Hot start carries Norwalk in opener

NORWALK — The start to a new season was near-perfect. And it was a good thing for the Norwalk High School girls basketball team. The Truckers raced out to leads of 9-0 and 13-2 midway through the first quarter of Friday's season opener vs. Ashland at NHS. But things went a little sideways for a bit, as the Arrows had closed to within four points early in the third quarter before Norwalk recovered for the 57-38 win. On a night where returning leading scorer Brooklyn Davis was limited to two points and the Truckers shot just 15-of-70 from the floor, they still won by 19 points. "It's crazy to think that you can shoot 21 percent from the floor and win by 19," Norwalk head coach Brock Manlet said. "We started off the game like we wanted to. Defensively we did a great job of creating turnovers." Sophomore guard Abby Koenig scored the first six points of the game in less than 90 seconds for Norwalk. When classmate Kenzie Smith made a 3-pointer, the Truckers were off and running with a 9-0 lead at the 6:11 mark. Back-to-back baskets by Koenig then extended the lead to 13-2 with 3:37 left in the first. But the Arrows were able to settle in a bit and trimmed the deficit to 15-8 by the end of the opening quarter. Ashland then got within 18-14 with 2:42 left in the half after four consecutive Norwalk possessions came up empty. But from there, the Truckers were able to get a pair of foul shots from Koenig and a 3-pointer by Summer Moehlman to give the Truckers a 23-18 halftime lead. "The one thing we struggled with for much of the first half was we didn't share the ball really well," Manlet said. "Then things started to not go our way, and we started pressing a little bit. "It's tough to break that momentum, but we just had to get out of that slide," he added. "But credit to the girls. They came out after halftime and played a much better second half." Ashland scored twice around Davis' lone basket to pull within 25-21 at the 6:19 mark of the third. Norwalk again got some separation in the form of two foul shots from Smith, and a second 3 by Moehlman. Moehlman's third 3 of the game came from the right wing, which was quickly followed by a steal and layup by Koenig for a 35-23 lead with 3:26 left in the third. Kylie Moser and Lucy Schlotterer added baskets, and two free throws by Moser to start the fourth capped a 16-4 scoring run and put the Truckers in control for the duration. "We have to get some three's from the outside," Manlet said. "We know we're going to have better offensive nights, and we have to. But those 3s by Summer in the third separated us and allowed us to play more relaxed." Koenig finished with a game-high 21 points, which included 13-of-18 at the free-throw line. She also added nine rebounds, seven steals and five assists. Moehlman added 10 points and five rebounds. Smith scored seven points and had six rebounds, while Davis also grabbed 13 rebounds and had six steals. The Truckers will now get a long time to reflect on Friday's win. Norwalk will not play again until its SBC Lake Division opener on Nov. 29 at Tiffin Columbian. "Positives and negatives certainly," Manlet said of the layoff. "Obviously there is time to fix some things and watch some teams in person, but the negative is, that's a long time off. "After a game like this with how we shot the ball, I'd like to get us right back on the floor and play again," he added. "We'll use that time to shore up our defense a little bit and execute better offensively. We will take the time to watch ourselves on film and try to improve." ASHLAND (0-1) Mallory Marth 1-0—2; Grace Tobias 1-0—2; Madison Hoffman 4-3—11; Camryn Cox 2-2—7; Makaree Chapman 2-1—6; Audra McBride 2-2—6; Lilly Pool 1-2—4. TOTALS 13-9—38 NORWALK (1-0) Hailey Rinner 1-0—2; Emily Koenig 1-0—2; Hannah Steffanni 1-1—3; Abby Koenig 3-13—21; Kenzie Smith 1-4—7; Brooklyn Davis 1-0—2; Lucy Schlotterer 2-0—4; Kylie Moser 2-2—6; Summer Moehlman 3-1—10. TOTALS 15-21—57 Ashland 8 10 7 13 — 38 Norwalk 15 8 16 18 — 57 Three-point goals: (A) Hoffman, Cox, Chapman; (N) Moehlman 3, Koenig 2, Smith.