Newtown’s Christie Iwanicki currently leads the area in scoring with a 17.2 points a game average. The senior has helped lead the Nighthawks to a 10-6, 5-5 record.

February 6, 2007

     Newtown High senior Christie Iwanicki always ranks among the league leaders in bruises, floor burns and inadvertent collisions. Having grown up with three older sisters, she culled a competitive nature and plays at only one speed: reckless abandon.
     "It's the same way in practice. She's just relentless," Newtown coach Shawn O'Brien said. "She just plays at an intensity level that is higher than most kids."
     "She never takes a second off," said Windsor High coach Vinnie Cianfarani, who guided the Connecticut Starters AAU team for which Iwanicki played over the summer. "You'll never see her jog; you'll always see her in a full sprint whether it's for a loose ball or to challenge a shot. If there's a loose ball, you know Christie is going to be on the ground for it."
     Despite her aggressive style, Iwanicki has been practically indestructible. Oh, she gets hurt -- she's been playing with a broken left pinkie since volleyball season -- but she hasn't missed a basketball game for the past two years.
     "She hits the floor," O'Brien said, "but she's always getting up."
     "I've gotten used to it," said her father, Greg, who played at Quinnipiac College. "She doesn't back down. She's the son I never had. The way she plays is exactly the way I played in high school and college."
     Said Iwanicki: "I guess it's just the person that I am. My dad has always taught me to leave everything you have on the court and to have no regrets after a game. That's just the mentally I play with. I'm an extremely competitive person on and off the court."
     Iwanicki is a bit of a rarity because she's scrappy, yet, she's also one of the SWC's top offensive threats.
     By producing at least 20 points in six of her last 10 games, Iwanicki has taken over as the area's leading scorer at 17.2 ppg for Newtown (10-6, 5-5 SWC).
     Christie, 17, was preceded by Lori, 22, and Julie, 20, both of whom played for the Nighthawks. Lori was a starting sophomore forward on the 1999-2000 team that won the program's only league championship and made All-State as a junior. She was a crafty scorer along the baseline and a gritty rebounder. Julie was a hard-nosed defensive-minded point guard.
     "Growing up, watching my sisters, going to all of their games and seeing how hard they worked and all their accomplishments just made me want it so much more," Christie said. "My sisters have been so supportive of me and we've been so supportive of each other, I'm just proud I have them as sisters and I've been able to follow in their footsteps."
     "Being the third (child), she took a lot of (grief) from them playing in front of the house. But this one is totally, totally dedicated. The other ones liked it; this one loves it. They watch her now and they're in awe of the way she plays," said Greg Iwanicki, who used to wrap an ace bandage around his daughters' right arm when they practiced, forcing them to dribble and make lay-ups with their left hand.
     Seventh-grader Carly, 12, is the fourth sibling; she plays three sports, but basketball isn't among them.
     O'Brien was coaching Lori on the WesCon Fillies' AAU team that traveled to Texas when he first noticed Christie.
     "She would be on those trips, shooting between games at all our trips that we'd go on," he said. "You saw it with Julie on Lori's trips. They always had a basketball in their hands. You could tell (Christie) really looks up to her sisters. They really get along real well."
     Iwanicki was unhappy about being relegated to a back-up role on the varsity as a sophomore. So she went out and did something about it: she made a concerted effort to improve and blossomed into the team's best player.
     Last season as a junior, Iwanicki averaged 11.9 points, 4.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds, helping the Nighthawks win 15 games after they graduated four starters. She was All-SWC and made The News-Times All-Area team, and she also was selected to the SWC All-Tournament team following two outstanding postseason efforts. Her 22 points triggered a quarterfinal upset victory over Kolbe Cathedral and she had 20 in a semifinal loss to eventual champion Pomperaug.
     "She's the type of player that it bothered her when she didn't play as a sophomore and she handled it the right way. She went and really worked on her game," O'Brien said. "She got herself a lot stronger, really became a scorer and she improved her ball handling immensely. You knew she wasn't going to be denied her junior year. She went out and became our best player.
     "I've coached boys and girls for probably 16 years now and she works harder than any kid I've ever coached."
     Iwanicki enjoyed an outstanding summer on the AAU circuit with the Starters' 16-U national team.
     "She was one of the top five players on the team. She was very valuable to us," Cianfarani said. "She plays both ends of the floor equally as hard. She had the ability to knock down threes and most (games) she would (guard) the (opposing) teams' best player because she's a great defender."
     Iwanicki started playing basketball when she was four and began competing in a Parks and Recreation league within a year later. She wants to play in college and is looking into some Division II and III schools.
     Two years ago, Iwanicki took up volleyball and picked it up rather quickly. This fall, she made All-State and now she's mulling a Division II scholarship offer.
     It's the perfect sport for her, when you think about it.
     "I'll do anything, dive for a ball, to keep the ball in play. I'm just a very competitive person, I guess," said Iwanicki, who nearly knocked herself out during a match this season when she hit her forehead on the wood floor laying out for a dig.
     That's the only way she knows how to compete. At full speed. With no regrets.