In their first Little Hawkeye Conference action of the new year, the Newton boys and girls basketball teams swept Pella Christian in a doubleheader heard live on the KRLS3 stream at KNIAKRLS.com Tuesday night. 

Overcoming a 20-19 halftime deficit to win their third straight game, the Cardinal girls defeated Pella Christian 43-37. Newton head coach Jake Bennett said halftime adjustments helped the team outscore the Eagles 13 to 8 in the third quarter.

“We made some adjustments defensively about how we were guarding the post, and we put more ball pressure on the guards to make it tough to get the ball inside to the post. So, we were forcing them to make shots outside, and it worked out in our favor.”

The Cardinals, who led for a majority of the first quarter, regained a  32-28 advantage at the end of the third quarter and held on the rest of the way for the six-point win. Newton was led offensively on the night by Tori White with 14 points, followed by and Alex Riney with 13, as the team improved to 7-3 overall and 1-3 in the conference. 

The Cardinal Boys, who led 31-25 at halftime, used an 18 to 13 third quarter advantage to pull away from Pella Christian for a 68-51 victory. Freshman Isaiah Slaughter came off the bench and scored 13 points, which Newton head coach Jason Carter said was a big lift for the team.

“That kid just attacks. He only knows how to play one way, that’s super aggressive. He’s one we are going to be really happy to have here for the next four years.”

Caden Klein led the Cardinals with 14 points and Landon Bozarth added 10 as the Newton boys improved to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in conference games. 

The Cardinals boys and girls basketball teams return to the court on Friday, hosting Oskaloosa in another conference doubleheader at Newton High School.