Norwell Lady Knights crowned 3A State Champs
Hat Tip Katelynn Farley
Saturday, March 1, marked a historic moment for the Norwell Lady Knights Basketball program. Taking their second trip to Gainsbridge Fieldhouse in as many years, the Lady Knights took on the undefeated Greensburg Pirates in the 3A State Championship girl's basketball game. Earning themselves a 53-44 win, the Lady Knights brought home the very first State title in the history of the program. This comes after missing out on the title last year and graduating seven seniors from the roster.
According to IHSAA resources, Greensburg outranks Norwell in offensive scoring average by four places - sitting at 67.93 for fourth in the state compared to Norwell’s 65.61 for eighth. Norwell is ranked 28th by “Average Margin of Victory” with 19.04 points. This is just one place above the Columbia City team that they beat in last week’s game to punch their ticket to the State championship.
Norwell and Greensburg were well matched for the entire evening, making it an exhilarating game to watch. With the Pirates taking the first possession and earning 5 points in quick succession, it took Norwell a little while to get things rolling. Halfway through quarter one, the Lady Knights managed to tie things up. They squeaked past the Pirates by the end of quarter one, sitting at 13 points ot Greensburg’s 11.
The Knights earned a promising lead during the second quarter, but this was quickly squashed by the Pirates. Ending the half tied at 24, it was still anyone’s game.
The third quarter was when Norwell truly started to hit their stride. With less than two minutes left in the third, Norwell was up 9 points and forced Greensburg to battle for every basket. The same could be said for the final quarter. Thanks to some back-to-back free throws being awarded to the team, Norwell was able to continue growing a gap that Greensburg just couldn’t quite close.
Norwell junior and cheerleader Macy Richmond was present for last year’s loss at the State game, and says that the team’s attitude this year proved that they had it in them to win.
“Honestly, they deserve every bit of it,” Richmond said. “Their attitudes on and off the court are amazing. We played Columbia City last weekend and they came out with a good attitude and we knew that they were going to win it all by their attitudes. It goes a long way.”
Vanessa Rosswurm led the pack for the Lady Knights, bringing in a total of 17 points. Following closely behind was Addison Norris with 16 points. Macie Saalfrank earned 13 points.
All of this also coincided with the IHSAA celebrating 50 years of girls’ basketball. Several “Miss Basketball” members were honored during halftime of the 3A game, including Norwell’s own Jessica Rupright, the 2012 Miss Basketball. Other honors were bestowed upon different groups throughout the day to commemorate the special occasion.
