Norwalk dominates Ashland in rematch

For 367 days, it was hard not to think about it. Last season, the Norwalk girls basketball team had 22 wins and was the top seed in its district when it faced Ashland in a Division III district championship game. But the Truckers shot just 3 of 20 in the first half and trailed 31-8 at the break in the stunning 58-44 loss to the Arrows. This time, the rematch came in a district semifinal between the Truckers and Arrows, back at Buckeye Central High School like last year. And the script did a 360 flip. The Truckers were 16 of 30 shooting in the first half compared to just 2 of 21 for the Arrows (20-4), as they steamrolled out to a 34-5 halftime lead in the 50-20 win. A No. 2 seed in its district group, Norwalk (18-6) returned to the district title round for a second time in four seasons. It will face No. 4-seed Elida (13-9) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Columbus Grove High School. "We have a ton of respect for Ashland, and I know they have a ton for us," Norwalk head coach Kyle Brubaker said. "We're evenly matched, but we don't like to play that way, apparently. Last year it was them, and this time it was us." After both teams traded baskets to start the game, the Truckers took control and never looked back. Jo Jackson blocked a shot for Norwalk, which led to Trinity Lazzara going the length of the floor for an easy basket and the lead for good. On the next trip down, Lazzara made a short jumper to the left of the lane, and Jackson banked in a shot from inside after another Ashland miss to make it 8-2. Alyssa Gruhlke then stole the ball and laid it in for a 10-2 lead at the 4:10 mark, sending the Arrows into a timeout to regroup. It didn't work. Lazzara was good again on a deep jumper to the left side of the key to put Norwalk up 10. CiCi Steury ended the run with a basket at the 2:26 mark, only for the Truckers to close the quarter with the last eight points. Lazzara again started things off with a runner from the right side of the lane, then she came down after an Ashland miss with another deep two-pointer to make it 16-4. Bella Hernandez got into the scoring action after an Ashland turnover, and then after another miss by the Arrows, Lazzara closed the quarter with a layup and a 20-4 lead. The senior guard was 6 of 7 shooting with 12 points in the first quarter. "Her pull-up game is elite, and her midrange is lethal," Brubaker said of Lazzara. "You combine that with the fear of her blowing by you for a layup, and that's a really tough combination that she had working tonight." Norwalk extended the 8-0 run into a 13-0 scoring spree to start the second quarter. Hernandez scored again in the paint, then Audryn Ott entered the game and drained a 3-pointer. Once Alyssa Gruhlke banked in a 3, the rout was on, and the Truckers led 28-4. Lazzara added two more baskets around an Ashland free throw for a 32-5 lead, then Emmie Leber closed the half by rebounding a miss and putting it in for a 34-5 advantage. Ashland was able to score the first five points of the third quarter, but any hopes of a comeback quickly were put to rest when Leber converted a three-point play to make it 37-10 with 4:25 left in the quarter. The Truckers then put the exclamation point on the win. Lazzara pulled up from the left block and made it, then Gruhlke stole the ball, passed to Ott, who bounced it back to her for the layup and two more points. Once Hernandez scored with three seconds left, the Truckers were up 47-12 and played the final eight minutes with a running clock. For the game, Norwalk was 22 of 44 (50 percent) compared to just 7 of 54 (13 percent) for the Arrows. Kennedy Lacey, the District 6 and Ohio Cardinal Conference Player of the Year, was held to four points, which was 19 below her average. "It was one of those games where the defensive game plan translated from paper to the court really well," Brubaker said. "We thought we could pack the paint well with our length, and it seemed to be really effective. "We happened to have quality looks and shot it well even though we did miss a ton of layups," he added. "It was one of those nights where it was working for us at both ends of the court." Lazzara led Norwalk with 19 points on 9 of 14 shooing. Leber had 11 points and seven rebounds, followed by Gruhlke with seven points and six rebounds. Jackson grabbed 12 rebounds. Now, the Truckers turn their attention to trying to earn a third district title in program history. The Bulldogs come from the always-strong Western Buckeye League. "We focused everything on this game tonight, but Elida is playing good basketball right now," Brubaker said. "It's a district final game, so it will be tough. We will go dive into some film and see what we can do. "Right now, we're just really excited with the way the girls played, and we're glad our ride isn't done yet." NORWALK (18-6) Alyssa Gruhlke 3-0—7; Audryn Ott 1-0—3; Bella Hernandez 3-0—6; Emmie Leber 5-1—11; Trinity Lazzara 9-1—19; Jo Jackson 1-2—4. TOTALS 22-4—50. ASHLAND (20-3) Jsie Vantilburg 0-2—1; CiCi Steury 1-1—3; Grace Tobias 2-1—6; Emma Puckett 1-0—3; Kennedy Lacey 2-0—4; Camryn Cox 1-0—2. TOTALS 7-4—20. Norwalk 20 14 13 3 — 50 Ashland 4 1 7 8 — 20 Three-point FGs: (N) Gruhlke, Ott; (A) Tobias, Puckett.