Incredible season comes to halt as Norwayne falls to Portsmouth for Div. V State title
DAYTON - It wasn’t the story book ending that many had drawn up. The chance to dance on the big stage for the Div. V State title at UD Arena on the campus of Dayton University, didn’t go as planned and the sting of defeat will be felt for a minute.
An 8-0 run to finish the first quarter by Portsmouth ultimately spelled doom for Norwayne (25-4) as it fell 53-38 on Saturday. Ava Maibach led the way with 15 points and eight rebounds, Allie DeMassimo had nine and Hannah Froelich finished with eight points and seven boards.
“(Portsmouth) are a tough team,” said Bobcat coach Jake Shoup. “They did a lot of really good things and had some really great players. It’s tough to stop a multi-headed monster, you can’t limit them to just threes. They have a lot of players that can make plays.”
The big achilles heel on the day for Norwayne was 24 turnovers, something that has been uncharacteristic of the team during its 19-game winning streak.
“Those were a killer today,” lamented Shoup. “It was a focal point all week to take care of the basketball, we knew they had length, and they had athleticism. Still, I can’t fault these girls' efforts, they did a great job and every one of those 24 turnovers, I will take the blame for.”
That blame was shared, when Ava Maibach talked about her 11 turnovers.
“Those turnovers, those are all on me,” said the junior. “They really pressured me, it really got to me and that’s something I need to work on. I can’t try to do it all by myself, I have to get my teammates open and that will get me even more open.”
As for the sting of defeat, it wasn’t the score that hurt the most, it was the finality of it all.
“This is the last time that this team is going to be this team, it’s why it hurts so much more,” said Maibach. “We’re just really blessed, I mean, all glory to God, God is here, he kept us healthy, he provided us with an amazing team that had a sisterly and family type bond. We are just blessed to have each other, this group of girls on and off the court, we just support each other.”
That was echoed by senior Kendra Berger.
“This is what we’ve been training for, this is the dream, since we were kids,” she said. “Growing up we never imagined this, our teams weren’t great, but this was everything that we hoped for. To me personally, I wouldn’t want it to end with any other team, especially with these girls.”
It was a crazy season of firsts for the Bobcat program, and it ended with them being just the sixth Wayne County team to ever play in a state final. They became the first in program history to win a regional championship, they were first to ever win a game at state and the first to ever touch the court and play in a state final.
“We challenged the girls with this question, ‘Do you want to be one of the pillars,’” said Shoup. “We always say that we want to build a program, not just for one good year or two, we want this to be something that lasts.
"We want to build a program that has perennial success and hopefully if we can do that, in thirty years looking back, these girls can say they were the pillars. They were one of the first to get there, first to build the foundation and I feel that this group right here has done that for this program.”
They showed that pillar mentality when Shoup presented the team with changes after a 2-2 start. As the season went on, they turned that smoking ember stoked by Shoup with a slight change into a firestorm that took Creston by storm and all the way to state.
“We had a rocky start,” said senior Grace Wolf. “We knew that wasn’t our potential and that we’re better than that. We took a step back, talked about things and realized that there were some things that we needed to change. Those changes happened and we learned more about teamwork, hustle and things that build character more than just scoring or points.”
It ended with this trip to Dayton and now, for Shoup and for Norwayne, they hope it’s just the start of what’s to come.
“I am really proud of this group for all the work that they have put in to get us to this point and I am really happy for our seniors to be on this stage,” said Shoup. “We’re excited for the impact it will have on the youth in our community, all these girls are great role models, they are great kids, and every single parent should want their kid to look up to them. We have a community of great people and it’s easy for young girls to look at our team, see role models and to be excited about the future of Norwayne basketball.”
And now, more hard work begins.
“We’re very thankful for this opportunity,” said Allie DeMassimo. “We put in a lot of hard work over the last few months, and we’re blessed. Though things didn’t turn out the way we wanted, we just have to keep working hard and hopefully get a shot next year.”
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: 'We’re just really blessed,' 'Cats have reasons to smile, still
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