Norwalk girls look to contend again

NORWALK — There is a lot to replace. But there is also a great starting point. The Norwalk girls basketball team finds itself in a position of replacing eight seniors — including three key starters and the sixth man — from the best season in program history a year ago. The Truckers went 23-4 overall and 10-2 in the SBC Lake Division, and won a regional game for the first time in advancing one game shy of the state semifinals in Division II. However, all is far from lost. Norwalk will return the backcourt of junior guards Abby Koenig and Kenzie Smith. Koenig led the team in scoring by averaging 11.7 points to go with 5.6 rebounds, 3.7 steals and two assists per game. Meanwhile, Smith averaged 7.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game. "On either side, girls or boys, if you have guards who can handle the ball and take care of it, you give yourselves a chance to win every night," Norwalk head coach Brock Manlet said. "We're fortunate enough to have those two as two-year letterwinners back who can play the point or wing for us. "It all has to start there, and we have to build around them." And that's where the questions arise. "I think the expectation for us is to compete for a league title and get ourselves in a position to do that again in the tournament," Manlet said. "But that's easier said than done. We knew how hard it was to get there, and now we have to replace eight seniors with a lot of young kids that have no varsity experience. "Yes, we do have some returners, but basically our whole roster has a lot of inexperience," he added. Sophomore guard Trinity Lazarra — who appeared in four games last season — will be among those expected to contribute. The same will go for juniors Lucy Schlotterer and Shyla Gruhlke, who both played extensively off the bench last season. Freshman post Emmie Leber and Emma Gebhardt are also expected to see time, along with senior guard Hailey Rinner and sophomore guard Delaney Illuzzi. Rinner appeared in 23 games and scored 25 points last season. The other two seniors on the roster include Cara Ehrenberg and Emma Berger, who also appeared in limited roles a year ago. "We have a lot of talented kids with potential, but right now we're nowhere close to where we need to be," Manlet said. "We're going to have to work really hard every day to get there. A lot of freshmen and sophomores will be asked to play bigger roles this year." Further, Manlet's biggest concern entering the season is at the defensive end of the floor. "We stress that first and foremost, and right now with a younger team it's taken more time than I thought it would to get them used to the varsity speed and physicality," he said. "Just little nuances of what we want to do defensively. "That's the area we'll have to improve the most to take the next step of where we want to go." The Truckers will again play a challenging schedule, starting with Bellevue and Perkins twice each in the SBC Lake, and a non-league game against Margaretta from the SBC Bay. The Polar Bears reached the Div. III state semifinals last season. Norwalk will also play Cincinnati Oak Hills at the Jingle Bell Jam showcase at Cedar Point Sports Center in Sandusky the week after Christmas. Oak Hills is the seventh-largest school in the state according to the latest girls basketball enrollment figures. The Truckers also have non-league games against Mohawk (16 wins in 2022-23) and Gibsonburg (17 wins) among others. "Our league will be tough with Bellevue and Perkins right off the bat, and I think Clyde will be good as well," Manlet said. "Our league is a grind pretty much every year. Those non-league games are great, and we want to win every game we play, but the bottom line is you want to test yourself before you get into league play and be ready for the tournament. "We're not going to shy away from that, even though we're a young team. It will only make us better in the future. You want non-league to set you up for what you want to do in the league and postseason." Roster No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr.