Cambridge Spreads The Wealth In Victory Over Norwich

March 6, 2021

Cambridge 70, Norwich 53

Saturday afternoon was the closest it felt to pre-COVID times since before the world shut down a year ago. Why? An intriguing out-of-area matchup where two teams that wanted a battle put it together & made it happen. It took longer than hoped to get a chance to see Cambridge in person this year, but as anticipated, it was worth the wait. After a competitive start, the three-time defending Section 2 Class C & still-defending NYSPHSAA Class C champs used a big 2nd half to break it open & pick up a good win over Norwich, the two-time defending Section 4 Class B champions.

Lilly Phillips got it going early & finished with 19 points to help lead the Cambridge attack.

It took a little while for both teams to settle in, but it was a back-and-forth start while that process was happening. Lilly Phillips (Cambridge 2021, Albany signee) rimmed in a three to open the scoring, a sign of things to come in the quarter for her. Norwich took their only lead when Mackenzie Hess (Norwich 2022) hit a three to make it 6-5 at the 5:00 mark, but another Lilly three with 3:43 left in the 1st put Cambridge back on top. The teams traded buckets to the tune of four 1st quarter ties, but a 6-0 Cambridge spurt - 4 more from Lilly - helped them end the quarter up 19-14. The 2nd quarter was jagged at times as the game progressively got more physical, frustration started to set in for various reasons, and foul trouble became a factor. Norwich was held to one field goal in the frame, a Margaret Dougher (Norwich 2022) bucket at the 6:03 mark, but they held Cambridge down enough offensively to remain close. Only four points were scored in the last 4:25 of the half - a Sophie Phillips (Cambridge 2021, Rhode Island signee) trey and Maddy Morris (Norwich 2022) free throw - as Cambridge went into intermission up 29-19.

The host Indians started to steadily pull away in the 3rd quarter. They scored the first five points of the half, starting with a Stasia Epler (Cambridge 2022) runner to beat the shot clock in their opening possession. When Norwich got back-to-back buckets from Morris and Abby Hansen (Norwich 2021), Cambridge got five straight Lilly points in response. Where the Morris/Hansen combo was Norwich's only instance of consecutive scoring in the quarter, Cambridge did so on four occasions. The last of them was a 7-0 spurt in the last 40 seconds of the frame - two Sophie free throws, a Sophie bucket, and a Schuylar Nolan (Cambridge 2023) banked left wing three at the buzzer - which put Cambridge up 53-30. They followed it up with their longest run of the game in the 4th, a 10-0 swing with their four leading scorers all contributing to the pile, and an Epler three gave them their largest lead at 66-35 with 3:33 remaining. That was actually not the only double digit run of the quarter though, as Norwich reeled off 11 straight after that, 8 of them coming from Sydney Coggins (Norwich 2021).

Cambridge saw four players finish in double digits in the victory. Lilly Phillips & Stasia Epler each contributed 19 points; Lilly had 10 in the 1st quarter, and 8 of hers in the 4th. Stasia (5) and Lilly (3) combined to knock down 8 of their 11 threes. Sophie Phillips added 14 points for the Indians, and McKayla McLenithan (Cambridge 2021) contributed 11. Norwich was paced by Sydney Coggins, who had 11 of her 13 points in the 4th quarter, and Abby Hansen added 10 for the Purple Tornado.

Emily Evans, who finished with 7 points, was part of a trademark balanced effort for Norwich.

#ThoughtsFromTheBaseline

- First, it was just nice to see a matchup between two out-of-area programs. They wanted the bump, and they made it happen. Credit to both for wanting it, credit to Norwich for being willing to make the long trip to Cambridge as I'm not sure it would've been able to happen otherwise. I'm glad it was able to work out!

- Norwich's pressure, whether it's to force live-ball turnovers and turn D into transition O or to force rushed shots & decisions, is integral to their success. It impacts nearly every team they play... but Cambridge just got to a point where it didn't impact them, and that's when they started to separate themselves. Although Norwich was never really able to turn Cambridge over with it, I thought it impacted their shot selection early. In the 1st half, they took a good amount of semi-transition 3v2 or 4v3 perimeter jumpers after breaking the press, which I don't think served them too well - and a consequence of it was also that I didn't think Sophie got into a rhythm for a while. They started to get more selective with those and also started to try & get to the rim or dump it down to McLenithan after breaking it as the game went on, which had a higher success rate. The perimeter jumpers that they got in the 2nd half were better ones - most of the action was inside-out, whether it was on a drive & kick, post kick-out, or 2nd chance opportunity, instead of catching & shooting on long advance passes. Better action usually = better shots. Better shots usually = better results. In my eyes, there was a pretty simple explanation for the big 3rd quarter (and 2nd half overall).

- Another "in my eyes" opinionated observation - I don't think Norwich played poorly. They certainly continued to battle and they were able to get some decent shots for them that didn't fall. Just a tough matchup. Passes that get where they need to be vs. most other teams didn't get there with Cambridge, led by the length & athleticism of the twins. When they did get there, it was often a tough pass or catch for a shot, not as many in-rhythm attempts for a team that is guard-dominated & shoots the three a lot. As mentioned in the last point, they also couldn't really turn them over with the pressure because of their skill, decision making, and ability to see over the smaller Norwich guards. Combine those points, and a lot of things have to go right, which includes shooting the ball at a high percentage. Played fine, great effort, often pretty good execution, but for various reasons, just didn't shoot it well enough collectively.

Stasia Epler, who tied for the game high with 19 points, has turned her game up another notch for Cambridge.

- I remember 3-4 years ago at Cambridge, it was 'wait til you see these twins they have'. Then over the last couple years, it became 'they're really good because there's more than just the twins'. We're now at a point where Stasia Epler can lead them in scoring against quality opponents in victories. She tied for the game high Saturday, and she had a game high of 20 in their closest game of the year vs. Greenwich earlier in the week. She has developed into more than just a knockdown shooter, which I think the locals started to realize a couple years ago when Mechanicville went triangle & 2 on the twins a couple years ago and she tuned them up in a narrow W. The shot itself has gotten better & more consistent, she's really improved playing off the shot, putting it on the floor & finishing with the in-between game or at the rim, and perhaps most importantly, she's unquestionably more confident than ever. Fun to watch.

- A major thank you to Cambridge AD Deb Lauver, coach Bob Phillips, and all administration for allowing media (and myself) in the gym for Saturday's game! It's not a normal year without a Cambridge pilgrimage.