NEWARK -- Intensity on defense.
It was the name of the game in Newark on Thursday as the Lady Norsemen, who finished second in the state last season, knocked heads with Hinckley-Big Rock, the same team they defeated by one point in a sectional final.
Although the stakes weren't as high this time, the excitement was as Newark staged a fourth-quarter rally to top the Royals 43-40.
Jenna Thorp triggered Hinckley-Big Rock from the point, and quarterbacked her team well by distributing the ball for a balanced scoring attack.
Able to see the court well at 5 feet 10 inches, she was able to handle Newark's pressure and find Jes Meyer, Melissa Herrmann, and Tess Godhardt to put the Royals up 15-9 after one quarter.
"We seemed to spread the floor well and find the open player," Thorp said. "We pushed it up and moved the ball and they had to move with us. We found our gaps that way."
The teams played evenly in the second quarter, and the Royals led 23-16 at halftime. Laura Johnson (game-high 26 points) managed four of the five first-half baskets for the Norsemen, but she was really just warming up for the second half.
Sami Akre drained a 3-pointer and Johnson dropped in another to start the third for Newark, but Herrmann's teammates twice found her for layups for the Royals. Kaitlin Phillips hit a 3 from the corner for the Royals to put her team up 37-27 as the quarter ended.
"I haven't been making my shots for a while now, and tonight coach told me to keep shooting," Johnson said. "The pick and roll was working tremendously so we kept doing it."
Newark coach Dale Skelton must have had the right idea as Johnson hit another 3 to start their huge rally in the fourth quarter.
Phillips scored on an assist from Herrmann to give
Hinckley-Big Rock a 39-31 lead at 5:52, but the Royals scored only one more point the rest of the way.
The Norsemen's press finally began to yield turnovers (nine in the quarter), and Johnson nailed a baseline jumper and a layup. Akre drove for a score to bring Newark within two, and the gym erupted when Tara Bernard made a turnaround shot to tie the game with 1:54 remaining.
"I put Katie Larson in there, our little sophomore, and she's a fireplug," Skelton said. "She's very energetic and I think everybody kind of fed off of her energy. When she got going, I think our defense started to show its strength a little bit."
Thorp dropped in a free throw to briefly nudge Hinckley-Big Rock to a 40-39 margin. But Akre and Johnson each made two charity tosses in the final minute to give Newark the final 43-40 margin.
The Royals had one final possession with nine seconds remaining, but they could not get a shot off. The Norsemen finished with a 16-3 fourth-quarter blitz.
"I felt that we were getting shots most of the night, but were having trouble finishing them," Skelton said. "We were fortunate in the last four or five minutes of the game that we started dropping a few of them. Once we got momentum and confidence, we were able to carry it through."
Akre backed up Johnson with 11 points for Newark (5-2, 2-0 Little Ten Conference. Hinckley-Big Rock (4-2, 0-1) showed better balance as Thorp scored 12 points, Herrmann 11 and Phillips seven.
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Photos: Newark vs. Hinckley Big-Rock