RANDY HISNER
WZBD.com
Editor’s Note: Fans of the Norwell Knights can listen to the full broadcast of Saturday night’s game live with the Z Team on 92.7 FM or online with wzbd.com.
Only the Gibson Southern Titans stand between the Norwell Knights and a state girls’ basketball championship.
The showdown between the #2 Knights and the #3 Titans is slated for 6:00 P.M. this Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The Knights, ranked #2 in 3A, knocked off the #1 Hamilton Heights Huskies 64-50 in the first round of last Saturday’s semistate at Huntington North and then, in one of the most lopsided semistate championship games ever, annihilated Bremen, 64-20.
Gibson Southern also dominated its semistate with two double-digit victories—first, an 81-66 decision over #9 Scottsburg, then a 63-48 dismantling of the 24-4 Danville Warriors.
Eric Thornton, in his 27th year at the helm of the Knights, has built a juggernaut of a program. He’s seventh among active coaches in wins with 452 (with only 191 losses). All the coaches ahead of him have been coaching at least 31 years.
He knew he had something special with this team, so he challenged them with the toughest schedule of any 3A team in Indiana. Of the Knights’ 22 regular-season games, 13 were against 4A schools, yet Norwell has compiled a 23-4 record.
All four losses came at the hands of 4A schools ranked in the top ten—#7 Northridge, #10 Homestead, #9 Lawrence North, and #4 Fort Wayne Snider. Only Snider, with a 65-50 victory, defeated the Knights by more than four points. Norwell’s biggest regular-season win was a 45-44 nail-biter over the Columbia City Eagles, an NE8 rival who ended the season ranked #3 in 4A. Clearly, the Knights are battle tested and won’t be intimidated by the 25-4 Titans.
But they do have a healthy respect for them.
“They’re fearless,” Thornton said of the Titans. “They’re battle tested too. It’s a little bit like looking in the mirror; that’s always challenging. I think both groups are not afraid of the stage. When you watch style of play, they’re going to do what they do. They’re not going to get rattled by it, and neither are we. You got to this point for a reason. Both groups are deserving, and that’s the way a state championship game ought to be.”
The two teams had only one common opponent, and there wasn’t a nickel’s worth of difference between the outcomes: Lawrence North beat the Titans by three and the Knights by two.
The Titans average 65.5 points per game, 46 of them coming from a trio of stars: junior guard Gabby Spink (19.4 ppg), senior guard Chloe Graham (17.2), and 6-1 freshman center Paige Schnaus (9.7)
Thornton knows Spink, who averages 5.9 assists per game, is a terrific player who not only scores consistently but also drives the Titans’ impressive transition game. “She does a great job of just, if you’re open, she’s going to hit you on the spot, in stride. Just catch it and lay it up, before the defense can recover,” he said. “We’ve got to be really good in our transition, getting back.”
As for Graham, she is sixth in the state in three-pointers with 81, and her 42% accuracy from behind the arc is among the best as well.
“Spink and Graham at the guard spots, they complement each other well,” Thornton said. “They both shoot it really well. They both can drive it. Spink is a little more of a creator, obviously from the point spot. Graham can create a shot too.”
Thornton has seen enough video of Gibson Southern’s games to be impressed by the progress of Schnaus. “She’s really improved from the beginning of the season to now,” he praised. “You watch them play Evansville Memorial earlier (the regular season game in December) and then you see them in the sectional championship, and see her confidence, just how active she is—she creates a lot for them.”
Of course, the Knights have their share of outstanding players too, starting with three first-team All-NE8 players: senior guards Kennedy Fuelling and Makenzie Fuess, and sophomore swing player Vanessa Rosswurm. And the other two starters are no slouches either. Senior 6-0 center Dekota Hubble is an inside defensive force, a shot blocker who made second-team all-conference. Senior NE8 honorable mention pick Annabelle Johnson is a very capable defender and rebounder.
Fuelling, who averages 21.6 points, broke Jessica Rupright’s career school scoring record of 1,591 points with her last basket in the regional championship game. She is especially dangerous from three-point land, where she is hitting 43.2%.
She noted how much the strong support from the Norwell community means to her and her teammates. “It helps us a lot,” she said. “It’s good for our confidence and just coming out and playing hard. Community support is something we never take for granted.”
Fuess is also a prolific scorer (16.1 ppg), capable of dominating a game, as she did in Norwell’s sectional championship win over Bellmont when she led all scorers with 25 points. Like Fuelling, she is accurate on three-pointers (36.6%).
Rosswurm (11.6 ppg) is a versatile, quick, and wiry athlete who can take over a game if opponents focus too much on Fuelling and Fuess. As the only non-senior starter, she is looking forward to the experience of a state final, and she wants to soak it all up. “I’m so excited to be with my seniors one more time,” she said. She knows there’s no guarantee that her team will make it to state again in her career. “You never know,” she admitted. “All you can do is just take it all in, have fun, and enjoy the moment.”
Hubble looks forward to the challenge of defending the 6-1 Schnaus. “This whole tournament I haven’t played against anyone my size yet, so I think it will be fun,” she said.
Gibson Southern primarily plays an active man-to-man defense, while Norwell loves to disrupt their opponent’s offense with a 1-3-1 zone trap. Statistically, the teams are a nearly dead even match. Gibson Southern averages 65.5 points, with an average winning margin of 20.0. Norwell averages 65.0 points with a margin of 22.8.
One thing is almost certain: This will not be a slow-down game. “I think both teams are going to push the basketball,” Thornton said. “I think we’re two fun teams to watch. Should be a fun game.”
