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By Jonathan Magnin
Portland — For the second straight time, the Class 3A No. 2 Norwell Knights found themselves in an early hole against the Jay County Patriots Friday night.
And for the second game in the row, the Knights clawed their way back and pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 50-46 win.
Norwell (4-0) started off slowly and found itself in a 10-2 hole midway through the first quarter.
“This has happened to us the past two games where we have gotten down early,” said Norwell girls’ varsity coach Eric Thornton. “Sometimes your kids need to learn to play through adversity like that and I just have a lot of confidence in them.”
The Knights closed to 12-6 by the end of the first quarter; and in the second quarter, Norwell turned to its 6-2 sophomore Jessica Rupright.
Rupright scored seven of her game-high 17 points in the second quarter, most of them at the foul line where she was 5 of 6 in the quarter to get Norwell back in it.
“It took our girls a little while to figure out their zone, but I felt we did a nice job of finding Jess there in the second quarter and that helped us get into a better rhythm on offense,” said Thornton.
The Knights kept chipping away, eventually taking their first lead on a Taylor Wilson lay-in with 3:15 remaining. The two teams traded baskets and the Knights headed into the locker room down 20-19.
When asked about his team’s slow start in the first half, Thornton chalked it up to their guards not being aggressive and driving to the basket.
“They have probably one of the best zone’s we have played against so far,” said Thornton. “We got very little penetration from our guards there in the first half, but in the second half I felt we did a much better job, especially Jenelle (Wilson).”
Jay County (4-2) again came out strong off the bat in the second half, pushing their lead to 28-22 midway through the third quarter, led by senior guard Pazia Speed’s five points.
Yet, the Knights fought back and ended the quarter on an 11-3 run that put them up 33-31 heading into the final stanza, where Wilson took over for the Knights.
Wilson, who had only five points heading into the fourth quarter, heated up when it mattered most. Wilson tallied 10 points in the fourth quarter to finish with 15 — none bigger than a three-pointer with 4:10 remaining that pushed the Knights lead to 43-33.
Jay County attempted to make a comeback, but Norwell, who shot 3 for 3 from the field and 9 for 14 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, kept the Patriots at bay.
“This is a huge confidence booster for our team heading into our conference schedule,” said Wilson. “We know how hard we have to play and we have to play as if we are playing the toughest team on our schedule.”
Norwell also captured the junior varsity contest 36-18. Jami Reinhard led the Knights with 15 points, while Sophie Gerber chipped in seven. Paige Frisch added six, Jessica Louison and Carlee Harnish three each, and Amber Haflich two. Jay County was led by Molly May with six and Rachelle Jackson four.
Norwell will be back in action Tuesday night, travelling to Fort Wayne Wayne (2-0). Jay County will host Bluffton (2-3) on Tuesday.
Note: Jay County was the only team to defeat Norwell in the regular season last year. The Patriots beat the Knights 48-40.
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