NORMAL – Normal Community High may be 17-1 as the season begins to roll into conference matchups, but NCHS would like to savor the fact that it has won the Large Girls’ Bracket championship at the Bloomington-Normal Holiday Tournament two years in a row after beating Morton Saturday in the championship contest, 51-46 before a packed crowd at Illinois Wesleyan University’s Shirk Center Saturday night.
Although Morton scored first, NCHS senior guard Ali Ince’s first basket was a trey putting the Lady Ironmen in front, 3-2. Morton junior guard Julia Laufenberg’s jumper countered putting the Lady Potters up, 4-3, and prompted NCHS Head Coach Dave Feeney to call for a timeout with 6:24 left in the opening quarter. From there, Morton shots from junior guard Anja Ruxlow put the Lady Potters up, 6-3. An Ince basket and two free throws by senior guard Olivia Corson helped put NCHS up, 10-6, and were followed by a shot from Corson to put the Lady Iron up, 12-7.
A basket from senior forward Addie Engle put Morton within three, 12-9, and were quickly replied with by a bucket from NCHS’ Corson for a 14-9. A jumper from Morton’s senior guard Isabella Hutchinson closed that lead to 14-11. Ince followed with a basket for the Lady Iron giving her team a 16-11 advantage until Ruxlow’s next basket trimmed NCHS’ lead to 16-13. Ince’s next basket was followed by a bucket by Morton’s Ellie VanMeenen to close out the quarter with NCHS leading, 18-15.
A free throw from a fouled Corson going 1-for-2 followed by teammate senior guard Giana Rawlings two additional free shots helped increase the Lady Iron lead to 21-15 and were quickly followed by a deuce from Corson and then seeing her add 2-of-3 from the free throw line at 3:56 in the quarter pushing NCHS up, 26-15, and prompting Morton Head Coach Bob Becker to call for a 30 second timeout with 3:56 until halftime. Exiting that timeout, senior forward Addie Engle’s shot cut NCHS’ lead to 26-17 and was answered by a trey from NCHS’ Rawlings increasing the Lady Iron a 29-17 prompting Becker to call another timeout with 1:44 left in the half. Rustmeyer closed out the half with two free throws to give NCHS a 30-20 lead.
Senior guard Isabella Hutchinson’s deuce at the 7 minute mark of the third quarter allowed Morton (14-4) to cut NCHS’ lead to 30-22 prompting NCHS’ Feeney to call timeout. Exiting that timeout, Morton freshman forward Abby VanMeenen hit a deuce closing the Lady Iron lead to 30-24. NCHS’ senior guard Giana Rawlings hit a trey with 4:30 left in the quarter to put her team up, 33-24. A basket by Hutchinson pushed Morton within seven, 33-26 with 3:56 in the quarter.
NCHS junior guard Kenna Malinowski was fouled shooting her jumper and made the free throw that followed helping increase her team lead to 36-26. Freshman forward Abby VanMeenen’s deuce cut the Lady Iron lead to eight, 36-28, only to be countered by NCHS’ Corson’s basket, keeping NCHS’ lead at 10, 38-28. Abby VanMeenen’s next basket pushed her team within eight, 38-30. Corson’s next basket gave NCHS a 10-point lead, 40-30, with another VanMeenen basket cutting that lead to 40-32. The quarter ended with Rustemeyer sinking two free throws, and NCHS owning a 44-32 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Freshman guard Payton Hayes opened the final quarter with a trey, pulling Morton within nine, 44-35 followed by Engle’s basket to bring Morton within seven, 44-37. NCHS called time with 4:04 left up by six, 45-39. Out of the timeout, Ince hit a deuce and VanMeenen hit two deuces pulling the Lady Potters within six, 47-41, and causing NCHS’ Feeney to call time with 2:12 left in the contest. Feeney called time again after defensive maneuvers from Morton prompted him to call time very shortly in the quarter. With NCHS up 47-43, a basket and single free throw by Morton’s Abby VanMeenen cut NCHS’ lead to one, 47-46 with 1:15 left in the contest and caused NCHS’ Feeney to call time. Morton’s strategy would cause Feeney to call time again 13 seconds later, with 62 seconds left in the game.
Morton would take a 30 second timeout with 33.6 seconds left. A foul by Morton’s Abby VanMeenen sent Ince to the free throw line with 22.9 seconds left where she hit 1-of-2 to put NCHS up by two, 48-46. That was followed by a technical foul called on the Morton bench sending Corson to the free throw line where she hit both shots putting her team up by four, 50-46. Corson went to the free throw a final time with 21.5 seconds left and only sank the first of two shots resulting in the final score.
Corson lead NCHS in double figures with 19 points followed by 10 points from Ince. Morton’s double-digit leader was Abby VanMeenen with 18 points followed by 16 from Addy Engle.
Corson said afterward she and her teammates trusted the experience they had developed over time with being able to remain calm when Morton began pushing back in the last few minutes of the game. “We have a lot of confidence in ourselves,†she said. “We know we’re going to make the right play, and if we don’t we’re going to brush it off real fast and move on.â€
“I am super thrilled for our kids,†NCHS’ Feeney said. “I thought they deserved this, just to play in this atmosphere. Then the icing on the cake is to find a way to win it.â€