Norwell took down Hamilton Heights & Bremen to reach its first state title game since 1977
• Semi-State Game 1 vs. No. 1 Hamilton Heights
By RYAN WALKER
HUNTINGTON — No. 2 Norwell stunned Class 3A’s No. 1 team Hamilton Heights Saturday morning in a Semi-State semifinal heavyweight fight, but the Ossian crew was flat-out the best team on the floor.
The Knights (22-4) jumped out to an early 10-0 lead and never let that lead get under under nine points the rest of the game, frustrating the Huskies (24-3) with a 64-50 final score.
The winner of Saturday morning’s contest would draw either Bremen or NorthWood in the final, but this game was far and away the best teams in the IHSAA 3A North Region. That was the way Norwell wanted it — a full week of preparation for the best team in 3A, and let the rest of the day play itself out.
“Because our team understands that for us to get to (Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home of the state championship game), we needed to play them first. That allowed us to focus on preparing for them all week,” Norwell head coach Eric Thornton explained why they wanted Hamilton Heights first. “I could talk about (Hamilton Heights). If we played them in the second game today, I couldn’t mention their name. It’s the perfect path to get to Gainbridge.”
“We could prepare all week, and we knew what we had to do, and we got it done,” Norwell’s top-scorer Kennedy Fuelling said.
The Knights were more than prepared for the same Hamilton Heights team that ended their season in the regional last year. That quick 10-0 advantage in Saturday’s game set the tone for the rest of the contest.
Kennedy Fuelling got the scoring going early, swishing her first two three-point attempts on her way to a game-high 5 for 6 from deep and 30 points. Vanessa Rosswurm floated a shot down the middle of the lane to have Huskies’ coach Keegan Cherry blow through his first timeout in the opening two minutes.
The run grew to 11-0 before Hadleigh Cherry finally got her team on the board midway through the first quarter.
The Huskies clamped down on Fuelling for a moment out of the timeout, but that freed up Makenzie Fuess for a five-point swing on her first triple.
She, along with Rosswurm and Dekota Hubble scoring in the first, gave Fuelling the space she needed. She entered the second quarter with her third three, and nine points for her later, and the Knights were pounding the top dog 39-19 by halftime.
Hamilton Heights leading scorer and the University of Evansville commit Camryn Runner could not find the bottom of the basket. Half of her six total points were at the free-throw line.The first made shot for her came with 1:30 remaining before the break on a three-pointer. Runner averages 27 points per game.
Her counterpart Ella Hickok, who had a team-high 28 points in the Huskies’ regional win over Woodlan, scored four points against Norwell.
The Knights overwhelming 1-3-1 defensive structure forced Hamilton Heights into numerous mistakes. The Knights shaded toward Runner before she had a chance to make a move toward the basket.
That 20-point halftime margin wasn’t a fluke. Norwell was much more prepared this time around compared to last year and was fired up to get another chance at Hamilton Heights.
The squad of seven seniors and a full roster from last year prepared all season for these types of games thanks to that 44-40 loss to the Huskies in last year’s regional.
Thornton said when Hamilton Heights beat Jennings County in early November, he acquired the tape and began prepping for this potential rematch. This week and the last year was on full display.
“There’s a lot of fuel from last year’s game to this point and we knew we’d see them at some point … The revenge factor is real, and not in a bad way but in a good way looking for blame on why we lost and looking within our team within ourselves,” Thornton said.
Runner would not be denied in her effort to keep her high school career alive.
She hit a long ball from the start of the third quarter — before all of the fans could even get back into their seats for the second half. That was the first of her three triples in the third frame. The future Ace scored 13 points in the quarter and drew a once 20-point deficit down to 10 heading into the fourth period.
Fuelling was shut out in the third while Runner tore it up, but Fuess, Rosswurm and Hubble kept up as they all could. But for the third time, Fuelling made the quarter’s opening shot from long-range and picked up where she left off.
The Knights did what they needed to, and fended off the streak the Huskies tried to get on. The 7-0 run by Fuelling and Rosswurm certainly helped, and the Huskies only brought the lead down to nine when Katie Brown got her second three to fall. Fuelling and Fuess put the cherry on top with three straight free throws.
Haley Green, Lillian Norris, Ryland Graft, Ali Riley and Larkin Smith helped check out the starting lineup led by seniors with under a minute to play. Then, the horn sounded, and the blue, gold and white Ossian crowd that nearly filled every seat on their half of the floor erupted in joyful cheers.
“It feels really good,” Fuelling said. “We were confident and we knew we could win, and we got it done.”
Even though they knocked down the No. 1 team in 3A, business was just getting started. A date with Bremen awaited at 8 p.m. in the Semi-State final.
“I told them ‘We didn’t come here to win the morning game — we came here to win both games,” Thornton said. “That’s what we have to do to get to Gainbridge. We want to be together next week, and the only way to do that is to win. Our kids aren’t going to look past anybody. The main thing that they’ve tried to do all year—and they do a lot of things well—but one of the things they do best is make it about that thing. Whether it’s that practice today or the game in front of you, they’re not going to overlook anybody. This has been their goal all season to get to Gainbridge and win it.”
ryan@news-banner.com
NORWELL 64, HAMILTON HEIGHTS 50
At Huntington North
HAMILTON HEIGHTS (24-3): Camryn Runner 6-25 9-10 26, Ella Hickok 3-9 2-2 9, Katie Brown 2-8 0-0 6, Kennedy Cherry 2-4 1-4 5, Hadleigh Cherry 2-6 0-0 4, Presley Cherry 0-0 0-0 0, Kassidy Schakel 0-0 0-0 0, Kamryn Rhoton 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 15-52 12-16 50
NORWELL (22-4): Kennedy Fuelling 9-15 7-11 30, Makenzie Fuess3-12 6-8 13, Vanessa Rosswurm 5-10 2-6 13, Annabelle Johnson 1-4 1-2 4, Dekota Hubble 1-3 1-2 3, Addie Norris 0-0 1-2 1, Ryland Graft 0-0 0-0 0, Haley Green 0-1 0-0 0, Lilly Norris 0-0 0-0 0, Ali Riley 0-0 0-0 0, Larkin Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Alivia Green 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 19-45 18-31 64.
H. Heights 10 9 18 13 — 50
Norwell 19 20 8 17 — 64
Three-Point Field Goals: Hamilton Heights 8-24 (Runner 5-12, Brown 2-7, Hickok 1-4, H. Cherry 0-1), Norwell 8-15 (Fuelling 5-6, Johnson 1-1, Fuess 1-5, Rosswurm 1-3). Rebounds: Hamilton Heights 23 (K. Cherry 6, Runner 5, Brown 4, H. Cherry 3, Shakel 2, Hickok 1), Norwell 30 (Rosswurm 7, Green 7, Hubble 6, Fuelling 4, Johnson 2, Fuess 2, L. Norris 1). Turnovers: Hamilton Heights 15, Norwell 13. Fouls: Hamilton Heights 23, Norwell 13. Fouled Out. None. Technical Fouls: None.
• Semi-State final vs. Bremen
For the first time since 1977, the Norwell Knights girls’ basketball team is heading back to the state championship game.
A 64-20 beatdown over Bremen (16-12) was the second mission on Saturday to capture Norwell’s (24-4) second girls’ basketball Semi-State title in school history.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” senior guard Makenzie Fuess said after the game. “All the work that we put in the offseason and during the season, playing the toughest schedule that we’ve ever played. We’ve all worked towards this and to finally be able to achieve that. It’s a big dream that we all had coming into the season.”
“Oh my goodness, I can’t even explain the feeling,” senior guard Lillian Norris said. “It almost doesn’t even feel real yet; it’s just exciting. We talked about this before the game — as little girls, we always dreamed of our senior year we’d be at state. Now we’re actually here and it feels really cool.”
Out of 102 teams in 3A, only Norwell and No. 3 Gibson Southern (25-4) remain in the tournament. The Knights and Titans will square off at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for the state championship game Saturday.
“This incredible group,” Norwell head coach Eric Thornton said. “I can’t put it into words right now what this team means to me. You have a lot of dreams as a coach to be a part of a team that can go to the state championship, and we’re going there and we’re going there to win. That’s this team’s goal, and we’re going to continue to spend time together this week.”
In the morning session, the No. 2 Knights topped No. 1 Hamilton Heights by 14 points. The result of that heavyweight battle would lead to one of the top teams in the state left to face one of the two bottom teams — NorthWood or Bremen — left in the semi-state finals, thanks to the IHSAA’s random draw to determine the field.
Anything can happen, especially in the state tournament, but Bremen quickly realized this game wasn’t going to be close.
Norwell pounced to a 9-0 lead on three straight three-point plays. Fuess hit the first attempt right off the opening tip and made another in between Vanessa Rosswurm’s and-one.
Kila Foster for the Lions got the team’s first make, and Eliana Grubbs ended the first quarter with a bucket as well. But by that point, Norwell had already ran away with a 25-4 lead.
Fuess, Rosswurm and Kennedy Fuelling made three-pointers in the quarter and spun the Lions in a circle trying to keep up.
Bremen was overwhelmed, a term Thornton has used all season to describe how his team plays defense. The Lions had 19 turnovers in the first half alone, and Norwell shut the Lions out in the second period.
The Knights pounded their way to a 42-4 lead at the half. Norwell’s 20 points allowed for the game was eclipsed by them in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the Lions didn’t score in double digits in any quarter.
All of it was on just a little bit of game prep. Having only a few hours to scout, Thornton thought about implementing some strategy that he believed Bremen would use to try and get to Fuelling, but then decided to just play the style that’s gotten the team this far in the tournament.
“For us, it was just ‘Let’s come out and let’s win the first quarter. Let’s try to be overwhelming,’” Thornton said. “I thought we overwhelmed them tonight, and I thought that kind of dictated everything else that happened from there.”
Midway through the third quarter, Thornton safely started rolling out his bench and replaced the starters. Seniors Haley Green, Lillian Norris and Ali Riley joined Addie Norris and Ryland Graft on the floor.
Riley was able to knock down her only three-point attempt and Lillian Norris got three buckets to fall for six points.
In the fourth quarter, some of the bench players were mixed with the junior varsity call-ups for the tournament. Freshmen Haley Williamson checked in with Alivia Green.
This moment was special for everyone involved. The Norwell team returned all of its starters from a year ago, and have built everything for the big Semi-State trophy. When they received it after the game, the student section stormed the court in celebration.
“A lot of emotions from this morning that we’re trying to reflect right now, now that we know we’re going to the state. I’m not sure it’s sunk in yet,” said the 27th-year coach Thornton, who’s heading to the state title for the first time.
Three Knights got into double figures in the game: Fuess with 17, Rosswurm 16, and Fuelling 12.
ryan@news-banner.com
NORWELL 64, BREMEN 20
At Huntington North
NORWELL (23-4): Mackenzie Fuess 6-17 1-2 17, Vanessa Rosswurm 6-15 2-2 16, Kennedy Fuelling 5-12 1-3 12, Lilly Norris 3-4 0-0 6, Addie Norris 2-3 0-0 5, Ali Riley 2-2 0-0 5, Dakota Hubble 1-3 0-1 2, Alivia Green 0-1 1-2 1, Ryland Graft 0-3 0-2 0, Haley Green 0-0 0-0 0, Annabelle Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Haley Williamson 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS: 25-62 5-12 64.
BREMEN (16-12): Kila Foster 5-14 0-0 12, Eliana Grubbs 1-7 2-4 4, Mikayla Shively 1-6 0-0 2, Naomi Moyer 1-2 0-0 2, Emma Lawmaster 0-0 0-0 0, Alyssia Lopez 0-0 0-0 0, Emma Kincaid 0-9 0-0 0, Brooke Bellman 0-0 0-0 0, Teagan Feathers 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 8-38 2-4 20.
Norwell 25 4 12 10 — 64
Bremen 4 0 9 7 — 20
Three-Point Field Goals: Norwell 9-27 (Fuess 4-10, Rosswurm 2-6, Riley 1-1, A. Norris 1-1, Fuelling 1-7, Graft 0-2), Bremen 2-14 (Foster 2-7, Shivley 0-3, Kincaid 0-3, Grubbs 0-1). Rebounds: Norwell 34 (L. Norris 7, Rosswurm 6, Hubble 5, H. Green 5, A. Norris 2, Guess 2, Riley 2, A. Green 1, Fuelling 1, Graft 1, Johnson 1), Bremen 26 (Grubbs 11, Shively 5, Moyer 3, Foster 3, Kincaid). Turnovers: Norwell 10, Bremen 24. Fouls: Norwell 5, Bremen 11. Fouled Out: None. Technical Fouls: None.
