Norwalk seniors reflect on program's best season

MANSFIELD — They won't ever forget this. For eight Norwalk seniors, the last time they took the court was in a regional final. "This is definitely gonna be the most memorable thing about all of our high school experiences," senior Summer Moehlman said. "I can't wait to look back on all the fun times and memories, because it truly has been such an amazing journey with these girls." These eight soon-to-be graduates led the Truckers to a stage no team in program history had ever reached. They were three starters — Moehlman, Brooklyn Davis and Kylie Moser — and five steady reserves — Emily Koenig, Hannah Steffanni, Jossalyn Kreps, Morgan Leber and Cara Mooney. Their careers ended with a 58-45 loss to Bryan, but the finish wasn't what they'd remember in the long run. "We told them in the locker room, we didn't reach our goal tonight," Norwalk coach Brock Manlet said. "But this is something they can look back on and say they were the best team to ever run through here … When they have kids of their own, they can tell them they were the best team to ever play here." It would've been hard to ever predict a tournament run of this magnitude for a team that had never done so before, but the Truckers laid their foundation together with an eighth-grade league championship four seasons ago. "We learned that we had the guts to do it after we got knocked out in the first round the year before," Moehlman said. Davis transferred in as a freshman and joined a group that was happy to embrace her. "I didn't think we would ever be able to do this, but we did," Davis said. "We have such a strong eight, and they welcomed me in, and we just connected. We have such good team chemistry. It's just fun to play with them." It was a steady rise. The Truckers were 9-13 when Davis and Co. were freshmen, then 10-10 the next season. In 2021-22, they went 14-8, and this season they finished 23-4 and as SBC Lake Division runners-up, within a buzzer beater of sharing that title. "I knew we were gonna be pretty good," Manlet said. "... They're great kids. Don't give us any problems. They work their tails off, and they deserve everything they're getting." Davis played her final game the same way she always had, scoring 12 points, grabbing nine rebounds and somehow finding a way to make being a 5-foot-6 center work. "We'll always remember it," Davis said. "We'll always look back and think about high school, the fun we had making fun of the coaches at practice. Just looking back at those memories is what's gonna keep me going." Moehlman drilled two big 3-pointers, one for an 8-7 lead and another to pull within four in the third quarter. "The whole experience was a dream," Moehlman said. "I couldn't ask for a better group of girls to reach these milestones with." Moser's highlight of Friday night was a push in transition and a sweet feed to Davis for a layup. "I couldn't have asked for anything different," Moser said. "And if I could go back and change something, I wouldn't change anything." Emily Koenig, the older sister of sophomore Abby, finished off glass on an assist from baby sis, their last connection on a high school court. Steffanni, Kreps, Leber and Mooney all got in for the final minute of the game to play a part in Norwalk's first-ever regional final. "We've been so special ever since seventh grade when I started," Moser said. "We've been so connected, and we've just bonded up even stronger and stronger. We've been such good sisters." The tears for such a senior-laden group came quickly at the game's conclusion. There's no way to prepare for such finality, especially for a group that had staged a brilliant postseason comeback in their sectional title game win over Mansfield Senior. But there was no comeback this night. Bryan was the team advancing to its first final four, not Norwalk. Even without that last bit of history, though, the Truckers had already written their names in Norwalk lore. "They're all just my best friends," Moehlman said. "We've had the best time ever."