N. Newton, Hebron fall

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Updated: March 12, 2012 8:07AM

NORTH JUDSON — The two region teams remaining in the Class 2A North Judson Sectional, Hebron and North Newton, both were eliminated Friday night.

North Newton (5-15) was never really in the game against a well-coached and deep Winamac team (17-5) that had a good mix of seniors and young players. The Spartans lost to the Warriors 61-35.

Hebron’s 55-26 loss with Rochester was another story. The Hawks stayed with a physical and poised Zebras team for a half, trailing 29-21 at the break. But their lack of scoring punch and inability to rebound resulted in a second half in which they scored just five points.

“Five points,” was exactly Hawks coach Stephanie Schulte’s first comment.

“That’s the story tonight,” Schulte said.

“I told the kids in the locker room the first four minutes of the third quarter were so important,” Schulte said. “Their coach was probably doing the same in the Rochester locker room. They came out fired up.”

Rochester (16-6) changed from a zone to a man-to-man in the second half, and the Hawks just couldn’t solve it.

“We had defensive breakdowns, and their (point guard) Abbie Malchow is a great player. We tried to keep her out of the paint, and she sees the floor so well,” Schulte said. “They are physically stronger, and we didn’t box out.”

Malcow scored 11 points, but also had seven steals and seven assists and was the heart and soul of the Zebras offense.

Emily Defries led Hebron with six points.

North Newton just had no answer for Winamac, though it got a fine performance from point guard Morgan Lang, who finished with 17 points and seven steals and three assists.