Norah Berkenstock
HOPE — There was no stopping Norah Berkenstock Tuesday night.
The Hauser senior finished with a double-double with 22 points and 10 assists to help the Jets speed past Southwestern (Shelby) for a 62-24 Mid-Hoosier Conference girls basketball victory.
“That’s our engine. When Norah plays well, we play well,” Hauser coach Kyle Shipp said. “That’s one of the things that we’ve been trying to get to where we’re not battling foul trouble, and we’re not doing this. When she’s on the floor, we can be a pretty competitive basketball team, and we were able to show that tonight. She does it all for us. She handles the ball for us, plays great defense, she assists, she rebounds sometimes, so she does it all for us. I’m really proud of her tonight to really push us to that win.”
The Spartans (2-6, 0-3) had their biggest spurt of the game midway through the first quarter when they went on a 9-2 run to lead 13-10. The Jets (4-3, 1-1) then turned on the intensity to finish out the quarter. Berkenstock found June Berkenstock for a couple layins right under the basket to help end the quarter on an 9-0 run and lead 19-13.
“We really worked the ball, and we passed up good shots for even better shots,” Norah Berkenstock said. “It was really getting the ball into the paint and passing it back out to the 3-point (line). It helps us with our shots when the ball touches the paint. We also didn’t let ourselves get sped up by the other team, and we kept ourselves slowed down and we hit our layups, which is a really big thing.”
It was all Hauser in the second and third quarters. The Jets outscored Southwestern 36-6 combined during the periods. It eventually triggered a running clock late in the third.
Shipp said preventing the Spartans from getting free points at the free-throw line was huge during second and third quarters. Southwestern was 5 of 8 from the line in the first quarter, but only 1 of 2 from the line the rest of the game.
“We really struggled with putting people on the foul line,” Shipp said. “Once we got ourselves in better defensive positioning and let the game settle in, I think we were able to get stops to keep them off the foul line, and then we got transition points. After the first quarter, they only shot two foul shots.”
Following Berkenstock’s 22 points was June Berkenstock with 10. Braelyn Williams finished with nine, and Kennedy Konradi added eight.
“We really worked as a team and passed the ball around, and people were hitting their shots,” Norah Berkenstock said. “I really think that helped us win.”
Hauser 62, Southwestern (Shelby) 24
Southwestern;13;1;5;5;—;24
Hauser;19;18;18;7;—;62
Southwestern (2-5, 0-1): Ramey 1 0-0 3, Beck 0 0-0 0, Estes 0 0-2 0, Andrews 0 0-0 0, Hadley 0 0-0 0, Allen 0 0-0 0, Murray 1 0-0 3, Rooks 0 0-0 0, Tatlock 4 6-8 15, Barlow 1 0-0 3. Totals: 7 6-10 24.
Hauser (3-3, 0-1): Kaydenze Brock 0 0-0 0, June Berkenstock 5 0-0 10, Norah Berkenstock 10 1-1 22, Braelyn Williams 3 1-3 9, Kennedy Konradi 4 0-0 8, Chloie Phelps 2 0-0 4, Aleigha Wickliffe 0 0-0 0, Willa Wetzel 1 0-0 2, Abby Manley 1 3-4 5, Haven Hartwell 1 0-0 2, Leah Manley 0 0-0 0. Totals: 27 5-9 62.
3-point goals: Southwestern 4 (Ramey, Murray, Tatlock, Barlow). Hauser 3 (Williams 2, N. Berkenstock).
