Norwell has climbed the mountain over and over and over again, but fell short on Saturday night in their first Class 4A state finals with a 56-53 loss to unbeaten Center Grove.
The Knights got their look at the end, a three from Macie Saalfrank that just didn’t land. A tough end for Norwell, a fate similar to their first ever Class 3A state title game just two seasons ago. But the drive to get there was impressive as Norwell was able to do something rare in their third straight finals trip, doing so over two different classes.
Norwell’s offense put immediate pressure on Center Grove, attacking the Trojan defense and getting to the free throw line right off the bat, scoring the first four points of the game from the charity stripe, but only getting back 10 more times the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Center Grove shot 23 free throws in the game, hitting 19 of them. Norwell’s initial 4-0 lead would grow, hitting 12-6 on a Jada Dale three pointer and 15-8 when Vanessa Rosswurm knocked down a triple with 3:19 left in the opening frame. A single Center Grove free throw, from Haley Wagoner, was the only scoring left in the first after Rosswurm’s three pointer.
Mackenzie Pierce and Lillia Tapak opened the second quarter with a pair of three pointers to tie the game at 15 as Center Grove was still hunting shots for leading scorer Gracyn Gilliard. In the meantime, Norwell answered with back to back threes of their own from Saalfrank and Ashley Waldman. This is when Center Grove’s free throw shooting number advantage kicked in as the Trojans were 8-of-9 from the line in the second quarter, hitting no shots from the field in the final 5:53 of the quarter, but still taking just a two point deficit (25-23) into the halftime break.
The opening of the third was frantic as the teams exchanged baskets on the hands of Saalfrank, Rosswurm, Gilliard and Wagoner. A Rosswurm basket with 3:41 left in the third on a pullup jumper pushed Norwell’s lead to 11. At the end of three, the Knights would hold a five point lead as Center Grove again scored their last 6 points of the quarter at the free throw line.
Then came the big drought for Norwell.
A Wagoner offensive rebound and putback two minutes into the final quarter evened the game up, but Center Grove was not done pushing. The Torjans found their way up by 10 at the 2:40 mark on a Gilliard made basket. It culminated a 17-0 run for Center Grove going back to the end of the third quarter; Norwell found themselves down 53-45.
A well placed timeout with 2:33 left on the clock sparked a 9-0 Norwell run, pushing themselves right back into contention. Saalfrank scored the first five points of Norwell’s run, with Rosswurm and Waldman adding buckets to make it a 53-52 game with 38 second remaining. Center Grove’s Wagoner and Norwell’s Alivia Green then each went 1-of-2 from the free throw line and Gilliard hit two free throws with 12 seconds left to set up the finish.
Down three, Norwell got the ball up the court and moved well against the threat of a Center Grove foul as the Trojans had one to give without putting Norwell on the free throw line. But Center Grove played the final seconds straight up and Saalfrank got a good look at the rim from three, but the shot just didn’t fall.
Gilliard led the way with 22 points for the Trojans, despite an 0-of-4 night from three point range; she also finished with 9 rebounds and 6 steals; she hit 9-of-10 free throws including the clinchers with 12 seconds left. Wagoner added 9 points for Center Grove and Tapak added 8.
Rosswurm scored 22 to lead the Knight, with Saalfrank and Waldman each chipping in 11. Norwell’s tough defense forced 17 Center Grove teenagers, while coming up with 14 steals; paced by 4 each from Saalfrank and Waldman. Norwell however picked up just 16 points off turnovers, while the Trojans managed 26 points off Norwell’s 15 turnovers.
Norwell shot better from the field (40.5%) and three point range (44) but Center Grove supplied the best shooting eight minutes of the game with their big fourth quarter, shooting 54.5 percent in the final frame.
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