By ANDREW FEEBACK
It was a rough night at the Castle for the Norwell girls basketball team as they fell to the visiting Warsaw Tigers 74-50.
Warsaw (2-0) used its size, length and speed to force Norwell into 22 turnovers.
“They’re just long and so athletic,” coach Eric Thornton said. “They’re strong too, and they’ve got a lot of upperclassmen who have been playing since their freshman year. I think they’re a top five team in the state overall regardless of class. You have to play four really good quarters against them, and the turnovers just became too much to overcome.”
The Knights (2-1) traded blows with the Tigers early on, with the lead changing hands nine times in the first quarter.
Warsaw reeled off 12 straight points to go up 29-17, a lead the Tigers wouldn’t relinquish. They used the three-point shooting of Brooke Zartman and the inside play of Brooke Winchester while keeping Norwell scoreless for more than five minutes.
Foul trouble to Vanessa Rosswurm was a culprit during that stretch. After picking up her second foul moments into the second quarter, she had to take a seat. Norwell failed to score before she re-entered, and she got her third foul with more than three minutes to go in the half.
“We need V out there,” Thornton said. “I thought she really continued to try to lead through that foul trouble. She’s growing along with our entire team. Vanessa competed to the end, and I would say that about our team as well.”
It was an eight-point game at the half, and Norwell still trailed by just eight midway through the third, which drew a Warsaw timeout.
But a three-pointer from Zartman and back to back buckets from Joslyn Bricker and Alexis Neely suddenly had the Tigers up 48-33.
“I thought our kids really came out of the locker room well, and we just kind of chipped away,” he said. “But after the timeout, we made several mistakes offensively that led to us not being able to get back in transition. You have to have good possessions. You can’t come out and make turnovers when you have it down to eight. The game is in the balance at that point, and pretty soon it was out of reach.”
Norwell then went through another long dry spell, failing to make a field goal over the next 10 minutes. Warsaw took control with a 16-1 run to take a 57-34 lead.
Warsaw finished 10 of 25 beyond the arc, while Norwell was 6 of 20.
Rosswurm topped the Knights with 19 points, while Macie Saalfrank added 12.
Zartman led a balanced Warsaw attack with 24, while Neely and Bricker both had 15 and Winchester added 14.
Although the game was far from pretty, winning two out of three this week was a good start for the Knights.
“This stretch we’re in right now, there’s a purpose for it,” Thornton said. “Our kids understand the big picture. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, but we’ll come back next week and get ready for the next one.”
That will be tomorrow night when the Knights host Fort Wayne Northrop, another Class 4A team.
Norwell took the junior varsity game 63-50. Leading the Knights was Mia Kurt with 29 points. Carlee Strunk added 13 and Eden Nash had eight.
Warsaw won the freshen contest 36-31. Miyah Foss led the Knights with 16 points and Ava Mason tallied eight.
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WARSAW 74,
NORWELL 50
At Norwell
WARSAW (2-0): Reagan Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Lucy Andrew 1-1 0-0 2, Brooke Zartman 8-16 2-2 24, Abbey Peterson 0-0 0-0 0, Alexis Neely 6-9 1-1 15, Madison Branam 0-0 0-0 0, Joslyn Bricker 7-13 0-0 15, Kyra Kiser 0-1 0-0 0, Brooke Winchester 5-11 3-4 14, Leila Knepp 0-0 0-0 0, Kelsey Wrenn 0-0 0-0 0, Braylie Chastain 2-2 0-0 4, Cayleigh Goheen 0-0 0-0 0, Erin McManus 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 29-53 6-7 74.
NORWELL (2-1): Addison Norris 3-7 1-1 9, Ashley Waldman 2-8 1-2 6, Ryland Graft 1-6 0-0 2, Alivia Green 1-1 0-0 2, Larkin Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Haley Williamson 0-0 0-0 0, Macie Saalfrank 4-6 2-2 12, Mekynzi Beck 0-0 0-0 0, Vanessa Rosswurm 9-16 0-0 19, Jada Dale 0-1 0-0 0, Isabela Swineford 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20-45 4-5 50.
Warsaw 20 11 19 24 – 74
Norwell 17 6 11 16 – 50
Three-point Goals: Warsaw 10-25 (Zartman 6-10, Neely 2-4, Bricker 1-5, Winchester 1-5, Kiser 0-1), Norwell 6-20 (Norris 2-4, Saalfrank 2-3, Waldman 1-6, Rosswurm 1-4, Graft 0-3). Rebounds: Warsaw 24 (Winchester 10, Neely 7, Bricker 4, Zartman 2, Chastain 1), Norwell 14 (Rosswurm 5, Waldman 3, Norris 2, Green 2, Smith 1, Beck 1). Turnovers: Warsaw 15, Norwell 22. Fouls: Warsaw 7, Norwell 11. Fouled out: None. Technicals: None.
JV: Norwell 63, Warsaw 50.
