NL finds reward in tough schedule

NORWALK — The reward wasn't expected to be immediate. In recent years, the New London girls basketball program has gone out of its way to play a challenging non-league schedule. That is no different this season, just in the first two weeks alone. It was no different Tuesday night when the Division VI Wildcats took on Div. III Norwalk for a seventh straight year. But what was different in a big way was the result. After six losses by an average of 25 points — including losses by 52 and 37 — the Wildcats had the answer for the Truckers and were rewarded short- and long-term with a 43-42 win. New London (2-1) had averaged 31 points per game in the previous six losses to the Truckers (2-1). But head coach Eric Mitchell thought if he had one advantage in this year's meeting, it was varsity experience. "The five starters have been playing varsity basketball for four years," he said. "Some, unfortunately, because we didn't have a choice at the time. But just the maturity they've played with under pressure in big moments in big games against great competition." Norwalk was 64-14 since the start of the 2022-23 season entering Tuesday's game. "Norwalk has clearly had our number, but we certainly weren't alone in that regard," Mitchell said. "We tell our girls that it doesn't matter if they are a much bigger school. We chose to play them, and we're grateful they gave us the opportunity. "But with as good as Norwalk's been, I thought the one advantage we had was our varsity experience with our five girls we had on the floor the majority of the time," he added. "Norwalk has some great players still, but Kyle (Brubaker) also has some newer girls playing for him early in the season." New London trailed 10-8 after one quarter but then turned the tables with a 12-4 second quarter to take a 20-14 halftime lead. The Truckers responded with a scoring run in the second half to take the lead in the fourth quarter, but this time the Wildcats didn't falter. NL used a 2-3 zone and its size to try and force Norwalk into outside shots, and All-Ohioan Valery Henry made 5 of 6 free throws late on her way to 20 points and five rebounds. "Norwalk made a great run on us and took the lead, but we never really faltered like we had in the past," Mitchell said. "Usually when that happens against them, they put it on us. But we really handled their pressure as a whole pretty well. "Our maturity and growth as a group and the amount of basketball they've played together paid off." New London also only got 12 combined points from four-year seniors Raeann Mitchell, Pailee Wilson, and Gracie Thomas. But Mitchell assisted on seven of the 15 field goals, and Wilson grabbed nine rebounds. "They are such an unselfish group, and that comes down to playing together for so long," Coach Mitchell said. "On the court, they have such great respect for each other with the same end goals in mind." Within the first two weeks of the season, New London will have played the Truckers, who were in a regional final in 2023 and a district final last year as SBC Lake champions, along with the other three teams it was in the district with last season. NL lost 37-29 as a No. 4 seed to Crawford in a district semifinal in Willard. The second game saw Margaretta beat Wynford by 14, then the Polar Bears topped Crawford, 45-40, for the district championship. After opening with a win over SBC Bay Division Huron, the Wildcats lost at Crawford, 31-19, on Nov. 25. On Thursday, they head to Bucyrus to take on Wynford (2-1), which has an OT loss to Crawford. New London's next game is at home against Margaretta next Tuesday (Dec. 9) before it opens Firelands Conference play. Later this season, NL will host Creston Norwayne (3-0), which returns a good amount from last season's Div. V state runner-up team, on Jan. 10. The end goal for the schedule is two-fold. New London is looking to become the third school and fifth different instance of a team winning three or more consecutive Firelands Conference championships. Since 2023, New London is 56-18 overall (.757 winning percentage) with two sectional titles and one district runner-up. In that three-year span, the Wildcats are 40-2 in FC play with two titles. Both losses came when the current seniors were freshmen, by a combined six points to champion Western Reserve. "A lot of people might question that non-conference schedule, but there is a reason for it, obviously," Mitchell said. "They are such quality and respected teams, not only in our area, but even statewide. "We could be 2-3 after five games, but I would rather us be battle-tested to try and win another league title and prepare us for what we know will be another tough district." But now, Mitchell can show his team a positive result both in the quality of opponent and in the win column. "To get that one last night against a program that has essentially owned us is simply huge," he said. "The biggest reason for this is to be prepped and ready for the FC run, but also to see if we can learn from the losses, take from the gains, and apply it to the tournament as well." In the early going of the tough schedule, Mitchell said his team needs to improve on playing at their pace. "At times, we're getting sped up, and I think a lot of that goes back to us not seeing that in practice," he said. "It's easy to simulate in practice, but not so much on the court against teams like Crawford, Norwalk, and Margaretta. "We need to keep pushing each other in practice, but we have to understand we can't play fast when we don't need to," Mitchell added. "A lot of it is about getting ourselves under control and not letting teams take it to us."