Norwalk 'does enough' to top TC

NORWALK — Survive and advance came early. On a day it didn't put its best foot forward, the Norwalk girls basketball team still had enough. In a matchup of 12-win teams, the Truckers limited visiting Tiffin Columbian to three points in the second quarter of a 43-32 win in SBC Lake Division play Saturday at NHS. Despite what he called an "uneven" performance, Norwalk head coach Kyle Brubaker said as the calendar turns to February, everything is in front of his team. The Truckers are 13-5 overall and 7-1 in the SBC Lake following Saturday's win. They are seeded No. 2 in their Northwest District group in Division III and will play state power Bellevue (15-0, 6-0) for a share of the league title on Feb. 6. But before that game and the tournament draw on Feb. 8, the Truckers also face Lima Bath (11-6) at 3 p.m. on Sunday at Margaretta and host Oregon Clay (2-14) on Tuesday. "We kind of just talked afterward that if the goal is to just win, then mission accomplished today," Brubaker said. "But if the goal is to continue to reach for our potential and to be playing our best basketball at the right time and to conduct ourselves in a championship manner, then we're falling just a little short of that standard right now. "We're winning games, but we know there is more out there for us, and we're struggling to get there right now. There is a little bit of joy and frustration." Tied at 10 late in the first quarter with the Tornadoes (12-7, 3-5), the Truckers took the lead for good on an inside basket by Emmie Leber with just 12.5 seconds left. After Columbian's Madi Shriver cut the deficit to 14-13 on a 3-pointer, the Truckers held the visitors scoreless over the final 5:01 of the first half. In that stretch, Norwalk took control with a 10-0 scoring run. Jo Jackson started the run with an inside basket, then Alyssa Gruhlke made her second 3 of the half for a 19-13 lead. The junior then scored again after Jackson split two free throws, and the freshman Jackson closed the half and the run on a short jumper in the lane to push the lead out to 24-13 with 29.5 seconds left in the quarter. The Truckers still led 27-17 when Leber scored with 6:09 left in the third quarter. But then things got even more difficult for the home team on the offensive end. A steal and score by CJ Bennett and another score from Jackson pushed Norwalk's lead to 31-19 with 3:51 left in the third. However, the Truckers got just one basket, from Leber, over the next 7:51 of the contest. For the game, Norwalk was just 16-of-60 shooting (27 percent) and 9-of-17 (53 percent) at the free-throw line. "Definitely a tough offensive day," Brubaker said. "There are certain games where we struggle with the basketball. We try to get off a quick pass or shot instead of getting the right one or making sure we have a solid foundation before we do whatever we're trying to do. "I think it's a lot of fundamentals, and there are just games where we get mentally sped up for no reason at all. I felt like at times, we were that today on the offensive end." The scoring drought allowed Columbian to get as close as 35-30 with four minutes remaining. But Norwalk closed out the game with an 8-2 run, capped by a steal and layup from Gruhlke with 59.1 seconds left. Despite the struggles, Norwalk was balanced offensively. Jackson had 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Leber had 11 points and six rebounds. Gruhlke scored 10 points, and Trinity Lazzara had eight points, six rebounds, and three assists. Brubaker was pleased with his team on the defensive end of the floor. Columbian was 12-of-36 shooting, and the Truckers had 13 steals. "It wasn't our best defensive game, but it wasn't necessarily the issue today," he said. "Could we have talked more or been more connected and flying around on defense more? I think so. "But I think we had some good individual efforts. I'm not sure that we ever put it together to make it look like a good team defense, but it was definitely more than enough to get the job done." TIFFIN COLUMBIAN (12-7, 3-5) Madi Shriver 1-0—3; Mia Zeis 4-0—8; Kenzie Felske 1-0—3; Lexi Beaston 2-4—8; Chloe Heyman 3-0—7; Maddy Richie 1-1—3. TOTALS 12-5—32. NORWALK (13-5, 7-1) CJ Bennett 1-1—3; Alyssa Gruhlke 4-0—10; Emmie Leber 4-3—11; Trinity Lazzara 2-4—8; Jo Jackson 5-1—11. TOTALS 16-9—45. Columbian 10 3 10 9 — 32 Norwalk 12 12 7 12 — 43 3-point FGs: (TC) Shriver, Felske, Heyman; (N) Gruhlke 2.