Norwich 'defends' Pennysaver crown
NORWICH – Great defense never goes into a slump.
Norwich coach Josh Bennett knows his team will have nights where the shots won’t fall, but he is confident that his team will not falter on the other end of the court.
The Tornado rode their defense to a third straight championship in the 31st Annual Norwich Pennysaver Tournament toppling Greene, 47-30, in the title game Saturday evening at Jack Jones Gymnasium.
Norwich harassed the Trojans into 28 turnovers, 11 of those in the final quarter when reserves were seeing most of the time on the floor, and the game’s outcome was no longer in doubt.
“I think that defense will be the staple of this group,” Bennett said. “We’ll make shots and miss shots, but we have such an athletic group that really knows what we’re trying to do on defense. We also have a lot of balance. When we bring kids off the bench, we don’t lose anything defensively, and we can still maintain that same level of pressure and aggressiveness.”
It was still anyone’s ballgame midway through the third quarter. Norwich clung to a 17-16 halftime lead, and had a difficult time shaking the Trojans (1-1). Norwich took a 22-18 lead early in the third when Jenni Borfitz dished to Hailey Dietrich for a layup.
Greene answered with four straight points of its own. Shannon Gregory made one free throw, and junior guard Kaitlin Gorton ran off a screen, and stroked a three-pointer that hit the bullseye tying the game at 22-22 with 4:06 left in the stanza.
Norwich mounted its best stretch of offense over the remaining portion of the quarter, and finished the final 3:44 of the quarter on an 11-4 spurt.
Cassie Sutton spotted up for a 17-foot baseline jumper, again off the penetration and feed from Borfitz to vault Norwich in front for good. Tournament MVP Bryn Loomis cashed in on a three-pointer, this time with help from Dietrich, who corralled an offensive rebound to keep the ball in Norwich’s end. Breanna Cashman, Dietrich, and Loomis finished off the quarter with hoops, with Loomis’ decisions with the basketball swinging the balance of the game.
“We made a big adjustment in the third quarter offensively, and that was to let Bryn bring the ball up,” Bennett said. “She was able to use her crossover (dribble) and get into the middle of their zone. (Greene) really had no answer for it.”
Norwich strung together 10 straight points in the fourth quarter transforming an eight-point lead to 18. Eight of those 10 points came from the foul line as Norwich created numerous fast-break scoring opportunities off of Greene turnovers.
“Their depth really hurt us,” said Greene coach Dave Gorton. “I think they really wore us down. We made some silly choices with the basketball, and lot of that is a credit to Norwich’s defense. I think we did play great defense overall, and I also think we probably gave Norwich more than they expected. I hope we can use this game as a launching pad for our season.”
Loomis finished with 18 points, Dietrich had 15 points and 10 rebounds in receiving an all-tournament nod, while Borfitz handed out eight helpers, and was NHS’s third all-tourney choice.
Jessica Brooks netted 14 points for Greene, and grabbed her second straight all-tournament honor. Kaitlin Gorton canned a trio of three balls, and added 12 points.
In the consolation game, Oxford rebounded from blowout losses to Chenango Valley earlier in the week and to Norwich Friday evening beating toppling Sidney, 44-28.
Twin sisters Jacquelyn Heggie and Julianne Heggie and 10 and nine points respectively in the first half leading their club to a 29-12 lead. “We really needed this win, no doubt about it,” said Oxford coach Chris Palmer. “The effort has been there in our first two games, and that paid off tonight.”
Oxford, who was averaging well over 20 turnovers a game, had just 14 total against Sidney. Jacquelyn Heggie topped all scorers with 16 points, and Julianne added 11 points. Sidney scored half of its points in the last quarter during mop-up time. Kelsey Decker and Meridith Delello shared the scoring lead for the Warriors with 11 points apiece.
The Purple Tornado forced 18 Oxford turnovers in the first half, and cruised to a 47-24 first-round victory.
Loomis hit a three-pointer at the end of the first quarter to open a 10-2 lead, and Norwich's advantage stood at 18-6 at the break. "If you were to tell me beforehand that we would give up just 18 points to them at halftime, I would pleased," Palmer said. "We just couldn't get anything going on offense. Their speed and physical play was above what we see every day, and I would say Norwich is a step above even Chenango Valley (62-32 winners over Oxford last week)."
Loomis scored a game-high 19 points, and Borfitz added 15 for NHS.
Jacquelyn Heggie scored 13 points for Oxford.
Greene reached the finals thanks to tight defense, and the inside contributions of forwards Brooks and Rebecca Smith. Brooks had 10 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 13. Smith had 10 points and nine boards in a 40-15 romp.
The Trojans led 22-8 after one half, and held Sidney scoreless the first 11 minutes of the second half, and expanded the lead to as many as 30 points. Gorton added seven points and five assists for Greene, who had 13 total assists on 17 made baskets.
JV championship: Norwich used a 16-6 second quarter to take command of its finals contest with Greene, and went on to a 46-33 win. Tournament MVP, Carin Kuhn, scored 19 points, and all-tournament selection, Savannah Williams, scored 11. Courtney Scheer was Norwich’s third all-tourney pick. Jessica David, Greene’s all-tournament choice, led her team with 14 points.
Norwich 47, Greene 30
Greene: Sierra Stoppkotte, 0; Paige Castle, 0; Jessica Brooks, 6 0-0-14; Kaitlin Gorton, 4 1-2-12; Rebecca Smith, 0; Natalie Greene, 0 1-2-1; Rebecca Hanrahan, 0; Shannon Gregory, 1 1-2-3. Totals: 11 3-6-30.
Norwich: Miranda Costin, 1 0-0-2; Breanna Cashman, 2 1-2-5; Sydney Chaffee, 0; Jennifer Borfitz, 1 0-0-2; Cassie Sutton, 2 1-2-5; Bryn Loomis, 5 6-7-18; Hailey Dietrich, 5 5-6-15; Sophie Stewart, 0; Taylor Cook, 0. Totals: 16 13-17-47.
Gre. 4 12 10 4–30
Nor. 11 6 16 14–47
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (N) Loomis 2, (G) Gorton 3, Brooks 2. JV: Norwich beat Greene, 46-33 in championship game. All-tournament team: Hailey Dietrich, Norwich; Jennifer Borfitz, Norwich; Bryn Loomis (MVP), Norwich; Jessica Brooks, Greene; Jacquelyn Heggie, Oxford; Kelsey Decker, Sidney.
Oxford 44, Sidney 28
Oxford: Megan Golden, 1 0-0-2; Bridget Rice, 0 1-4-1; Jac. Heggie, 6 3-6-16; Jul. Heggie, 2 7-12-11; Lacey Barry, 4 0-0-8; Octavia Bishop, 0 0-2-0; Brooke Noble, 3 0-0-6. Totals: 16 11-24-44.
Sidney: Meridith delello, 5 0-0-11; Bethany Karl, 2 0-0-4; Hannah Wood, 0; Kelsey Decker, 4 2-2-11; Nicole Smith, 0; Brianna McClenon, 0; Shelby Bourn, 0; Melia Wakeman, 1 0-0-2. Totals: 12 2-2-28.
Oxf. 17 12 7 8-44
Sid. 6 6 2 14-28
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (O) Jac Heggie, (S) Decker, Delello. JV: Oxford beat Sidney, 39-18 in consolation game. Officials: Ewing, Linehan.
Norwich 47, Oxford 24
Oxford: Golden, 0 1-2-1; B. Rice, 0; Jac. Heggie, 5 2-2-13; Jul. Heggie, 0; Lacey Barry, 3 1-2-7; Octavia Bishop, 0 1-4-1; B. Noble, 1 0-2-2. Totals: 9 5-12-24.
Norwich: Costin, 1 0-0-2; Cashman, 1 0-0-2; Chaffee, 1 0-0-2; Borfitz, 4 6-7-15; Sutton, 0; Loomis, 8 2-5-19; Dietrich, 1 0-0-2; Stewart, 0 2-2-2; Cook, 1 1-1-3. Totals: 17 11-15-47.
Oxf. 2 4 7 11–24
NHS 10 8 15 14–47
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (N) Borfitz, Loomis, (O) Jac. Heggie. JV: Norwich won 53-11. Officials: Vincevich, Jensen.
Greene 40, Sidney 15
Sidney: Meridith Delello, 3 0-0-6; Bethany Karl, 0 0-2-0; Shelby Brown, 1 0-0-2; Hannah Wood, 0-0-0-0; Nicole Smith, 1 1-2-3; Kelsey Decker, 1 0-0-2; Brianna McClenon, 1 0-0-2; Shelby Bourn, 0 0-0-0; Melia Wakeman, 0-0-0-0. Totals: 7 1-4-15.
Greene: Sierra Stoppkotte, 2 0-2-4; Paige Castle, 0 0-0-0; Jessica Brooks, 6 1-2-13; Kaitlin Gorton,2 1-2-7 ; Rebecca Smith, 4 2-2-10; Natalie Greene, 1 0-0-2; Alisha Montelione, dnp; Rebecca Hanrahan, 1 0-0-2; Shannon Gregory, 2 0-0-4. Totals: 17 4-8-40.
Sidn. 4 4 0 7–15
Gre. 13 11 5 11–40
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (G) Gorton 2. JV: Greene won 34-25.
Norwich coach Josh Bennett knows his team will have nights where the shots won’t fall, but he is confident that his team will not falter on the other end of the court.
The Tornado rode their defense to a third straight championship in the 31st Annual Norwich Pennysaver Tournament toppling Greene, 47-30, in the title game Saturday evening at Jack Jones Gymnasium.
Norwich harassed the Trojans into 28 turnovers, 11 of those in the final quarter when reserves were seeing most of the time on the floor, and the game’s outcome was no longer in doubt.
“I think that defense will be the staple of this group,” Bennett said. “We’ll make shots and miss shots, but we have such an athletic group that really knows what we’re trying to do on defense. We also have a lot of balance. When we bring kids off the bench, we don’t lose anything defensively, and we can still maintain that same level of pressure and aggressiveness.”
It was still anyone’s ballgame midway through the third quarter. Norwich clung to a 17-16 halftime lead, and had a difficult time shaking the Trojans (1-1). Norwich took a 22-18 lead early in the third when Jenni Borfitz dished to Hailey Dietrich for a layup.
Greene answered with four straight points of its own. Shannon Gregory made one free throw, and junior guard Kaitlin Gorton ran off a screen, and stroked a three-pointer that hit the bullseye tying the game at 22-22 with 4:06 left in the stanza.
Norwich mounted its best stretch of offense over the remaining portion of the quarter, and finished the final 3:44 of the quarter on an 11-4 spurt.
Cassie Sutton spotted up for a 17-foot baseline jumper, again off the penetration and feed from Borfitz to vault Norwich in front for good. Tournament MVP Bryn Loomis cashed in on a three-pointer, this time with help from Dietrich, who corralled an offensive rebound to keep the ball in Norwich’s end. Breanna Cashman, Dietrich, and Loomis finished off the quarter with hoops, with Loomis’ decisions with the basketball swinging the balance of the game.
“We made a big adjustment in the third quarter offensively, and that was to let Bryn bring the ball up,” Bennett said. “She was able to use her crossover (dribble) and get into the middle of their zone. (Greene) really had no answer for it.”
Norwich strung together 10 straight points in the fourth quarter transforming an eight-point lead to 18. Eight of those 10 points came from the foul line as Norwich created numerous fast-break scoring opportunities off of Greene turnovers.
“Their depth really hurt us,” said Greene coach Dave Gorton. “I think they really wore us down. We made some silly choices with the basketball, and lot of that is a credit to Norwich’s defense. I think we did play great defense overall, and I also think we probably gave Norwich more than they expected. I hope we can use this game as a launching pad for our season.”
Loomis finished with 18 points, Dietrich had 15 points and 10 rebounds in receiving an all-tournament nod, while Borfitz handed out eight helpers, and was NHS’s third all-tourney choice.
Jessica Brooks netted 14 points for Greene, and grabbed her second straight all-tournament honor. Kaitlin Gorton canned a trio of three balls, and added 12 points.
In the consolation game, Oxford rebounded from blowout losses to Chenango Valley earlier in the week and to Norwich Friday evening beating toppling Sidney, 44-28.
Twin sisters Jacquelyn Heggie and Julianne Heggie and 10 and nine points respectively in the first half leading their club to a 29-12 lead. “We really needed this win, no doubt about it,” said Oxford coach Chris Palmer. “The effort has been there in our first two games, and that paid off tonight.”
Oxford, who was averaging well over 20 turnovers a game, had just 14 total against Sidney. Jacquelyn Heggie topped all scorers with 16 points, and Julianne added 11 points. Sidney scored half of its points in the last quarter during mop-up time. Kelsey Decker and Meridith Delello shared the scoring lead for the Warriors with 11 points apiece.
The Purple Tornado forced 18 Oxford turnovers in the first half, and cruised to a 47-24 first-round victory.
Loomis hit a three-pointer at the end of the first quarter to open a 10-2 lead, and Norwich's advantage stood at 18-6 at the break. "If you were to tell me beforehand that we would give up just 18 points to them at halftime, I would pleased," Palmer said. "We just couldn't get anything going on offense. Their speed and physical play was above what we see every day, and I would say Norwich is a step above even Chenango Valley (62-32 winners over Oxford last week)."
Loomis scored a game-high 19 points, and Borfitz added 15 for NHS.
Jacquelyn Heggie scored 13 points for Oxford.
Greene reached the finals thanks to tight defense, and the inside contributions of forwards Brooks and Rebecca Smith. Brooks had 10 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 13. Smith had 10 points and nine boards in a 40-15 romp.
The Trojans led 22-8 after one half, and held Sidney scoreless the first 11 minutes of the second half, and expanded the lead to as many as 30 points. Gorton added seven points and five assists for Greene, who had 13 total assists on 17 made baskets.
JV championship: Norwich used a 16-6 second quarter to take command of its finals contest with Greene, and went on to a 46-33 win. Tournament MVP, Carin Kuhn, scored 19 points, and all-tournament selection, Savannah Williams, scored 11. Courtney Scheer was Norwich’s third all-tourney pick. Jessica David, Greene’s all-tournament choice, led her team with 14 points.
Norwich 47, Greene 30
Greene: Sierra Stoppkotte, 0; Paige Castle, 0; Jessica Brooks, 6 0-0-14; Kaitlin Gorton, 4 1-2-12; Rebecca Smith, 0; Natalie Greene, 0 1-2-1; Rebecca Hanrahan, 0; Shannon Gregory, 1 1-2-3. Totals: 11 3-6-30.
Norwich: Miranda Costin, 1 0-0-2; Breanna Cashman, 2 1-2-5; Sydney Chaffee, 0; Jennifer Borfitz, 1 0-0-2; Cassie Sutton, 2 1-2-5; Bryn Loomis, 5 6-7-18; Hailey Dietrich, 5 5-6-15; Sophie Stewart, 0; Taylor Cook, 0. Totals: 16 13-17-47.
Gre. 4 12 10 4–30
Nor. 11 6 16 14–47
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (N) Loomis 2, (G) Gorton 3, Brooks 2. JV: Norwich beat Greene, 46-33 in championship game. All-tournament team: Hailey Dietrich, Norwich; Jennifer Borfitz, Norwich; Bryn Loomis (MVP), Norwich; Jessica Brooks, Greene; Jacquelyn Heggie, Oxford; Kelsey Decker, Sidney.
Oxford 44, Sidney 28
Oxford: Megan Golden, 1 0-0-2; Bridget Rice, 0 1-4-1; Jac. Heggie, 6 3-6-16; Jul. Heggie, 2 7-12-11; Lacey Barry, 4 0-0-8; Octavia Bishop, 0 0-2-0; Brooke Noble, 3 0-0-6. Totals: 16 11-24-44.
Sidney: Meridith delello, 5 0-0-11; Bethany Karl, 2 0-0-4; Hannah Wood, 0; Kelsey Decker, 4 2-2-11; Nicole Smith, 0; Brianna McClenon, 0; Shelby Bourn, 0; Melia Wakeman, 1 0-0-2. Totals: 12 2-2-28.
Oxf. 17 12 7 8-44
Sid. 6 6 2 14-28
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (O) Jac Heggie, (S) Decker, Delello. JV: Oxford beat Sidney, 39-18 in consolation game. Officials: Ewing, Linehan.
Norwich 47, Oxford 24
Oxford: Golden, 0 1-2-1; B. Rice, 0; Jac. Heggie, 5 2-2-13; Jul. Heggie, 0; Lacey Barry, 3 1-2-7; Octavia Bishop, 0 1-4-1; B. Noble, 1 0-2-2. Totals: 9 5-12-24.
Norwich: Costin, 1 0-0-2; Cashman, 1 0-0-2; Chaffee, 1 0-0-2; Borfitz, 4 6-7-15; Sutton, 0; Loomis, 8 2-5-19; Dietrich, 1 0-0-2; Stewart, 0 2-2-2; Cook, 1 1-1-3. Totals: 17 11-15-47.
Oxf. 2 4 7 11–24
NHS 10 8 15 14–47
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (N) Borfitz, Loomis, (O) Jac. Heggie. JV: Norwich won 53-11. Officials: Vincevich, Jensen.
Greene 40, Sidney 15
Sidney: Meridith Delello, 3 0-0-6; Bethany Karl, 0 0-2-0; Shelby Brown, 1 0-0-2; Hannah Wood, 0-0-0-0; Nicole Smith, 1 1-2-3; Kelsey Decker, 1 0-0-2; Brianna McClenon, 1 0-0-2; Shelby Bourn, 0 0-0-0; Melia Wakeman, 0-0-0-0. Totals: 7 1-4-15.
Greene: Sierra Stoppkotte, 2 0-2-4; Paige Castle, 0 0-0-0; Jessica Brooks, 6 1-2-13; Kaitlin Gorton,2 1-2-7 ; Rebecca Smith, 4 2-2-10; Natalie Greene, 1 0-0-2; Alisha Montelione, dnp; Rebecca Hanrahan, 1 0-0-2; Shannon Gregory, 2 0-0-4. Totals: 17 4-8-40.
Sidn. 4 4 0 7–15
Gre. 13 11 5 11–40
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (G) Gorton 2. JV: Greene won 34-25.
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