43
Turnovers propel N. Falls to victory
NEWTON FALLS
The game produced only 72 total points and 54 turnovers, so it wasn’t pretty.
Neither was Brookfield’s bus breakdown on I-76 en route to the Newton Falls gym that threw off the arrival timing.
It may have spilled over into the varsity game as the Warriors (11-4) took it on the chin in a 42-30 loss to the Tigers (10-6).
“I told our girls, that with 34 turnovers you’re not going to win,” Brookfield coach Shawn Hammond said. “You’re 0-20 shooting and playing like that. It’s that simple.
“We had some opportunities when we cut to within four [33-29] and then have a couple dumb fouls and kept putting them at the line,” Hammond said. “You can’t do that.”
Newton Falls didn’t fare any better at the start.
“It was a little sloppy, especially for us in the first quarter,” Newton Falls coach Mark Baker said. “But the tempo of the game favored our kind of style — uptempo, even if it is a little helter-skelter sometimes. We play better that way.
“We certainly forced Brookfield into quite a few turnovers [34] and we had our share [20], but I thought a lot of ours came from us trying to make the perfect pass or the turnovers at the end when you’re trying to make the extra play,” Baker said. ”In the second half, I thought we took care of the ball much better.”
Angela Giuliano had a game-high 12 points, including a basket off of a teammate’s steal that gave Newton Falls a 15-14 lead that it never relinquished throughout the second half.
“We only scored five points in the first quarter, which is a rarity for us,” Baker said. “We were getting good looks but they weren’t going in.
“We weren’t making the second pass. In the second quarter, we were able to crank up our defensive pressure a little more and we made some extra passes to get some better looks.”
The effect of Giuliano’s pre-halftime basket continued into the second half.
“I stressed to them at halftime that they needed to make the extra pass to make a teammate look good, and, in turn, they’re going to do something to make you look good,” Baker said. “In the second half, I thought we started to play better on the offensive end. We still shoot all that great, but we played well as a team.”
The Tigers clamped down on Brookfield in the third period, when Warriors had only six points.
“When you only give up 30 points, you’re playing pretty good defense,” Baker said. “I’ve seen Brookfield put up more than 60 points several times, so I’m happy with our kids tonight.”
Tori Thompson’s 10 points paced the Warriors, who made only six of 11 free throws to 17 of 27 by Newton Falls.
“We’re not getting down there, just out of sync, I guess,” Hammond said of Brookfield trying off-balance shots to catch up when the Warriors pulled within four.
“If we make baskets, then it’s a different ballgame, but we continued to foul and put them back at the free throw line and they just built on that lead.
“We told them that you don’t want to settle for outside shots, especially late, so go to the basket and try [to draw a foul] and get to the free throw line when the clock’s not ticking,” Hammond said. “But for 34 turnovers and a 12-point differential in scoring, it really didn’t get out of hand.”