By RICK SPRUNGER
NOBLESVILLE — Norwell came within an eyelash of picking up a huge win over a Class 4A powerhouse Saturday morning.
The Knights dropped a crushing 73-71 overtime decision to Noblesville in the opening game of that school’s holiday tournament.
Norwell fell to probably the most deceptive 9-5 record in the state (a record that improved to 10-5 with the Knights’ 68-58 win over another Class 4A power, Fort Wayne Snider, in the consolation game Saturday night). A box score of the third/fourth place game will be in Tuesday’s News-Banner.
The loss to Noblesville was a particularly heartbreaking defeat in that Norwell seemingly had victory within its grasp, holding a 71-70 lead and inbounding the ball at midcourt with just 0:14 to play in the extra session.
But Noblesville’s 5’9” Miss Basketball candidate and Miami (Fla.) recruit, Meredith Tippner, took matters into her own hands and made the play of the game.
Tippner, who led all scorers with 33 points, wrestled the ball away from a Norwell player in the backcourt and fed teammate Kate Rollins for a layup and a foul with 0:09 left.
The foul was against Macie Saalfrank, her fifth, and took a seat next to Vanessa Rosswurm, who had fouled out two minutes earlier. Together, those two had scored 47 of Norwell’s 71 points.
Rollins missed the free throw, but Tippner grabbed the offensive board and was fouled herself with 0:07 remaining.
Tippner hit the second of her two free throws, and Norwell needed just about all of the remaining time to get the ball upcourt against Noblesville pressure.
Addie Norris managed to get off a desperation, off-balance runner from the lane that never really had a chance and which may or may not have counted even had it gone in.
“Give her credit,” said Norwell coach Eric Thornton about Tippner, who made that play in the backcourt despite carrying four fouls. “That’s why she’s a Miss Basketball candidate. She is skilled, she plays with a lot of physicality, and she plays that way all the time.”
But for 36 minutes, Norwell stood toe-to-toe with one of the top ten Class 4A teams in the state and on its own floor, no less.
For 28 of those minutes, Norwell not only held its own but dominated.
From the 1:41 mark of the first quarter until 2:24 left in the overtime period, Norwell outscored the Millers, 64-44.
But those remaining eight minutes — the first six and the last two of the game — decided it. First, the beginning.
Noblesville exploded out of the gate, racing to early leads of 11-0 and 18-4 in those first six minutes. Norwell turned the ball over on each of its first three possessions and four of its first five, missed all three shots it took, saw Rosswurm pick up two quick fouls, and fell into that 11-0 hole — all in the game’s first three minutes.
“We were very tight, very nervous,” said Thornton of his team’s inauspicious start. “We didn’t play loose, and that leads to live-ball turnovers, and that’s just what teams like Noblesville feed on.
“Class 4A is not like Class 3A,” he continued. “The margin for error is so slim against teams like this. When you play tentative, they make you pay.”
The Knights finally got on the scoreboard when Saalfrank stole the ball and fed Rosswurm upcourt for a runout layup. But it got worse before it got better.
Tippner, who scored 11 of Noblesville’s 21 first-quarter points, knocked down a 15-footer and a three-pointer; C.C. Quigley, Noblesville’s 6-2 junior tower, got loose underneath; and it was 18-4 with 2:04 left in the period.
But Norwell got off the deck and did so in a hurry.
Rosswurm wrapped a pair of three-pointers around an Alivia Green steal in a span of 15 seconds, and the Knights were very much alive.
“I was very proud of our kids,” said Thornton. “We have to do better at the start, but they did a great job the rest of the game. They played with a lot of grit and a lot of fight, and they played very, very well.”
When Jada Dale fed Green underneath to cap a 22-7 Norwell burst with 2:55 left in the second quarter, the Knights had their first (and only) lead in regulation, 26-25.
“I wasn’t surprised that they came back the way they did,” said veteran Noblesville coach Donna Buckley. “Good teams do that. They’re Class 3A, but they are a legitimate Class 4A talent. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see them back in the state finals this year.”
Noblesville seized the lead right back and stretched its margin to 54-47 after three quarters. But Saalfrank opened the fourth period with a jumper, and then Rosswurm went to work.
She nailed a three after a Norris steal, then got three straight rebound baskets to earn Norwell ties at 56, 58, and 60, the last with 1:36 left in regulation.
Norwell regained possession after a Tippner miss and took a timeout with 0:12 remaining.
The Knights turned the ball over at the timeline with 0:08 to play; but Tippner and Quigley both missed shots from in close, and the game went into overtime.
The Norwell surge continued as Saalfrank opened the extra session with a three-pointer and Rosswurm stole the ball on defense. Dale then stepped up with a reverse layup off a baseline drive and a three-point play in the lane.
Suddenly, Norwell had a 68-62 lead with 2:49 remaining, and the Knights were feeling it. But then came those fateful last two minutes.
Rosswurm picked up her fifth foul trying to defend Tippner underneath with 2:24 left, and the winds of momentum immediately shifted.
“She was in a legal guarding position,” protested a frustrated Thornton later. “I don’t know what else she’s supposed to do.”
Tippner hit one of two free throws, then stole the ball and converted a three-point play underneath.
Ashley Waldman stopped the bleeding momentarily with a three-pointer that restored the Norwell lead to 71-66 with 1:52 to play. But Quigley scored underneath, and Tippner converted yet another steal into a layup that made it 71-70.
Dale got an offensive rebound on a missed three by Waldman, but a wild pass on the reset sailed out of bounds with 35 ticks remaining.
Although the Knights got the ball back via the possession arrow on a held ball, Tippman swiped the ball in the backcourt at 0:14, and the rest has been told.
“We have to be able to execute an out-of-bounds play,” sighed Thornton about the finish. “We have several options, but at the end, we were only looking for one option.”
Rosswurm, a “big-time talent” according to Buckley, finished with 28 points for Norwell.
Saalfrank added 19 points and Waldman 10 for the Knights, who were 27-for-57 from the field (.474) and outrebounded the Millers, 33-28, but turned the ball over 26 times.
Rollins scored 16 points and Quigley 14 to join Tippman in double figures for Noblesville, which was 29-for-56 from the floor (.518) but committed 22 turnovers.
“We struggled all day against that 1-3-1 zone,” commented Buckley of her team’s uncharacteristic inability to hold onto the ball.
Norwell is off until a week from Tuesday when it plays host to Carroll.
sports@news-banner.com
NOBLESVILLE 73, NORWELL 71 (OT)
At Noblesville
NORWELL (9-5): Addie Norris 2-11 0-0 5, Ashley Waldman 4-9 0-0 10, Macie Saalfrank 7-14 0-0 19, Vanessa Rosswurm 10-17 4-6 28, Alivia Green 2-3 0-0 4, Jada Dale 2-3 1-1 5, Ryland Graft 0-0 0-0 0, Haley Williamson 0-0 0-0 0. TOTAL: 27-57 5-7 71.
NOBLESVILLE (9-3): Maia Blower 1-2 0-0 2, Ally Hutchinson 2-6 1-2 6, C.C. Quigley 7-10 0-0 14, Kate Rollins 6-9 2-2 16, Meredith Tippner 12-27 7-9 33, Norah Vetor 1-1 0-0 2, Brookelyn Grayson 0-0 0-0 0, Bri Gray 0-1 0-0 0. TOTAL: 29-56 10-13 73.
Norwell 13 20 14 13 OT: 11 — 71
Noblesville 21 13 20 6 OT: 13 — 73
Three-point shooting: Norwell 12-28 (Norris 1-5, Waldman 2-7, Saalfrank 5-9, Rosswurm 4-6, Dale 0-1), Noblesville 5-11 (Hutchinson 1-3, Rollins 2-4, Tippner 2-4). Rebounds: Norwell 32 (Rosswurm 7, Green 6, Saalfrank 5, Dale 5), Noblesville 28 (Tippner 9, Quigley 8). Turnovers: Norwell 26, Noblesville 22. Personal fouls: Norwell 19, Noblesville 9. Fouled Out: Saalfrank, Rosswurm. Technical fouls: None.
