Class C-1: Norfolk Catholic wins title
Saturday's Class C-1 tournament results:
Championship: Norfolk Catholic 52, Bishop Neumann 50
For a fraction of a second, doubt, painful memories and the crush of a last-second loss filled the Norfolk Catholic girls basketball team, coaches and fans.
“No. Not again,” Norfolk Catholic coach Tim Kassmeier said. “In the back of my mind, I thought we’ve been through this before. There were no other words that came to me. I could only watch and hope.
“I looked for the ref’s hand and saw his arm go up, signaling it was a three-point shot,” Kassmeier said.
Bishop Neumann almost did it to Norfolk Catholic again.
But Neumann’s dream of an upset disappeared when Megan Meduna’s shot at the buzzer hit the rim and bounced away.
Norfolk Catholic could soak in a 52-50 victory in the Class C-1 state final Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center.
A year ago, Norfolk Catholic could only watch as Crofton’s Amber Hegge hit a three-pointer as time expired to beat the Knights 47-46.
“We all remember last year,” said Norfolk Catholic senior guard Nicole Brungardt. “I looked up and saw the red light on the backboard and saw the shot missed. “I have never felt such relief. I wanted to cry right then. I want to cry now. This is so much to take in.”
Neumann was in command through three quarters. The Cavaliers sprinted to a 42-28 lead with 51 seconds left in the third period. Neumann was clicking at a 60 percent field-goal-shooting pace and caused Norfolk Catholic’s offense problems it hadn’t faced in two years.
The Cavaliers were scoring almost at will as Sara Reeves drove the middle of the lane time after time for most of her 21 points.
Defensively, Neumann held Norfolk Catholic to less than 30 percent shooting until late in the game. Norfolk Catholic’s heralded guards Brungardt and Jessica Zaruba had a total of 11 points in the first half and had missed a combined 12 shots.
“We settled down on defense and that seemed to calm us down on offense,” Zaruba said. “At halftime we talked about how we had nothing to lose because we were so far behind.”
Foul trouble was the only wrinkle in Neumann’s plan, so the Cavaliers switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense midway through the third quarter. The plan worked, as Reeves hit two consecutive layups and teammate Alyssa Stanek scored after another Knight turnover to build a 14-point lead.
“They went to the zone and we’re used to seeing zones, so we started taking shots … well, started making shots and we got back in the game,” Brungardt said.
Brungardt, who scored 19 points, hit back-to-back three-pointers and Zaruba hit a three-pointer and scored on a fast break to cut the deficit to 42-33 at the end of the third quarter. Then, Jessica Boyle scored , Zaruba scored on another fast break, Brungardt scored on a driving layup and added three free throws in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter to pull Norfolk Catholic to 46-42.
After Reeves scored on a short jumper to put Neumann ahead 48-44 with 2:48 left, Zaruba scored six quick points to give the Knights a 50-48 lead with 1:28 left. Brungardt hit a free throw and Neumann freshman Stanek scored on an offensive rebound in the next 40 seconds before Brungardt hit another free throw with nine seconds left.
Neumann worked the ball to mid-court and Brungardt knocked it out of bounds with 2.7 seconds left. Norfolk Catholic’s Blaire Schommer tipped the inbounds pass, but Meduna still got a chance for a final shot.
“They hit the shots and closed down the middle of the lane on us and we got a little tentative,” said first-year Neumann coach Rick Ahrens. “We went to the zone and they hit threes. They stepped back a little on defense and we couldn’t drive on them any more.”
--Ken Hambleton
Third place: Crofton 65, Minden 43
Crofton took a 32-17 halftime lead and cruised to a 65-43 win against Minden. Nicole Van Heek and Morgan Wilken led the Warriors with 14 points apiece. Minden was led by Lea Ann Jameson’s 11 points, including three three-pointers.
Championship: Norfolk Catholic 52, Bishop Neumann 50
For a fraction of a second, doubt, painful memories and the crush of a last-second loss filled the Norfolk Catholic girls basketball team, coaches and fans.
“No. Not again,” Norfolk Catholic coach Tim Kassmeier said. “In the back of my mind, I thought we’ve been through this before. There were no other words that came to me. I could only watch and hope.
“I looked for the ref’s hand and saw his arm go up, signaling it was a three-point shot,” Kassmeier said.
Bishop Neumann almost did it to Norfolk Catholic again.
But Neumann’s dream of an upset disappeared when Megan Meduna’s shot at the buzzer hit the rim and bounced away.
Norfolk Catholic could soak in a 52-50 victory in the Class C-1 state final Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center.
A year ago, Norfolk Catholic could only watch as Crofton’s Amber Hegge hit a three-pointer as time expired to beat the Knights 47-46.
“We all remember last year,” said Norfolk Catholic senior guard Nicole Brungardt. “I looked up and saw the red light on the backboard and saw the shot missed. “I have never felt such relief. I wanted to cry right then. I want to cry now. This is so much to take in.”
Neumann was in command through three quarters. The Cavaliers sprinted to a 42-28 lead with 51 seconds left in the third period. Neumann was clicking at a 60 percent field-goal-shooting pace and caused Norfolk Catholic’s offense problems it hadn’t faced in two years.
The Cavaliers were scoring almost at will as Sara Reeves drove the middle of the lane time after time for most of her 21 points.
Defensively, Neumann held Norfolk Catholic to less than 30 percent shooting until late in the game. Norfolk Catholic’s heralded guards Brungardt and Jessica Zaruba had a total of 11 points in the first half and had missed a combined 12 shots.
“We settled down on defense and that seemed to calm us down on offense,” Zaruba said. “At halftime we talked about how we had nothing to lose because we were so far behind.”
Foul trouble was the only wrinkle in Neumann’s plan, so the Cavaliers switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense midway through the third quarter. The plan worked, as Reeves hit two consecutive layups and teammate Alyssa Stanek scored after another Knight turnover to build a 14-point lead.
“They went to the zone and we’re used to seeing zones, so we started taking shots … well, started making shots and we got back in the game,” Brungardt said.
Brungardt, who scored 19 points, hit back-to-back three-pointers and Zaruba hit a three-pointer and scored on a fast break to cut the deficit to 42-33 at the end of the third quarter. Then, Jessica Boyle scored , Zaruba scored on another fast break, Brungardt scored on a driving layup and added three free throws in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter to pull Norfolk Catholic to 46-42.
After Reeves scored on a short jumper to put Neumann ahead 48-44 with 2:48 left, Zaruba scored six quick points to give the Knights a 50-48 lead with 1:28 left. Brungardt hit a free throw and Neumann freshman Stanek scored on an offensive rebound in the next 40 seconds before Brungardt hit another free throw with nine seconds left.
Neumann worked the ball to mid-court and Brungardt knocked it out of bounds with 2.7 seconds left. Norfolk Catholic’s Blaire Schommer tipped the inbounds pass, but Meduna still got a chance for a final shot.
“They hit the shots and closed down the middle of the lane on us and we got a little tentative,” said first-year Neumann coach Rick Ahrens. “We went to the zone and they hit threes. They stepped back a little on defense and we couldn’t drive on them any more.”
--Ken Hambleton
Third place: Crofton 65, Minden 43
Crofton took a 32-17 halftime lead and cruised to a 65-43 win against Minden. Nicole Van Heek and Morgan Wilken led the Warriors with 14 points apiece. Minden was led by Lea Ann Jameson’s 11 points, including three three-pointers.
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