The Newton girls basketball team picked up a non-conference win against Knoxville at Wells Fargo Arena Saturday afternoon, while the Cardinal boys lost a close game to the Panthers.

The Newton girls led start to finish. The Cardinals lead at the end of the first quarter was 14 to 2. They were up 29 to 6 at the half, and 40 to 12 at the end of the third quarter. The final was Newton 53, Knoxville 17. 

Newton Coach Jake Bennett says defensive pressure contributed to the team’s early offensive success.

“Our message going into the game was to try and get off to a fast start. I thought the girls came out with a lot of energy and were able to force some defensive turnovers, which led to offensive possessions right away.”

Tori White had 15 points for Newton while Payton Carkhuff and Brooke Garvis each added 8 points. 

The Newton girls are now 6-3 overall.

The Newton boys lost to Knoxville 48-43. The Cardinals played from behind until Caden Klein hit a three-point shot with 1:43 left in the third quarter, giving Newton a 30-27 lead. The score was tied 32-32 at the start of the fourth quarter. The teams traded the lead until a Knoxville 3-point shot with just over four minutes left gave the Panthers the lead for good at 42-40. The Cardinals missed a three-point shot to tie the game with 17 seconds left, and the Panthers hit two free throws to end the scoring.

Newton Coach Jason Carter said the game came down to making key shots.

“Knoxville is a real solid basketball team with both post presence and good guards. They just made a few more plays than we did down the stretch. They hit a couple of real big shots late in the fourth quarter and we missed ours.”

Cade Bauer led Newton with 12 points and Tyler Thompson added 9 points off the bench. The loss drops the Cardinal boys to 4-3 this season. The Newton boys and girls have a Little Hawkeye Conference doubleheader at home Tuesday night against Pella Christian.