Norwich 56, Unatego 48
Another day in Section 4? Sounds good! Tuesday turned into my seemingly annual pilgrimage to Norwich, this time for an interesting area matchup not often seen as the Purple Tornado hosted Unatego. A back-and-forth affair turned in Norwich's favor right before intermission, and one more run sealed the deal for the hosts in a good high school basketball game.
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| Sydney Coggins got hot in the 3rd quarter, where she scored 10 of her team high 16 for Norwich. |
There were five lead changes in the 1st quarter as Norwich & Unatego, who have very contrasting styles in ways, each tried to establish themselves. Back-to-back threes from Sydney Coggins (Norwich 2021) and Maddy Morris (Norwich 2022) gave them a 14-10 edge late in the frame, and the margin remained 4 at 16-12 through the opening stanza. The lead changed hands four more times in the 2nd, with a Meghan Perry (Unatego 2021) basket & free throw eventually pushing Unatego in front for the last time at 20-19 with 3:36 left in the half. A game-changing push followed for Norwich though. Mackenzie Hess (Norwich 2022) buried a three at the 1:08 mark, then after a Norwich timeout, they came out and forced consecutive Unatego turnovers & made them pay at the other end. First, it was Emily Evans (Norwich 2022) with a three-point play, then Hess canned another triple with :17.0 left in the half to send the Purple Tornado into the locker room up 28-20.
The game certainly remained competitive in the 2nd half and Unatego hung around, but they had to deal with the hot hand of Coggins in the 3rd quarter. She hit two consecutive threes to extend the Norwich lead to double figures early in the frame. The margin shrank to seven midway through the frame after a pair of Morgan Perry (Unatego 2021) free throws & a Meghan Perry bucket, but Norwich again got back-to-back triples from Coggins & Morris in response. Morgan Perry cut Unatego's deficit to 43-32 by the end of the 3rd.
A Meghan Perry score got Unatego as close as 8 in the 4th quarter at 46-38, but a Margaret Dougher (Norwich 2022) fueled stretch gave Norwich all the space they would need late. It started right before the Perry basket with a drive & dish to Evans, then she continued the trend with another assist to Evans, a drive & finish at the rim, and a steal & layup. Abby Hansen (Norwich 2021) completed the 8-0 spurt with a midrange J to give them their largest lead at 54-38 with 2:50 remaining. Unatego reeled off 10 of the last 12 points to cut the final margin back to single digits.
Sydney Coggins led Norwich with 16 points, 10 of them coming in the 3rd quarter, and she hit 5 of their 10 threes. Margaret Dougher joined her in double digits with 10 points, and four others (Emily Evans, Mackenzie Hess, Abby Hansen, Maddy Morris) scored between 6-9 points. For Unatego, Meghan Perry had a game high 17 points, Morgan Perry added 13 points, and Maddie Wilsey (Unatego 2023) joined her in double figures with 11.
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| Meghan Perry, who recently crossed the 1000 point mark, led all scorers with 17 for Unatego. |
#ThoughtsFromTheBaseline
- Two short, but huge stretches meant the world to Norwich Tuesday; the 9-0 spurt over 68 seconds to end the half, then the 8-0 spurt over about two minutes in the 4th quarter. A perfectly timed Coach Bennett timeout helped fuel the first one for Norwich; he called a quick one after a Mackenzie Hess three, reorganized them defensively and they pulled out the run & jump to turn Unatego over on consecutive possessions. They made good on the added possessions to complete the job before the break. The 4th quarter spurt happened after Unatego switched from zone to man defensively, which they had to do out of necessity with their deficit. Credit to Norwich, who simplified the game after that switch; Margaret Dougher had an advantageous matchup, and they went to the well time & time again. She got paint touches on middle drives three consecutive times, twice finding Emily Evans when the low help committed to the drive, then she scored on the third drive when help didn't commit. Add a steal & layup after that, and Margaret - who had been a little quiet to that point - put her stamp all over the late run.
- This was about as clear of a contrast of styles as fire vs. ice. Norwich's guard play, perimeter shooting, and relentless pressure runs the show for them; Unatego's superior size, length, and interior play has been their main ticket to success. They both tried to take full advantage of their strengths. Even when both teams went the same route defensively (2-3), it was for different reasons - Norwich to pack in the paint and try to force perimeter shots, Unatego to use length and try to get tips vs. smaller guards with built-in help behind. The 'contrast of style' matchups are always particularly interesting to me, and this was about as different as it'll get.
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| Margaret Dougher had a great 4th quarter stretch for Norwich and contributed 10 points in the W. |
- Unatego had a lot of trouble against the scrappy Norwich pressure - as many teams usually do - but they still were very much in it. When they got the ball in the half-court and were able to get some sort of an interior touch (high post, low post, or short corner), they often had success. Really, I thought they missed a lot of shots 12' & in that they'd love to have back, which perhaps could've changed the outlook.
- I'm grateful for any/every school that allows me in the gym to cover a game, and I'll certainly never play favorites... but I'll just say that the Norwich hospitality is in a league nearly of its own. This has always been the case, but it's especially notable this winter. A major thank you to Norwich athletic director Rich Turnbull, coach Josh Bennett, and the whole crew for allowing media (and myself) in for this one!
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