Over Christmas break the girls competed in the Ottawa Christmas Classic tournament. They ended up finishing ninth out of 20 teams.
"Overall, we were 2-2 and played some really good competition," stated Coach Scott. "I was pleased with the way we competed and was happy to be in a tournament that will help us prepare for the second half of our season."
The Lady Norsemen are continuing to work on defense, shooting, and ball movement. They play well together and look for each other well on the court. Conference wise, Coach Scott says, "We are currently 5-0, and took first place in the conference going into the conference tournament."
The leading scorer is Senior Jasmine Mitchell with 17.4 points per game. She is also the leading rebounder with 6.8 rebounds per game. Freshman Meggie Scott is averaging the most assists with 7.8 assists per game.
By Caeley Larson
The Plano Christmas classic turned out to be a great tournament. The boys made it to the championship and lost the final game. Also, the cheerleaders did a dance there during the games. The cheerleaders have been working hard to go further in the season and compete against other cheerleaders.
"We were planning on going to a cheer competition so we have a chance to go to state but we decided against it because we did not make up a dance. Coach is pushing to start in the next couple years," said Junior Lexie Pagel. Going into February, the IHSA state series is on the cheerleaders' minds.
"Post season is the best part of the season because everyone's energy is up and are more involved in the cheers we do with the crowd," said Kylie Eike. The captains on the cheer team are juniors Maggie Komes and Bailee O'Toole.
By Remington Kempiak
Over Christmas break, the boys' basketball team showed off their skills and some of their younger talent in the widely known Plano Christmas Classic Tournament. This was the 54th Annual Classic, a tournament bringing teams and their fans from near and far together to enjoy the popular sport of basketball.
After beating Princeton by one point in the first round, they advanced and beat Morris. Their next facedown was Burlington Central, the top ranked team in the tournament. The Newark Norsemen ended up walking off the court on top, defeating the Rockets 65-57.
Energy was high in the gym on the night of the championship match. The bleachers were packed with anticipation of the upcoming game. After fighting hard, the Norsemen couldn't pull through, losing 37-48, a bitter loss for the team. When asked about how the tournament went, senior Will Clausel said, "We were disappointed with second place, but it went good overall."
The Norsemen are looking forward to their January 17th game against Indian Creek. "They will be our biggest conference competition this year," explained Clausel. The Norsemen have plans to beat Indian Creek and take the conference title. "Beau Brown is our go to player when we need to score during a close game," said Clausel.
The Norsemen were honored to have three of their players chosen for the All-Tournament Team. Junior Dylan Patrick and seniors Cameron Myre and Will Clausel received their All-Tournament Team awards after the championship match December 30.
By Emma Nelson
The Newark basketball team is feeling really confident and can't wait to see what the future holds.
The Newark Basketball team has been working really hard during practices because they believe that hard work gets success. Some challenges Newark will face this year is trying to get less fouls and getting rebounds. The team gets pumped up before a game by listening to music.
Some goals of the team are winning state, having a good time while playing basketball, and according to senior Will Clausel, "getting Steve Young buckets."
By Jeremy Van Heiden
For the last couple years Newark has not had a JV team for cheerleading. This year we have a JV team consisting of 8 athletes. The varsity team has 7 athletes on it. The team goal is to improve overall as a team.
"Since we have a lot of new girls on our team, we get to experiment with new things and have new ideas, since a couple were cheerleaders at their junior highs. I’m excited to see what everyone brings to the table," said senior Kylie Eike.
Before the games started, the girls practiced four times a week. Now that the season is underway the team practices two times a week. "We try to do a dance for every home game. Christmas dance and the senior night dance are two of our big ones," said Kylie.
In addition, some team members are looking even further ahead. "I'm looking forward to post season! It's always a fun time with both teams," said Junior Lexie Pagel.
By Remington Kempiak
Starting off in the Somonauk Break-Out Tournament the week before Thanksgiving, the Lady Norsemen Varsity basketball hit the ground running and overtook Plano the first night out, the first win of three in the tournament, their other wins coming from Hinckley Big-Rock and Wheaton Academy. The Lady Norsemen’s only loss came from Aurora Central Catholic, leaving the team coming out of week one with a solid record of 3-1, the best opening week record in the last four years.
The following Tuesday, November 22, the Lady Norsemen battled against Aurora Christian at home, their debut on their home floor. It was a close win but a win nonetheless. In addition to celebration of the win, the team celebrated the 1,000-point milestone surpassed by senior Jasmine Mitchell amidst the game.
The girls had their next game Monday, starting off with a win against conference match-up Leland-Earlville. The next night, the Lady Norsemen took their streak to Dwight and defeated the Trojans, boosting their record to 6-1. On Thursday, December 1, conference member Hiawatha came out to Newark and got blown away in a 76-27 point game. Lady Norsemen basketball headed to Marquette that Saturday for a brutal match, which left them with a win but an injury to their point guard, freshman Meggie Scott.
On December 5, the girls defended their home court against the Timberwolves of Indian Creek in a close game, the win coming with a buzzer beater from Jasmine Mitchell. The Lady Norsemen continued to nurse their bumps and bruises, having to brush it off. They play in their Christmas tournament the week of the 19-23.
By Jasmine Mitchell
