Keith Lanfear Photo

BINGHAMTON – After 13 long years, the Norwich Purple Tornado girls basketball team is back on top of Section IV again. The Lady Tornado defeated the Owego Indians 66-42 in the championship games Saturday evening, using a 28-point second quarter scoring rout to take down the top-seeded Indians.

During that stanza, seven different Tornado players scored points to contribute to the commanding take-over after trailing at the end of first quarter by two.

The win gave Norwich (21-1) their third Section IV title in the program’s history, the last coming during the 2005-2006 season.

Owego went on a 9-1 run to start the game, five of their points coming at the free-throw line. The Indians’ stand-out Kaci Donovan, who was coming off a 47-point performance in their win over Waverly, made four of those five.

Evee Coleman, missing from the first meeting between the two teams due to a school band trip to Orlando, scored two buckets in transition on long passes from teammate Donovan to aid in the early lead for Owego.

However, Norwich’s Saige Benedict put the defensive clamps on Coleman for the rest of the quarter and the Tornado worked their way back into the game.

The lone point for Norwich came from Triniti Myers at the free throw line as the No. 2 team displayed their nerves early in the contest. But in a matter of a few minutes with a few defensive stops, Norwich quickly shook away the jitters and began to find their offense.