It was a big week on the girls side where we are really settling in and not just feeling things out.
It was also the final week of the season without boys play as they took to their scrimmages this week ahead of games opening up next week before the Thanksgiving holiday.
So what did you miss this week? What were the big happenings in week 3 of the girls season?
NORTHROP IS THE QUESTION MARK
Six days after their first win of the season, the Bruins took back to the court on Thursday and Saturday this week with two unique challenge. On Thursday, they toppled sometimes rival Carroll and on Saturday, they fell against Whitko – a team they split two games with a season ago.
In Bounce’s Power Poll earlier this week, Northrop was the most difficult team to rank. Their season opening loss came in a somewhat lopsided manner to world beater Warsaw and their win was over a struggling Concordia team. That said, post Concordia win, Swynn Jackson was averaging 21 points per game and the Bruins were 1-0 in the SAC.
It made this week even more important for Northrop as we look ahead and try to figure out the ins and outs of a very competitive Class 4A when it comes to area teams, as well as a SAC that only has a few viable challengers to Homestead’s throne. Northrop, as we expected in the preseason, should play a role in both of those things. But are they contenders or just a team that has the chance to upset the balance of the conference and postseason. We may be a while away from figuring that out, this week was important in my eyes.
On Tuesday, Carroll kept it close early with the Bruins holding just a 17-13 advantage after one. But then the pressure of Northrop turned things quickly in the second, outscoring the Chargers 20-7. After three, Northrop led 50-28 and finished the game off 64-42. Jackson and Khala Williams-Thomas each scored 18 points while seven Bruins scored including two more in double digits with 11 points each from Brilee Day and Marion Wyss.
QUEENS OF THE CASTLE
Never underestimate the strength of a Norwell team playing in The Castle. If we learned nothing else on Tuesday night, we learned that.
The Knights flexed their Class 4A muscles at home on Tuesday, topping #1 state ranked Homestead, 59-46, after forcing the Spartans into 24 turnovers, with 16 steals and 11 deflections for Norwell to Homestead’s five and two in those statistical categories. Macie Saalfrank led Norwell’s impressive defensive effort with seven steals while Homestead shot just 33.3 percent from the field. Homestead’s starters not named Gabby Helsom and Myah Epps combined for just 11 total points and Epps was held to just one made field goal in the game.
In the end, Addison Norris scored a career best 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a perfect 3-of-3 from deep, adding a block and two steals of her own on the defensive end. Vanessa Rosswurm scored 20 and Saalfrank had 12 points and seven rebounds to go with her aforementioned 7 steals.
Norwell won the second half of the game 37-23.
As far as high end games go, it was a masterclass for Norwell who shouldn’t surprise anyone at this point with their play. Coach Eric Thornton has, over the course of more than 20 seasons, shown that the way he does things are both special and unique. The top team in the state, regardless of class, walked into the gym and Norwell didn’t even as much as blink. On game day, there is a job to do at Norwell and they do it as well as anyone on the girls or boys sides.
How well Norwell played and executed their game is also a nod to Homestead. The Spartans are well coached, well disciplined and they too execute at a high level. Homestead’s system is often, fairly described as one of a kind and it is why they, next to Norwell, have the best high end longevity in our area.
This week though, it was just Norwell finding every single groove they could. Rosswurm and Saalfrank have been at the forefront of talk of the Knights and they still did their thing. But when someone else needed to step up, Norris did. And the reality is that they have several other girls who could have stepped into a lead role too; that is just how well this program is set up in 2025.
Norwell ended the week with a 65-23 win over Cathedral, jumping out to a 27-8 first quarter lead. Rosswurm ended with 22 points while Saalfrank tallied seven of Norwell’s 17 steals.
Norwell comes into a new week as the top team in the state in the most recent Sagarin rankings.
DOUBLE DOUBLES
Tuesday led off a week of big double doubles and it began with Carroll, who topped Huntington North 55-36, led by Lily George. The anchor in the middle for the Chargers, she scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. The Chargers outscored the Vikings 15-3 in the second and 13-4 in the fourth to get the win.
Joslyn Bricker posted 22 points and 10 rebounds for Warsaw on Tuesday against South Bend Riley. Garrett‘s Sarah Depew had 17 points and 12 rebounds against North Side on Tuesday; in the same game, North Side‘s Jayonna Flotow had 15 points and 15 rebounds.
On Friday, Bluffton‘s Sophie Eisenhut put it all to shame with her effort in a win over Huntington North. Eisenhut scored 15 points to go with 19 rebounds and nine blocked shots in the victory. Also on Friday, Leo‘s Leah Shappell posted a 22 point, 15 rebound effort in a win over Woodlan.
On Saturday, Blackhawk Christian got 14 point and 12 rebounds from Cici Sefton in a loss to Concord. Teammate Jaelyn Pickett was just off the double double train with 14 points and 9 rebounds.
QUICK HITS
Konley Ault scored a career best 33 points Tuesday for Bluffton against Mississinewa, while teammate Khloe Dick had a career high 22 points in the same game….Concordia‘s Alivia Bolinger moved within 38 points of 1,000 on Tuesday with 18 in a loss to East Noble; also this week she inked with PFW. She added 18 points against Homestead later in the week….Also in that game, East Noble‘s Addison Deming moved into 4th all-time in assists for the East Noble girls….The 10 points given up by Warsaw to South Bend Riley on Tuesday are the third least amount of points ever scored in a game against the Warsaw girls….On Tuesday, Garrett‘s Emma Coffman broke her own program sophomore scoring record with 35 points against North Side; she had broken the record 72 hours earlier against New Haven; it is the 3rd best scoring game in Garrett girls history….Carroll‘s Lily George had games of 25 and 27 points this week as the Chargers split with Huntington North and Northrop, she added 15 points in a loss to Carmel….Eastside‘s Taylor Mack had games of 26 and 24 points this week in wins over Leo and Angola.
These opinions represent those of Bounce and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Bounce on Twitter at Bounce_OTH
Be the first to comment