Norwood Lady Pirates 3-peat as district champs

Norwood head coach Wayne Jessen has enjoyed a special run of success since becoming the coach of the Lady Pirates three seasons ago.
This past Saturday, they celebrated a three-peat after winning the Class 2, District 10 championship with a 45-36 victory over Fordland on the Lady Eagles’ home court.
The win punches their ticket back to the State Sectionals on Tuesday evening, just after press time, as they traveled to Laquey High School to take on Iberia on March 4.
With a win, they will play on March 8 with a trip to the Final Four on the line against either Marionville or Miller. Location and time are yet to be determined.
“It’s really been special,” said Norwood head coach Wayne Jessen after his Lady Pirates won their third straight district championship. “…They’re just a great, all-around bunch of kids. They work hard and they want to win.”
Fordland’s zone defense and shots just simply not falling in for Norwood made the contest pretty tight in the first half.
Norwood missed their first seven shots from the field in the first quarter before ending the frame on an 8-0 run with the help of Gentry Davault’s four points.
A 5-0 run early in the second quarter gave the Lady Pirates a 17-8 edge.
Freshman Kalie Chadwell made a 3-pointer and scored five of her team’s nine points coming off the bench. Fellow freshman Jaycee Hall also came off the bench providing some energy during the quarter.
“She’s a water bug,” Jessen said about Chadwell. “We got an infusion of a couple of hard working freshmen (in Kalie and Jaycee)…Their energy is so great.”
Fordland quickly answered though with a 6-0 run of their own to cut the lead to 17-14 at halftime.
Offensively, the Lady Pirates made just 8-of-27 shots from the field in the first half while Fordland made 5-of-13 shots.
The Lady Eagles extended their run to 8-0 to open the third quarter before Addy Gray hit a big 3-pointer.
Three minutes later, Fordland cut the lead again to one when Gray once again broke their backs with a 3-pointer.
Through three minutes into the fourth quarter, Norwood’s 4-0 run pushed the lead to 11.
They were up 10 at the 2:20 mark when a Fordland 3-pointer was followed a minute later by a player being fouled on a 3-point shot and hitting all three free throws.
The Lady Pirates’ lead was cut to five points when Autumn Gunter and Gray combined to sink four late free throws to seal the win.
Gray led the Lady Pirates’ balanced scoring attack with 14 points, six rebounds and one assist.
Gunter scored eight of her 10 points in the fourth quarter. She also had two rebounds, two steals and one assist.
“She’s finally getting back to her All-State self,” Jessen said about Gunter. “She’s been working hard on the defensive end.”
Gentry Davault added seven points, seven assists, six rebounds, four steals and four blocks.
“She’s our glue on both ends…,” said Coach Jessen about Davault.
Chadwell tallied eight points, six rebounds, four steals, two assists and one block; while Jayden Chambers had six points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Though she was scoreless, Coach Jessen made a special note of the defensive play from Quinncy Vestal, that helped to keep the Lady Eagles’ offense off-balance with her hustle from one corner to the other.
In the district semifinals, the Lady Pirates took on Wright County rival Mansfield.
A scrappy Lady Lions team would not go away, but the Lady Pirates did pull away for a 59-45 victory.
Mansfield led 9-5 early with the help of two Elly Williams’ 3-pointers.
Norwood responded though with a 13-0 run as the Lady Pirates made three, 3-pointers. Both Hall and Chambers scored four points in the frame.
Williams opened the second quarter with five points and her third 3-pointer of the contest to close the gap.
An overall 12-2 run for Mansfield cut the lead down to one.
Chadwell responded with a 3-pointer and nearly converted a 3-point play in the final seconds of the half to keep the Lady Pirates in front, 31-25, at halftime.
With 4:41 left in the third quarter, Mansfield’s Cali Lemons hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 31-31 with the help of a 6-0 run.
The Lady Pirates missed their first four shots from the field before going on a 6-0 run.
Gunter’s late 3-pointer helped Norwood take a 12-point lead into the final eight minutes.
Gray converted a big 3-point play midway through the fourth to put Norwood up 14 as the Lady Pirates would win by that margin.
Gunter finished with 17 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal; Chadwell had nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals; Gray tallied nine points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal; Vestal had eight points and four rebounds; Chambers scored six points, two rebounds, one block and one steal; Hall had six points and two steals; and Davault tallied two points, eight rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks.
Mansfield was led by Williams’ three, 3-pointers for 19 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and one assist.
Lemons added 12 points, four rebounds, four steals and one assist; Addie Jones had six points, five rebounds and three assists; Haven Tripp had four points, three rebounds and one block; Kayley Kingery scored two points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal; while Chloe Napier had two points for the Lady Lions.