host this Friday, Jan. 20, at 7:00 pm. With the loss, Conard's record falls to 3-9. They next host cross-town rival on Friday, Jan. 20, at 7:00 pm.

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