By ANDREW FEEBACK
LEO-CEDARVILLE—For three and a half quarters, the Norwell Lady Knights got all they could handle from the Leo Lady Lions.
Then, in a span of roughly 30 seconds, the Knights took charge and went on to defeat the Lions 55-42 Friday night.
Norwell (13-4, 3-1) took a quick 6-0 lead to open the game, but things went awry after that.
“They made a few baskets to tie it up, and then when we started missing shots, we compounded that,” coach Eric Thornton said. “Missed shots are not a mistake, and we acted like it was. We played immature for a good portion of that first half.”
Norwell took a 13-11 lead after one, but went more than six minutes without scoring and saw Leo ease in front 21-17 at the break.
The Lions (6-11, 1-3) only made one shot beyond the arc all game, but repeatedly got to the basket for layups throughout.
“Missed shots will happen, but when we don’t go down on the defensive end and be difficult to play against, that’s what you get,” Thornton said. “Our kids really had to dig themselves out of it tonight.”
Norwell shot 6-of-30 from the field in the first half, but found its offense in the second half, shooting nearly 50 percent.
The Knights reclaimed the lead at 27-25 on a three-point play by Kennedy Fuelling, who led all scorers with 21 points.
Leo didn’t go quietly into the night, tying the game three more times. The Lions had a chance to tie it at 40 with 4:51 to go when Brooke McGee was fouled underneath.
She missed both shots, and Makenzie Fuess quickly knocked down a triple. On the next possession, Fuelling hit from the corner, and Norwell suddenly led 46-38.
Fuelling followed a Mackinzie Toliver drive with another trey, capping off a 13-0 run to put the game away.
“The question that was asked of them at halftime, was playing like it matters,” Thornton said. “The whole second quarter, we played like there was no purpose for being there. We didn’t lead, we didn’t fight, we didn’t play as hard as we needed to play. At halftime, the thought was that if that was how we wanted to be viewed, then we’ve let ourselves down, and a lot of people down. Sometimes, you just have to look in the mirror and be accountable for things. I think this group decided they wanted to be accountable, and they started from there.”
Leo got 20 points from Leah May and 11 from Gabrielle Adams.
Norwell will host Bishop Dwenger Wednesday night.
The Knights took the JV game 54-31, with Ali Riley scoring 14 points and Ryland Graft adding 10.
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NORWELL 55, LEO 42
At Leo High School
NORWELL (13-4, 3-1): Kennedy Fuelling 8-16 2-3 21, Mackinzie Toliver 4-10 1-1 9, Emily Todd 2-8 2-2 7, Lillian Norris 0-6 0-0 0, Haley Green 1-1 0-0 2, Annabelle Johnson 1-5 0-4 2, Makenzie Fuess 4-12 1-2 11, Skyla Tomasek 0-3 3-4 3. TOTALS: 20-61 9-16 55.
LEO (6-11, 1-3): Renee Beaubien 0-0 0-0 0, Katharine Scrogham 1-4 0-0 3, Lilian Simcox 0-4 0-0 0, Elie Armstrong 1-2 0-0 2, Brooke McGee 1-5 0-3 2, Katelyn Fry 0-2 0-0 0, Leah May 8-13 4-6 20, Gabrielle Adams 4-5 3-4 11, Haylee Schott 1-4 2-2 4. TOTALS: 16-40 9-15 42.
Norwell 13 4 18 20 –– 55
Leo 11 10 13 8 –– 42
Three-point Goals: Norwell 6-25 (Fuelling 3-6, Fuess 2-7, Todd 1-5, Toliver 0-2, Norris 0-5), Leo 1-9 (Scrogham 1-5, Simcox 0-3, McGee 0-1). Rebounds: Norwell 25 (Fuelling 7, Green 6, Tomasek 4, Todd 3, Johnson 2, Toliver 1, Fuess 1, Norris 1), Leo 33 (Schott 10, Simcox 5, May 5, McGee 4, Adams 4, Fry 3, Scrogham 1, Armstrong 1). Turnovers: Norwell 8, Leo 20. Fouls: Norwell 13, Leo 12. Fouled out: None. Technicals: None.
JV: Norwell 54, Leo 31.
