Lazzara shines in Norwalk win over Huron

NORWALK — Prior to Wednesday, there was some question if Trinity Lazzara was good to play. But facing visiting Huron in a non-league game, the Norwalk girls basketball senior was as good as she's ever been. Cleared from a head injury suffered five days earlier, Lazzara was 10-of-16 shooting with six assists in a dominant 71-39 win over the Tigers at NHS. The Truckers (12-5) outscored the Tigers (5-13) by a 33-12 margin in the second half. "I was thankful I was able to play because I only have so many games left as a senior," Lazzara said. "I don't want to take that for granted. So when I was told I was cleared, I wanted to take this opportunity to keep the momentum going of how I've been playing lately. "I was excited to play that way in a game that was close at first. But in the second half, we needed that person to go, and I felt like I needed to be that person." Leading 40-31 with under six minutes left in the third quarter, Lazzara pulled up and swished a mid-range jumper. Junior CJ Bennett then stole the ball on the next possession and laid it in for two points. Up 45-34, Lazzara then scored twice around a free throw from teammate Emmie Leber. Her last of two shots was a baseline jumper for a 50-34 lead with 2:48 left in the third quarter. Lazzara then closed the quarter with another jumper at the 1:41 mark and just beat the quarter buzzer off another steal for a layup and a 56-36 lead. Bella Hernandez scored inside, and Delaney Illuzzi made a 3-pointer to push the lead to 61-36 with 5:58 remaining. Lazzara then capped her night with a tough one-handed baseline jumper with 4:10 remaining that made it 63-39. "She's an athletic, three-level scorer, and honestly we were planning to play without her for the next three games," NHS head coach Kyle Brubaker said. "With the weather, she wasn't able to get checked out right away, but they cleared her and said she was good to go, and tonight she was very good. "Trin gave everything she had. Her mid-range is special, and she got to it a lot today. She's just taken leaps and bounds from last year as far as seeing the floor and setting things up for her teammates. She was a true senior point guard, and that's about as good of a compliment to give a player." Huron was able to play with Norwalk early, with the score tied at 14 with under 30 seconds left in the first quarter. But Hernandez capped the quarter with two baskets, including the last on a steal and layup with 2.5 seconds left to push the lead out to 18-14. Lazzara opened the second quarter with a 3 for a 21-14 lead, then the Truckers got six straight points from Leber and Lazzara to make it 29-17 with 3:50 left in the half. Huron was able to get within 29-21, only for Jo Jackson to answer with a 3 and a score inside off a steal. She then closed the half with a basket with 42.7 seconds left to give Norwalk a double-digit halftime lead at 38-27. The game was a stark contrast from last weekend. Norwalk won an ugly 32-29 game over Clyde in overtime on Jan. 23, then lost 51-33 at Division I Findlay on Jan. 24. "I feel like we learned from the Clyde game with the ups and downs on both sides," Lazzara said. "It was a bit rough, but tonight we weren't sped up, and we played well together. We were excited to play this game, and it showed." The Tigers had just seven turnovers in the first half and made five 3s. They finished with 24 turnovers and made just one three in the second half. "The girls played hard and executed our game plan great in the first half, and to start the third quarter," Huron coach Matt Smith said. "In the middle of the third, we lost track of Trinity, and she went off. Her hitting those jump shots in the third was the difference in the game. Jenna Cox scored 13 points and had five rebounds for the Tigers. Reece Hotz added five points and six rebounds. For Norwalk, Leber had 13 points and nine rebounds, while Jackson added 11 points and 11 rebounds. "We challenged the girls to step it up on the defensive end, and it definitely showed in the second half," Brubaker said. "We're really happy with the way they responded. I think it was just our attention and effort to detail on defense. "We knew Huron could shoot the basketball. If they were going to give us problems, it was there. But again, we challenged the girls, and they accepted it." Norwalk will host Tiffin Columbian (12-5, 3-4) on Saturday in a rematch of a 56-30 win on Dec. 18. "Columbian will be well prepared, and the second time around is about the adjustments from the first time," Brubaker said. "We're going to have to play well. When we went over there, it was one of our best games of the year, and it's going to take that type of effort again on Saturday." HURON (5-13) Adelyn Van Sickle 2-0—5; Jenna Cox 5-0—13; Alayna Sullivan 2-0—5; Addie Lacivita 1-0—3; Mya Smith 2-0—4; Reece Hotz 1-2—5. OTALS 13-6—39. NORWALK (12-5) CJ Bennett 1-0—2; Alyssa Gruhlke 3-0—7; Delaney Illuzzi 3-0—7; Bella Hernandez 3-0—6; Grace Knight 1-0—2; Emmie Leber 4-5—13; Trinity Lazzara 10-0—21; Scarlet Schneider 1-0—2; Jo Jackson 4-2—11. TOTALS 30-7—71. Huron 14 13 9 3 — 39 Norwalk 18 20 18 15 — 71 3-point FGs: (N) Gruhlke, Illuzzi, Lazzara, Jackson. JV: Norwalk, 34-14.