A packed house watched the Elmhurst-Norwell game, and fans more than received their money's worth. It was 34-34 at halftime; Norwell edged ahead in the third and pushed its lead to 54-46 early in the fourth quarter. Two old-fashioned three-point plays by TeSharra Thomas and Gorman closed the gap, and Elmhurst took a 55-54 lead on an inside bucket by Liza Clemons after Norwell's center Jessica Rupright had fouled out of the game.
The lead changed hands four more times, with Norwell taking its last lead, 63-61 on a free throw by freshman guard Taylor Wilson with 46 seconds left.
Gorman then made the biggest play of the game for Elmhurst, driving coast-to-coast and completing a three-point play for a 64-63 lead with 39 seconds left.
Norwell called timeout with 20 seconds left and set up its offense for senior Jenelle Wilson to drive the lane. She made a great move, but her layup attempt fell off the rim. She then fouled out, sending Clemons to the line. Clemons hit two free throws to make it 66-63.
[Norwell Coach] Thornton praised his team's effort, but pointed to 17 missed free throws (hitting 21 of 38) as a determining factor.
"We needed to make a few more free throws," he said. "We just couldn't put a couple in back-to-back and it cost us. …We put ourselves in position to win the game. As I told them, you can't look back. You can't play the 'what if,' game and that's hard to tell the kids. We played well enough to win the game."
Norwell finishes the season 21-1. The Knights were led by Jenelle Wilson's 17 points. Amanda McAfee scored 15 points with 12 rebounds, Taylor Wilson scored 12 points and Caitlyn McGrew scored 10.
Great season, girls! I've always heard that the best officials are invisible to the game... it's a shame (for both teams) that the officiating determined who the coaches could play in this game. Sometimes officials should just let the teams play.
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