Tornado girl’s fall victim to potent lady Sabers in Section IV Class B semifinal game
By Kieran Coffey
Sun Sports Contributor
CONKLIN – There will be no Section IV title for the Norwich girl’s varsity basketball team in 2017, as they succumbed to defeat against a strong Susquehanna Valley team last night, Feb. 28, on a final score of 56-39.
From the tip-off in the Section IV Class B semifinals, it was an uphill battle for the Tornado. Their offense put up just six points in the opening quarter, while giving up 10 on the defensive end.
Norwich performed slightly better in the second quarter, but still found themselves down by an eight-point margin going into halftime at 22-14.
Things didn’t get any better for the Tornado in the second half, as their defensive struggles continued. They gave up 12 points to their opponents in the third quarter, however, Norwich was able to draw the game to a 29-23 deficit with 1:40 left in the third period. This comeback attempt would last long, as the lady Sabers ended the period with a lead at 34-23.
22 points in the final eight minutes buried Norwich on the scoreboard, letting Susquehanna Valley cruise to a rather comfortable 17-point victory at 56-39.
“Quite simply, I thought the difference in the game was our difficulty scoring in the spots in the game where we needed to put points on the board,” said Norwich head coach Josh Bennett reflecting on his side’s loss. “Our offense was very stagnant tonight. We had trouble with turnovers and just flat out trouble putting points on the board.”
Poor shooting from the charity stripe also marred the contest, as Norwich shot just 38 percent from the free-throw line, on 10-26 mark – while the Sabers shot just above 58 percent on the night, going 20-34 as a team.
Even though his team didn’t make it to the finals, Bennett was still extremely proud of their efforts after a rough contest.
“My kids played their guts out, and I was very proud of their effort and toughness,” said coach Bennett. “They all played well, (they’re) a great group of kids. (I’m) very upset that the seniors had to have it end on a game like that. (I) wish we played our best in their last games.”
Leading Norwich in the loss was Makenzie Maynard who cashed in at 10 points on the night, while teammates and fellow seniors Katelyn Dowdall and Meghan Komendarek added in nine and eight, respectively. Erin Nolan of SV led the Sabers in scoring on the night, with a game high 14 points scored – Hannah Haskell added in 13 of her own into the mix.
Following the loss, the Tornado finishes with an impressive record of 15-7 on the season.
The crushing defeat on the road in the playoffs, marks the end of the careers of five Norwich seniors; Makenzie Maynard, Kara Evans, Katelyn Dowdall, Meghan Komendarek and Cierra Sherman.
The remainder of the Tornado team will hope to build on the 2016-2017 season, and, while they will be missing some key contributors, they will hope to make another playoff run again, next year.
Norwich: 6 8 9 16– 39
Sus. Valley: 10 12 12 22– 56
Norwich: Cierra Sherman 0 0-2 0, Taylor Hansen 0 0-4 0, Katelyn Dowdall 2 3-4 9, Kara Evans 1 4-6 6, Halea Eaton 1 1-2 3, Makenzie Maynard 4 0-0 10, Meghan Komendarek 3 2-6 8, Nicole Jeffrey 0 0-2 0, Abby Flynn 1 0-0 3. Totals: 12 10-26 39.
Susquehanna Valley: Holly Manchester 1 7-10 9, Trinasia Kennedy 0 0-2 0, Hannah Haskell 6 0-1 13, Alexis Drake 1 0-0 2, Dominique Columbus 3 0-0 6, Olivia Gorman 2 3-7 7, Erin Nolan 2 9-12 14, Maeve Donnelly 2 1-2 5. Totals: 17 20-34 56.
Three-pointers: N– Dowdall 2; Maynard 2; Flynn 1; SV– Haskell 1, Nolan 1.
Sun Sports Contributor
CONKLIN – There will be no Section IV title for the Norwich girl’s varsity basketball team in 2017, as they succumbed to defeat against a strong Susquehanna Valley team last night, Feb. 28, on a final score of 56-39.
From the tip-off in the Section IV Class B semifinals, it was an uphill battle for the Tornado. Their offense put up just six points in the opening quarter, while giving up 10 on the defensive end.
Norwich performed slightly better in the second quarter, but still found themselves down by an eight-point margin going into halftime at 22-14.
Things didn’t get any better for the Tornado in the second half, as their defensive struggles continued. They gave up 12 points to their opponents in the third quarter, however, Norwich was able to draw the game to a 29-23 deficit with 1:40 left in the third period. This comeback attempt would last long, as the lady Sabers ended the period with a lead at 34-23.
22 points in the final eight minutes buried Norwich on the scoreboard, letting Susquehanna Valley cruise to a rather comfortable 17-point victory at 56-39.
“Quite simply, I thought the difference in the game was our difficulty scoring in the spots in the game where we needed to put points on the board,” said Norwich head coach Josh Bennett reflecting on his side’s loss. “Our offense was very stagnant tonight. We had trouble with turnovers and just flat out trouble putting points on the board.”
Poor shooting from the charity stripe also marred the contest, as Norwich shot just 38 percent from the free-throw line, on 10-26 mark – while the Sabers shot just above 58 percent on the night, going 20-34 as a team.
Even though his team didn’t make it to the finals, Bennett was still extremely proud of their efforts after a rough contest.
“My kids played their guts out, and I was very proud of their effort and toughness,” said coach Bennett. “They all played well, (they’re) a great group of kids. (I’m) very upset that the seniors had to have it end on a game like that. (I) wish we played our best in their last games.”
Leading Norwich in the loss was Makenzie Maynard who cashed in at 10 points on the night, while teammates and fellow seniors Katelyn Dowdall and Meghan Komendarek added in nine and eight, respectively. Erin Nolan of SV led the Sabers in scoring on the night, with a game high 14 points scored – Hannah Haskell added in 13 of her own into the mix.
Following the loss, the Tornado finishes with an impressive record of 15-7 on the season.
The crushing defeat on the road in the playoffs, marks the end of the careers of five Norwich seniors; Makenzie Maynard, Kara Evans, Katelyn Dowdall, Meghan Komendarek and Cierra Sherman.
The remainder of the Tornado team will hope to build on the 2016-2017 season, and, while they will be missing some key contributors, they will hope to make another playoff run again, next year.
Norwich: 6 8 9 16– 39
Sus. Valley: 10 12 12 22– 56
Norwich: Cierra Sherman 0 0-2 0, Taylor Hansen 0 0-4 0, Katelyn Dowdall 2 3-4 9, Kara Evans 1 4-6 6, Halea Eaton 1 1-2 3, Makenzie Maynard 4 0-0 10, Meghan Komendarek 3 2-6 8, Nicole Jeffrey 0 0-2 0, Abby Flynn 1 0-0 3. Totals: 12 10-26 39.
Susquehanna Valley: Holly Manchester 1 7-10 9, Trinasia Kennedy 0 0-2 0, Hannah Haskell 6 0-1 13, Alexis Drake 1 0-0 2, Dominique Columbus 3 0-0 6, Olivia Gorman 2 3-7 7, Erin Nolan 2 9-12 14, Maeve Donnelly 2 1-2 5. Totals: 17 20-34 56.
Three-pointers: N– Dowdall 2; Maynard 2; Flynn 1; SV– Haskell 1, Nolan 1.
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