Bryan turns away Norwalk down the stretch

MANSFIELD — They had a chance. One win away from reaching the state semifinals, the Norwalk girls basketball team had a shot. The Truckers trailed Bryan by five points just past the midway point of the fourth quarter in Friday's Division II regional championship game. There was still a lot of game left to get closer — but the Golden Bears instead closed the door. Just 31 seconds after making a 3-pointer for a 48-43 deficit, Bryan standout Reese Grothaus canceled it out with a 3 of her own, allowing the Bears to finish off a 58-45 win inside Pete Henry Gymnasium at Mansfield Senior High School. With the win, the Bears (25-2) advanced to the state semifinals for the first time in program history. The Truckers close out the season at 23-4, also the most successful season in their history. "We just dug ourselves a hole that was too big of a deficit to climb out of," Norwalk head coach Brock Manlet said. "I felt like we wore down a little bit maybe for the first time in this tournament run. "We just looked like we were gassed at the end," he added. "Our kids have played so hard during this tournament run, and I just think it caught up to us against a great Bryan team." Down 27-17 just 35 seconds into the third quarter, Norwalk got right back in the game on a pair of 3s by sophomore Kenzie Smith and senior Summer Moehlman, which trimmed the deficit to 27-23 at the 6:25 mark. But in what proved to be a theme in the second half, the Bears responded just 25 seconds later, and went on a 7-0 run to open up a 34-23 lead at the 2:54 mark on a basket by Grothaus. It was a 40-27 deficit in the late stages of the quarter when sophomore Lucy Schlotterer drilled a 3 with 1.3 seconds to keep the Truckers within range at 40-30. Senior Emily Koenig then opened the fourth with a basket to bring her team within single-digits, but Bryan still led by 12 (46-34) with 5:44 left on a basket by Kailee Thiel. Then, the Truckers made their last big push. Senior Brooklyn Davis converted a three-point play, and following a Bryan miss, Smith made another 3 with 4:33 remaining. Just 18 seconds later, the Bears scored again inside — only for Smith to come down and drill her fourth 3 for a 48-43 margin with 3:54 left in the game. But then Grothaus had the quick answer, and the Bears closed out the game on a 7-2 scoring run for the final score. "That is just kind of the team they have," Manlet said. "You cut it to five, but you still have to pressure to try and get the ball back — and they had a ton of ball handlers that made it difficult to try and trap and get the ball out of their hands. "Then they stepped up to the line and knocked down free throws," he added. In the first half, the turnovers started to pile up for the Truckers in the late stages of the first quarter. Moehlman hit a 3 at the 3:54 mark to give Norwalk an 8-7 first quarter lead, but then the Bears took the lead back with a 3 by Ella Rau at the 2:46 mark. Davis scored to keep the Truckers down a basket (12-10) with 54.4 seconds left in the quarter. Bryan then opened the second quarter with five quick points to extend the lead to 17-10 at the 5:04 mark, as the Truckers also had three turnovers in that span. Abby Koenig stopped a scoring drought that spanned 4:18 to bring Norwalk within 17-12 with 4:36 left in the half. However, despite getting in the one-and-one bonus situation with 3:27 left in the half, the Truckers attempted just two free throws — and split the pair. Schlotterer scored down low to bring Norwalk within 18-15 with 2:26 left in the half, but the Bears got four points from Blayze Langenderfer, then Davis traded baskets with Allie Alspaugh in the final minute to give Bryan the 25-17 halftime lead. Norwalk had 13 turnovers in the first half, including eight in the game's first nine-plus minutes. "A little uncharacteristic of how we've played," Manlet said. "We've handled pressure pretty well. I don't know if it was the moment with a lot of people here and the bright lights on, but I just didn't feel like we were attacking early. "We were a bit too tentative, which led us into making some mistakes we don't normally make," he added. In her final game, Davis finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Truckers, with Smith scoring 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Bryan was paced by Thiel with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Grothaus also had 14 points, while Ella Rau added 11 points. "They are a tough matchup with a lot of shooters that surround Thiel in the post," Manlet said. "It was kind of a pick your poison situation because if you double down on her, they can kick it out for a three … they were just the better team." NORWALK (23-4) Emily Koenig 1-0—2; Abby Koenig 1-0—2; Kenzie Smith 5-0—14; Brooklyn Davis 6-1—13; Lucy Schlotterer 2-0—5; Kylie Moser 1-1—3; Summer Moehlman 2-0—6. TOTALS 18-2—45. BRYAN (25-2) Kailee Thiel 7-0—14; Ella Voigt 3-0—6; Reese Grothaus 5-2—14; Ella Rau 3-4—11; Marah Smith 1-0—3; Blayze Langenderfer 2-3—8; Allie Alspaugh 1-0—2. TOTALS 22-9—58. Norwalk 10 7 13 15 — 45 Bryan 12 13 15 18 — 58 3-point FGs: (N) Smith 4, Moehlman 2, Schlotterer (B) Grothaus 2, Rau, Smith, Langenderfer.