Norwalk pulls away in second half in Tourney Tune-Up win

CASTALIA — Norwalk needed something offensively. The Truckers led by just two points more than halfway through the third quarter. Norwalk hadn't scored any points since halftime, but in a blink of an eye, rocketed away from Lima Bath. The Truckers rode the momentum of nine straight points to a 45-33 non-league win over the Wildkittens at the Tourney Tune-Up at Margaretta High School on Sunday. "I thought offensively we had good flow in the first half," Norwalk coach Kyle Brubaker said. "We were a little stronger with the ball than we have been. We made better decisions. I thought our defense was solid for the most part. We had some lapses with rebounding, but I think our defense made them grind and work for everything they wanted." After a 3-pointer from Addy Rex brought Bath within 24-22, the defense from the Truckers (14-5) kept the Wildkittens (11-7) off the board the for over five minutes. In the mean time, Emmie Leber scored twice. After a Bath timeout, Bella Hernandez split two free throws. Then, Audryn Ott drilled a 3-pointer to make it 32-22. Jo Jackson split two free throws before a score from Gwyn Foust ended Bath's 5:34 scoring drought. "That's been the thing with this group is consistency," Brubaker said. "At our best, we're pretty good. But, we have too many times where we slip to average and that's going to happen in basketball. You'd like to see it even out a little bit. I think it's gaining confidence and continuing to see situations." In the fourth quarter, Bath got within 33-26 with 5:05 to go, but Trinity Lazzara made two free throws and scored a bucket. Following an exchange of timeouts, a score from Lazzara pushed the Norwalk advantage to 39-26. Leber paced Norwalk with 13 points while Lazzara (six assists) and Jackson (six rebounds) each scored 11 points. "On our gameday board for goals was three people in double figures or more," Brubaker said. "We can check that one off. We believe that's difficult. We have multiple people that can pop off for 20 points. We want to be hard to defend. We don't want them to take one player away and be able to beat Norwalk." Both teams played well early. Bath was up 6-4 more than halfway through the first quarter before Norwalk got going. Leber and Alyssa Gruhlke each scored to take the lead for good. Jackson then picked a steal and scored before a putback bucket for Lazzara extended the Truckers' lead to 12-6. Izzy McDermott hit a 3-pointer for the Wildkittens, but Lazzara responded with a triple of her own. In the second quarter, Bath drew as close as 15-14, but tallies from Jackson and Lazzara pushed the lead back to five. Later, Leber tallied a three-point play and Lazzara scored for a 24-19 Norwalk lead at the break. Bath is No. 2 all-time for the most wins in OHSAA girls basketball history. The Wildkittens have had just three head coaches in program history. "What we liked most was we felt like it was going to be a district final preview," Brubaker said. "Obviously, I'm not saying we're guaranteed to be in one, but it's a goal of our's. We liked the quality of our opponent, the type of environment and the type of atmosphere. It was a little different playing on Sunday." It is the start of a big week for the Truckers. Norwalk hosts Oregon Clay (2-14) for Senior Night on Tuesday. Then, the Truckers (7-1 Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division) welcome in Div. IV No. 1 Bellevue (16-0, 6-0) in what is essentially a conference championship contest. Bellevue topped Norwalk 65-13 on Jan. 2. "It doesn't get bigger: Senior Night and Bellevue," Brubaker said. "Then, our last game of the year happens to be a SBC game. It doesn't get any bigger and then you get ready for the tournament." BATH (11-7) Mara Davis 2 3-4 9, Marlie Mason 0 1-6 1, Gwyn Foust 2 1-2 5, Addy Rex 3 1-4 9, Izzy McDermott 3 0-0 8, Alycen Stumbaugh 0 1-2 1. TOTALS 10 7-18 33 NORWALK (14-5) CJ Bennett 0 4-6 4, Alyssa Gruhlke 1 0-1 2, Emmie Leber 5 3-4 13, Trinity Lazzara 4 2-2 11, Jo Jackson 5 1-2 11, Bella Hernandez 0 1-2 1, Audryn Ott 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 16 11-17 45 Bath 12 7 5 9 — 33 Norwalk 15 9 9 12 — 45 Three-point goals: Bath 6 (Davis 2, Rex 2, McDermott 2); Norwalk 2 (Lazzara, Ott)