By RYAN WALKER
For at least a half, Norwell got itself a good test to cap off the non-conference regular season in a 71-33 victory over Dwenger at the Castle Wednesday night.
The Saints outplayed their 8-11 record and hung around with the No. 14 team in the state, regardless of class, until toward the end of the first half.
Vanessa Rosswurm and Kennedy Fuelling helped spark an 8-0 run that stretched a three-point lead to 11 by the break. The two combined for 19 points in the first two periods and splashed four triples in the process. Makenzie Fuess also nailed a pair of them in the first quarter.
The trio’s efforts were enough to keep away Izzie and Giselle, the two Eke’s. Both dropped 13 of the 15 first-quarter points for Dwenger and kept the Knights within reach at 18-15.
For teams with a losing record, that deficit was far better than some have faired.
“I thought Dwenger’s start was excellent,” Norwell head coach Eric Thornton said after the game. “I was very impressed with their execution and their ball movement and they made shots in that first quarter.”
Giselle is heading to St. Francis in Pennsylvania after her senior campaign. She tallied all five of her points in that first quarter and grabbed nine rebounds to lead her team. But Izzie Eke as a freshman is perhaps with the highest ceiling.
“You look at (Izzie Eke), and she is really going to be special,” Thornton said. “Her ability to make shots and to drive and pass, it’s just very difficult to play against with that length. It makes you really step it up defensively. Those two kids were definitely a load in that first quarter.”
If Thornton’s senior-heavy squad has learned anything in their tenure as a Knight, it’s making defensive adjustments.
The halftime score was 32-21, but the Saints mustered just 12 points for the remainder of the contest.
Thornton said he asked his team to apply more pressure at the top of Dwenger’s offense. Norwell, to say the least, did just that and caused 35 turnovers in the game, seven of them forced by point guard Annabelle Johnson.
“Our defensive effort the last three quarters was really, really good. We really had to work against them, and I thought our kids did that,” Thornton said.
As the Knights halted the Eke’s scoring attack, the scoreboard lit up on the home side.
The third quarter brought 26 points for Norwell, who launched itself in front 46-23 during a 14-2 run. Rosswurm, Fuelling and Fuess hit five from long range in the period and two more before all sitting the bench in the fourth quarter.
Fuelling led the team with 25 points and is now 112 points away from tying Jessica Rupright’s school record of 1,591. She would need to average 28 points per game over the next four guaranteed games of the season, but could get some wiggle room the further the team goes in the sectional tournament.
Vanessa Rosswurm added a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Makenzie Fuess scored 15.
Thornton’s mission for his team to find a way to be tougher and find a way to win games has been evident this season. The timing was perfect with Dwenger’s 3-2 zone defense. Bellmont, the final realistic shot at beating Norwell, will travel to The Castle Saturday night and run a similar style of defense.
Last year, the Knights won on the road by three and avoided the Braves in the sectional last season.
Bellmont is currently 12-5 and 3-1 in the Northeast 8 Conference. A Norwell loss would mean tiebreaker scenarios for the NE8 title. A win for Norwell, though, continues the Knights quest in controling their own destiny. East Noble (10-6, 2-2 NE8) and DeKalb (12-6, 1-3 NE8) would be the only ones left on the schedule.
Norwell will have its hands full, but will seek its first NE8 trophy since the 2021-22 campaign.
“(Bellmont’s) very good at what they do; it’s going to be a battle,” Thornton said. “It’s a rivalry, and we’ve got two more conference games after that, but this is the one we want to get. We have to come out and go take it.”
That game will be at 7:30 p.m.
Norwell won the junior varsity game 57-16. Jada Dale finished with 15 points, Macie Saalfrank 12 and Ashley Waldman 11.
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NORWELL 71, BISHOP DWENGER 33
At Norwell
DWENGER (8-11): Izzie Eke 5-12 0-0 13, Josie Wharton 3-4 0-0 8, Giselle Eke 2-6 0-0 5, Mary O’Brien 1-2 2-2 4, Gillian Reidy 1-3 0-0 2, Anna Ponder 0-3 1-2 1, Kassidy Court 0-0 0-0 0, Grace Barfield 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Aselage 0-0 0-0 0, Maggie Pieper 0-2 0-0 0, Kaylee Birely 0-3 0-0 0, Lydia Garrett 0-2 0-0 0, Lily Stineburg 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 12-37 3-4 33.
NORWELL (15-4): Kennedy Fuelling 8-18 2-2 25, Vanessa Rosswurm 8-18 2-4 19, Makenzie Fuess 6-17 0-1 15, Ryland Graft 1-2 2-2 4, Dekota Hubble 1-5 0-0 2, Alivia Green 1-4 0-1 2, Addie Norris 0-4 2-2 2, Ammabelle Johnson 0-1 1-2 1, Lilly Norris 0-2 1-2 1, Ali Riley 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 25-71 10-16 71.
Dwenger 15 6 11 1 –– 33
Norwell 18 14 26 13 –– 71
Three-point FG: Dwenger: 6-10 (I. Eke 3-5, Wharton 2-3, G. Eke 1-1, Garrett 0-1), Norwell: 11-30 (Fuelling 7-14, Fuess 3-9, Rosswurm 1-6, A. Norris 0-1). Rebounds: Dwenger: 35 (G. Eke 9, O’Brien 5. Reidy 2, Garrett, Stineburg 1, Court 1, Ponder 1, Pieper), Norwell: 30 (Rosswurm 10, Hubble 5, Johnson 3, Fuelling 3, L. Norris 2, A. Norris 2, Fuess 1, Graft 1, Green 1). Turnovers: Dwenger: 35, Norwell: 9. Fouls: Dwenger: 13, Norwell: 7. Fouled Out: None. Technicals: None.
JV: 57-16 Norwell.
