Eight different Hawken players scored in a 49-24 win over 49-24 nonconference win over visiting Newbury on Saturday.
“I was very pleased with the collective effort of the girls today,” Hawken coach David Murray said. “It’s always especially nice when you can put together a solid performance and get a win right before the Christmas break.”
With the win, the Hawks improved to 3-6 on the year.
They did it with a balanced offense and a stingy defense.
“We did a nice job making them work on defense in the half court,” Murray said. “I felt like we had great ball movement and we were able to limit ourselves to single-digit turnovers.”
Zaria Johnson led the way with 12 points, Julianna Pollard added eight, Makayla White and Maya Dori both pitched in with seven, Taylor Smith finished with six and Erica Emig contributed with five points. Erinn Slotta and Rosie Murray both scored two points for the Hawks.
“Today was our most balanced offensive performance of the season,” Coach Murray said. “We have a lot of talented scorers, but for the most part, we’ve had one or two players shoulder the majority of the offensive load. Going into the game, we emphasized passing on ‘good’ shots to get ‘great’ shots. I thought we moved the ball really well, which led to a lot of open looks.”
The Hawks outscored the Black Knights 24-7 in the second and third quarters and never let Newbury score more than nine points in any single quarter.
“Any time you hold an opponent to 24 points, it’s the result of a great team effort,” Murray said. “We did a really nice job switching on their screens and dribble exchanges and forcing them to take contested shots. Overall, I was very proud of the effort and energy exhibited by our girls today. They went out and fought hard, picking up a big win over a tough Newbury team.”
The Hawks return to action on Dec. 28 when they host Rocky River.
Hawken 49, Newbury 24
Newbury (1-6, 0-4): Ha. Hamilton 12, Eggleston 4, H. Grubbs 3, Brastoff 3, Ho. Hamilton 2
Hawken (3-6, 1-4): Zaria Johnson 12, White 7, Emig 5, Slotta 2, Dori 7, Pollard 8, Smith 6, Murray 2
Newbury 9 3 4 8 — 24
Hawken 11 15 9 14 — 49
Free throws: Newbury 4 of 9, Hawken 1 of 4; 3-pointers: Newbury 2 (Ha. Hamilton, Brastoff), Hawken 4 (Pollard 2, Emig, Dori); Rebounds: Hawken 30 (Emig 8); Assists: Hawken 11 (Pollard 5)
