New Town girls basketball erases halftime deficit, beats Sparrows Point, 45-38

Down by seven points at halftime against Sparrows Point, New Town girls basketball coach Steve Quillens told his team to play defense.

The halftime deficit was familiar for New Town, who often finds itself trailing in a game and having to work its way back. But once again New Town showed its resilience, utilizing a big third-quarter run to down Sparrows Point, 45-38, on Friday.

“We always play slow in the first half and then come out in the second half,” Quillens said as his team improved to 10-1. “I guess that’s our identity.”

Sparrows Point opened the game playing a 2-3 zone defense, swarming the ball whenever it got close to the paint. New Town struggled shooting the ball early. The Titans didn’t scored until the 2:54 mark of the first quarter and fell behind 9-4 after the first frame.

After starting the game without a press, Quillens quickly adjusted to guard the entire floor halfway through the first quarter. New Town ran a full-court press for the rest of the game, which caused Sparrows Point to scramble. The press led to numerous forced turnovers.

“Our coach always tells us to be a good teammate,” New Town’s Nialah Mingo said. “It’s not about me, it’s about the team. … I have to think about the team and what’s best for the team. That’s what helped us stay in the game.”

Mingo played a significant part in getting New Town the win. She was the only player to finish with more than seven points. Her 10 first-half points kept the Titans in the game despite it falling behind 21-14 at the break.

Quillens’ message to the team was simple: play defense.

“We have to stop fouling, have to take care of the ball, and we just have to play defense,” he said.

His team responded well. Across the first five minutes of the third quarter, New Town put together a 13-2 run. The Titans’ full-court press once again proved to be effective.

New Town guard Nasia Hart flipped a switch at halftime. She was relentless on the offensive glass, setting her teammates up for second-chance points which helped the Titans take the lead by the end of the third quarter, 31-29.

Hart finished the game with seven points, six rebounds and three steals. All of her rebounds came on the offensive end.

“I was thinking, ‘We can’t lose. We cannot lose.’ If no one else is going to do it, I’m going to do it,” Hart said. “I’m going to lead; I will do it.”

The Titans defense held the Pointers to nine points in the fourth quarter because of improved defense on Hazelton after the Pointers’ star scored 12 points in the first half.

Quillens installed a game plan to prevent a big game from Hazelton.

“Our plan was to pressure the guards so they couldn’t give her the ball,” he said. “She got the ball a couple of times, she got some nice rebounds, especially in the first half. I think in the second half, we did better on her.”

Hazelton scored four points in the second half as New Town’s defense caused Sparrows Point’s offense to stall.

New Town hung on to win with clutch free throws down the stretch. After shooting 1-for-4 from the free-throw line in the first half, New Town converted 6 of 13 tries in the second half, including 4 of 6 in the final quarter.

“We’re in the thick of things right now,” Quillens said. “We just have to pick it up; got a couple of games left, then we have to go against Pikesville. If we beat Pikesville, we become No. 1.”