By RYAN WALKER
The girls’ basketball season kicked off for the Norwell Knights in a 61-47 victory over Warsaw Saturday night at The Castle.
Head coach Eric Thornton has a respect for the Tiger team that finished 16-7, enough to challenge his team in the first game of the year. They’re typically one of the best basketball schools in the area and have been below double-digit losses in the last six seasons.
“We’ve had three really good weeks of preparation,” the 26th-year head coach said. “We know they’re really good, too, and both teams are young. It’s hard to get a feel for where you’re at right now until you play someone like a Warsaw. I love playing a game like that right out of the gate.”
The first quarter wasn’t as smooth sailing as the final score indicates, as the Knights held a one-point lead, hitting five of 16 shots. Warsaw’s Brooke Winchester, who ended up with 19 points, hit two of her first three-pointers of four in the game at that time.
Thornton admitted that even though it was the first game, it felt like something was on the line with the high-caliber opponent, perhaps contributing to early game jitters. He also credited Warsaw for playing exceptionally well right off the bat.
The tide would soon change thanks to a stingy Norwell defense and the scoring from two first-team all-conference guards, Makenzie Fuess and Kennedy Fuelling. The two combined for 46 of the team’s 61 total points by the end of the game and helped the Knights to go up by eight at the half.
On the defensive side, both teams ran their own version of a press: Warsaw ran full-court while Norwell ran a one-three-one.
The Knights were more successful in not just the score but the turnover battle, forcing 21 and only committing for 13.
“Once we were able to get our defense where we wanted it to and start rebounding the basketball, I think that we could play with a little more freedom and just play loose,” he said. “We wanted our kids to play loose tonight, and I think as the game went on, we were able to do that.”
The lead wouldn’t dwindle in the third quarter after both teams recorded 13 points each, but Norwell’s duo of Fuelling and Fuess got the lead to double digits at the seven-minute mark in the fourth period.
After a timeout, Warsaw began to show signs of life. A short scoring run would bring the lead back to single digits at the six-minute mark, forcing Thornton to call a timeout to try and limit the damage, and he did.
Right out of the break, Fuess inbounded the ball and immediately went to the basket and scored.
“We needed a great possession there,” Thornton said. “We set up a play where Fuess inbounded it and got a handoff right away to attack the basket.”
“That gave us control the rest of the way,” he continued.
Norwell got off on the right foot in the win column and will compete next at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
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WARSAW 47, NORWELL 61
At Norwell High School
Warsaw (0-1): Brooke Zartman 5-19 6-6 18, Abbey Peterson 1-4 0-1 2, Alexis Neely 1-3 2-2 5, Zoe Bergan 1-1 0-0 2, Joslyn Bricker 0-6 1-2 1, Dalaney Vilamaa 0-0 0-0 0, Ava Egolf 0-4 0-0 0, Viv Zambrano 0-0 0-0 0, Brooke Winchester 7-16 1-4 19.
TOTALS: 15-54 10-15 47.
Norwell (1-0): Kennedy Fuelling 8-16 7-9 25, Makenzie Fuess 6-21 9-10 21, Dekota Hubble 2-4 0-0 4, Ryland Graft 2-4 0-0 4, Haley Green 0-1 0-2 0, Lilly Norris 1-6 1-2 3, Annabell Johnson 0-6 2-4 2, Ali Riley 0-2 0-0 0, Vanessa Rosswurm 0-6 2-3 2.
TOTALS: 19-66 21-30 61
Warsaw 12 11 13 11 –– 47
Norwell 13 18 13 17 –– 61
Three-point Goals:
Warsaw 7-28 (Zartman 2-12, Peterson 0-3, Neely 101, Bricker 0-4, Winchester 4-8), Norwell 2-11 (Fuelling 2-4, Fuess 0-5, Rosswurm 0-2). Rebounds: Warsaw 31 (Zartman 5, Peterson 3, Neely 2, Bergan 1, Bricker 1, Egolf 2, Winchester 11), Norwell (Hubble 6, Fuelling 3, Graft 1, Green 4, Norris 4, Johnson 1, Fuess 6, Riley 1, Rosswurm 3). Turnovers: Warsaw 21, Norwell 13. Fouls: Warsaw 21, Norwell 13. Fouled Out: None. Technicals: None
