Quick start hurts Butler in 64-47 loss to powerful Norwin
BUTLER TWP — Norwin’s scorching start wasn’t a promising premonition for Butler Monday night.
The visiting Knights shot 10-of-15 (66.6%) in the initial frame — with two of those misses coming in a possession at the outset that, after a pair of offensive rebounds, resulted in the game’s first points. The first-quarter barrage opened a sizable lead for Norwin, which never trailed in a 64-47 decision.
“It’s hard to come back against anybody doubled up,” said Golden Tornado coach Mark Maier, whose team faced a 26-13 hole after eight minutes. “But, against Norwin, it’s probably not happening. That set us on our heels.”
The Knights (15-3, 7-0) went 5-for-7 (71.4%) from beyond the arc in the opening frame, with four different players sinking a trey during that time. Meanwhile, Butler (4-14, 1-6) went 4-for-13 (30.7%) overall in the opening frame.
Unlike Norwin — who had 6-foot-1 Lauren Palangio in the middle — the Golden Tornado couldn’t produce follow-up chances, either.
“They make you pay for your mistakes,” Maier said. “And, on top of that, if they’re on their game, it’s even harder to compete.”
The Knights out-rebounded Butler offensively, 9-2, and capitalized on five of them in the first half alone.
“The X factor is going to be whose going to be cleaning up the misses,” Norwin coach Brian Brozeski said. “We were able to go ahead and do a nice job on the offensive side, being able to get extra chance opportunities and some easy ones off that.”
There were times where the Golden Tornado were slow to rotate on defense, and the shots just kept falling for the guests.
“I thought some of those were guarded and I thought some of those were quick shots,” Maier said. “You’d say, ”Eh, you know, we’ll let them take that quick one.’“
Maier was pleased with his side’s effort over the three frames that followed. It resembled that of what you’d see during a closer game, he said.
“If you look at it, (they’re) the second-ranked team in 6A, they get out to a big lead,” he said. “The next three quarters, it was like a four- or five-point game. They play differently when they’re up 20, so I’m not saying it’s a one-to-one. I thought we competed much better in the second half.”
On the offensive end, however, no home player totaled double digits. Amelia McMichael and Sydney Patterson tied for the team lead with nine points apiece.
“They had a good game plan,” Maier said of Norwin. “I thought some of our threes outside of that kept us in it or kept us close. We masked some of our deficiencies by hitting some threes late.”
Malina McElroy, Jessica Chwalik, Avery Maier, and Casey Clouse all had two treys in the loss.
The schedule doesn’t get any kinder for Butler right away. The Golden Tornado play another WPIAL Section 1-6A foe in North Allegheny (15-2, 4-2) on the road Friday.
“We’ve got to bring it all four quarters,” Maier said. “And we’ve got to get off to a better start.”
NORWIN 64
Lauren Palangio 8 3-6 19, Ava Kobus 6 1-2 15, Bella Furno 3 0-0 8, Ava Christopher 3 0-0 6, Kendall Berger 1 4-6 6, Averi Brozeski 1 2-2 5, Bailey Snowberger 1 0-0 3, Alexis Heller 1 0-0 2. Totals: 24 10-16 64.
BUTLER 47
Sydney Patterson 4 1-2 9, Amelia McMichael 3 1-2 9, Malina McElroy 3 0-0 8, Jessica Chwalik 2 0-0 6, Avery Maier 2 0-0 6, Casey Clouse 2 0-0 6, Emily Cornish 1 0-0 2, Jules Lockwood 0 1-1 1, Ashton Huff 0 0-2 0. Totals: 17 4-6 47.
Norwin 26 19 9 10 — 64
Butler 13 14 8 12 — 47
3-point goals: Butler 9 (McElroy 2, Chwalik 2, Maier 2, Clouse 2, McMichael); Norwin 6 (Furno 2, Kobus 2, Snowberger, Moore)
