Girls’ Basketball

Norwich 39, Utica Proctor 38

UTICA – Norwich made up a six-point deficit in the final three minutes of play to eke out a one-point victory over Utica Proctor in a non-league intersectional matchup Tuesday night.

Makenzie Maynard, scoreless through three quarters, brought Norwich back from a 36-30 deficit hitting two three-pointers in the corner. After a Utica layup, Norwich went inside to Meghan Komendarek on back-to-back possessions. Komendarek was fouled on each sequence, and hit 3 of 4 free throws to give Norwich a one-point lead.

Utica had the ball with 4.5 seconds remaining, but Norwich denied the host club a good shot opportunity.

“We have such a tough group of kids that never quit and never stop believing,” said Norwich coach Josh Bennett, whose club trailed 28-18 after three quarters. “Kenz had struggled in the beginning of the game, then came in and made two great passes for scores inside, and then made two big threes.”

Norwich’s inside duo of Shelby Benjamin and Komendarek again led the Tornado offense. Benjamin had a team-high 14 points including her first three ball of the season, and Komendarek scored 12, eight coming in Norwich’s 21-point final quarter.

Norwich: Caitlyn Brown, 0; Carin Kuhn 1 0-0-3; Kassidy Seary, 1 0-0-2; Makenzie Maynard, 2 0-0-6; Meghan Komendarek, 4 4-8-12; Bridget Murphy, 0; Savannah Williams, 1 0-0-2; Shelby Benjamin, 6 1-4-14; Courtney Scheer, 0. Ashley Murphy, 0. Totals: 15 5-12-39.