Girls’ Basketball

Maine-Endwell 73, Norwich 57

NORWICH – Norwich was unable to keep pace with defending Class A sectional champion Maine-Endwell, although it did hang tough with the Spartans for much of the contest on Friday.

Behind a pair of three-pointers from senior Tatyana Ithier, Norwich was as close as five points in the last stanza. The Spartans’ Kristen Chelak had two critical put-back baskets to right the M-E ship, and the Spartans made 8-of-11 free throws in the last quarter to widen the final margin.

“It seemed like every time we got something going in the fourth quarter, they had an answer,” said Norwich coach Josh Bennett. “They shot the ball extremely well, and when they missed, Chelak and (Carrie) Bushnell worked hard on the boards. I was very impressed with the way Chelak played in the fourth quarter.”

An 8-0 run midway through the first quarter erased Norwich’s early lead, and gave M-E a 17-12 advantage.

Megan Touhey had 14 points in the first half, and finished with 17 to lead the Spartans. Chelak added 15.

Hannah Runyon scored 17 for Norwich, and Ithier followed closely with a career-high 16 points. “Maine-Endwell was able to take advantage of some situations when we were out of position on defense,” Bennett said. “I couldn’t be prouder of our team. We may lose some games, but we’ll never be outworked.”

Norwich’s away game with Owego on Friday was postponed to a later date in January.