Koenig, Leber power Truckers past Tigers

HURON — Norwalk and Huron were tied midway through the first quarter in a Sandusky Bay Conference girls basketball crossover game Wednesday. Abby Koenig and Emmie Leber made sure it didn't stay that way for long. Koenig and Leber combined for 10 straight points to break a 7-7 tie and lead the Truckers to a 53-25 road win. "Abby and Emmie have been consistent for us on the offensive end," Norwalk coach Kyle Brubaker said. "We didn't get out to the start we wanted to, but credit Huron for that. "It really started on the defensive end for us. It allowed us to play at our pace, and when we share the basketball we're a pretty good team." Norwalk forced seven Huron turnovers in each of the first two quarters to take control. The Truckers, ranked No. 7 in the state in Division III by MaxPreps, improved to 17-1 with their seventh straight victory. Norwalk travels to Tiffin Columbian on Friday. A win there would clinch no worse than a tie for the SBC Lake Division title. "It's a huge game for us," Koenig said. "If we win, it'll be the first league title in (program) history. We're all focused and locked in. We're really excited to play." Koenig scored 16 points against the Tigers to run her career total to 979. She also spearheaded Norwalk's defense with several steals. "We started off slow, but we knew we could pressure them, turn them over and get fast breaks," Koenig said. "That really helped us, to bring the intensity up. Our defense turned into offense. We focus on defense a lot in practice." Addie LaCivita scored five quick points to give Huron (7-9) a 5-2 lead. By early in the second quarter, Norwalk led 19-7 on a Trinity Lazzara jumper. Leber, a sophomore center, scored eight of her 15 points in the first quarter and added eight rebounds in three quarters of action. She was lethal on the low block, making decisive moves to the hoop. "She's very quick," Brubaker said. "She has a nice first step and she can finish over both shoulders with both hands. It's a nice asset for us to have." Leber's inside game took the heat off the perimeter, and the Truckers made 14 of 24 attempts from the field in the middle two quarters. "She is amazing; I love having her on my team," Koenig said of Leber. "She's a big help to everyone." Norwalk put the game away with a 19-0 run that started with a Koenig bucket with 5:56 left in the second quarter and ended on Leber's follow-up hoop two minutes into the second half. The Truckers held Huron to 3-for-20 shooting in the first half. "The shots they did take were contested for the most part," Brubaker said. "Our attention to detail was pretty good. You make people take contested jump shots, you go get the long rebounds that leads to the other end." A free throw by Alyssa Gruhlke gave Norwalk a 51-16 lead with 6:51 to play, triggering the running clock. "They're very good; they make your weaknesses look like weaknesses," Huron coach Darius Schaeffer said. "They really run the floor better than I thought they did on tape. That's the best team I've seen run the floor, and it helps when they can rotate so many girls. They really do wear you down." Huron outscored Norwalk 9-3 in the fourth as the Truckers' starters rested on the bench. Mya Smith, the Tigers' 6-foot freshman center, finished with six points, eight rebounds and several blocked shots. LaCivita also scored six points. "We did some nice things in stretches," Schaeffer said. "In the fourth quarter I challenged them a little bit and they responded the way I wanted them to respond." The schedule doesn't get any easier for Huron. The Tigers host Margaretta (15-4) on Saturday before traveling to Willard (12-6) next Tuesday. NORWALK (17-1) Alyssa Gruhlke 0 1-2 1, Abby Koenig 5 5-6 16, Kenzie Smith 1 0-0 3, Emmie Leber 6 3-8 15, Trinity Lazzara 3 1-1 7, Delaney Illuzzi 3 0-0 6, Lucy Schlotterer 1 0-0 3, Maddie Gamble 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 20 10-17 53 HURON (7-9) Jessica Brown 0 2-2 2, Julia Brown 2 0-0 6, Jenna Cox 0 1-2 1, Addie LaCivita 2 2-3 6, Mya Smith 3 0-0 6, Reese Hotz 1 0-0 2, Adelyn Van Sickle 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 9 5-7 25 Norwalk 15 17 18 3 — 53Huron 7 3 6 9 — 25 Three-point goals: Norwalk 3 (Koenig, Smith, Schlotterer); Huron 2 (Ju. Brown 2)