In the 3A finale, it was destiny that a team would be bringing home their first state championship in school history.
While both Greensburg and Norwell have been close with runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2024, respectively, neither had ended their season with a win — until now.
It was far from pretty — just as it has been all year long — but Norwell outlasted the Pirates 53-44 for its first-ever state title.
Through the first period of play, each team went back and forth as Norwell took a slim 13-11 lead into the second quarter.
As the game matured through the first half, the defensive intensity from the Knights strengthened — causing 11 first-half Greensburg turnovers.
The plethora of turnovers in the first 16 minutes led to 10 points for Norwell.
“I don’t know if I’m surprised by that,” Norwell head coach Eric Thornton said. “The way our girls have learned to play this 1-3-1 is the best we’ve ever played it with this group.”
Knotted at 24 through one half of play, it was not until late in the third quarter that the Knights began to pull away thanks to a 9-0 run led by five third-quarter points from Vanessa Rosswurm.
The late-quarter surge from Norwell would leak into the fourth quarter as the Knights got out to a strong hot start to the final period, making it a demoralizing 14-3 run spanning across the final two periods of play.
“I felt like Greensburg was kind of struggling on offense,” Rosswurm said. “Then we just used that as an advantage and we really got after it, and we wanted it more than them.”
Although it is unusual for a team to win a state championship shooting just 32.2% from the field, the subpar shooting has been an adaptable norm for the gritty Knights.
Despite the loss, the Pirates got a phenomenal performance from Belmont commit Leah West with 17 points and 17 rebounds.
As for the Knights, it was a trio of scorers — Rosswurm, Addison Norris and Macie Saalfrank— combining for 46 of the team’s 53 points
In year 28 with the program, Thornton has grown accustomed to competitive teams year-in-and-year-out; however, this year’s squad finally became the one to reach the summit.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Thornton said. “Shortly into [my time here] I kind of wondered why I left Plymouth as an assistant, the job was open for a reason because they were not good. I don’t think you ever start out thinking, ‘I’m doing this to win a championship.’
After coming up short last season in the championship game, Thornton returned just one player from the rotation in Rosswurm.
“It was so hard sitting up here last year,” Thornton said. “I knew that was the last time we were going to be together with that group, and they meant the world to me. Then you have that new life again and it serves as fuel for this season — everything was about winning. They found a way tonight, and I am so proud of them.”