Vestal 43, Norwich 34

VESTAL – Vestal held Norwich scoreless over a five-minute stretch in the second half to open up some breathing room in a non-league win over the Purple Tornado Thursday.

Mel Patterson had 14 points for the Golden Bears, and sealed the win making 5-of-6 free throws in the last stanza. “We were scoring with them early in the third quarter, and then we just went cold,” said Norwich coach Josh Bennett. “They made a nice run, and we couldn’t get back in it.”

Jennifer Borfitz was the lone Tornado player in double figures finishing with 13 points. Norwich (10-7) lost back-to-back games this week, but figures to get back on track in sectional play when it hosts Chenango Forks Tuesday. “There are some strong teams in Class B, and these games this week (against Vestal and Ithaca) definitely helped us prepare for that type of competition,” Bennett said.

NHS: Lexi Race, 0 0-2-0; Carin Kuhn, 1 0-0-2; Caitlyn Brown, 1 0-0-2; Breanna Cashman, 1 1-2-3; Ashley Campbell, 0; Jennifer Borfitz, 4 4-8-13; Cassie Sutton, 1 0-0-2; Shelby Benjamin, 1 3-6-5; Taylor Cook, 3 1-2-7. Totals: 12 9-20-34.

Vestal: Jess Juozitis, 0; Molly Liss, 2 0-0-4; Jen Shelp, 4 1-2-10; Mel Patterson, 3 5-6-14; Julia McConnell, 2 0-1-4; Alyssa Mullins, 2 1-4-6; Alex Evans, 0 3-6-3; Kelly Maloney, 1 0-0-2. 14 10-19-43

Nor. 10 6 8 9–34

Ves. 11 4 15 13–43