NORWICH – Experience isn't in huge supply this season for the Norwich girls basketball team, but Anna Kyle has it. So do senior Kira Kelly and junior Haley Sheetz.
 
The trio played key parts in the Eagles' run to the Class 1A-Division I championship game last season, where they lost to unbeaten Olpe. With senior Raina Bates and junior Teja Samuelson back from injuries that sidelined them in 2020-21, the team's old guard totals five.
 
"Being on some big stages and having lots of people watching you with loud crowds from each side, I think that helps a lot," Kyle said.
 
Even with an unbeaten record entering the regular season's midpoint Friday night, Eagles coach Mike Klaver felt his players needed to encounter a brighter spotlight. And for three quarters of their homecoming game against Heart of the Plains rival Pretty Prairie, the Bulldogs offered a blinding glare.
 
But down 10 points entering the final quarter and eight with 6:33 remaining, Norwich began to adjust. The Eagles held high-scoring Pretty Prairie without a point the rest of the game, and Sheetz's free throw with 15.7 seconds to play capped Norwich's stirring 38-37 victory.
 
Norwich, which entered the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association's 1A-Division I rankings earlier in the week at No. 10, improved to 10-0. No. 2 Pretty Prairie, which won its first 10 games by an average of 52.4 points, dropped to 10-1.
 
Kelly scored 13 points and Kyle added eight for Norwich, which managed to keep the upper hand on Pretty Prairie after dealing the Bulldogs two of their four losses last season, including a 46-29 victory in the sub-state finals.
 
"We had several factors play into this," said Kyle, who made two three-pointers. "One, our underclassmen stepped up and they kept their calm, they stayed collected in the fourth quarter and we ran our offense really well. Secondly, the fans having our backs on everything and cheering everything good and just being peppy, especially in the fourth quarter, helped us.
 
"And third, our coach really prepared us for a close game with pressure. We did a lot of 5-on-4 where you had to figure a way out. We really slowed down and used what we knew in the fourth quarter."
 
Norwich's 14-3 scoring advantage in the final period was a huge twist.
 
Pretty Prairie, which came into the game averaging 73.2 points, was never on pace to approach that total. But the Bulldogs did all they could to speed the pace. Their full-court pressure and trapping zone forced 17 turnovers. When Norwich scored, Pretty Prairie transitioned quickly, looking to do the same.
 
"The nerves were terrible for us just on passes and those types of things," Klaver said. "They got out and put good pressure on us and created that environment, but we had worked hard on that.
 
"We clearly felt that we were going to have to experience a big game like this to move forward. There was a lack of understanding of how fast we needed to get back on defense early on, that was evident. We've played teams that we were more athletic than, and we could get away with things."
 
With junior Bailey Young scoring 11 of her game-high 14 points in the first half, Pretty Prairie built a nine-point lead. But Kyle banked in a three-pointer just before halftime to cut the Bulldogs' advantage to 24-18.
 
Kelly got Norwich off to a good start in the second half, scoring back-to-back baskets to pull the Eagles within two. But Norwich went more than four minutes without scoring, and a break layup by Trinity Kruse and free throw by McKenna Vogl stretched Pretty Prairie's lead to 34-24 after three quarters.
 
Norwich sophomore Kierstin Adams charged the home crowd with a layup with 6:42 to play, but Pretty Prairie's Aubrey Young quickly answered with a three-pointer that temporarily stopped the Eagles' momentum. It was the final points for the Bulldogs, who missed their last six shots and the front ends of two one-and-ones, and committed three turnovers during Norwich's game-endning 9-0 run.
 
"We haven't been in a close game yet, but when I've got seniors on the floor, I expect them to be better than that," Pretty Prairie coach Scott Goering said. "And they do, too. They expect it of themselves, so they will be next time."
 
What limited experience Norwich possessed surfaced at the right time. Sheetz made four consecutive free throws in the fourth quarter, and one of the Eagles' youngsters, sophomore Braylin Kelly, hit a pair to tie the score with 55 seconds remaining. While Kelly later missed a pair with 14 seconds to play, Norwich's defense responded with pressure that forced Pretty Prairie to throw the ball away on its final possession.
 
"We beat a good team," Klaver said. "We turned the ball over way too many times, but if we can get rid of that and get shots every possession, and recognize things and be quicker with our decision-making, we can be a good team."
 
 
NORWICH GIRLS 38, PRETTY PRAIRIE 37
 
Pretty Prairie … 11 … 13 … 10 … 3 … – … 37
Norwich … 11 … 7 … 6 … 14 … – … 38
 
Pretty Prairie (10-1) – Joley Harbaugh 0 0-0 0, White 1 0-0 2, A. Young 2 2-2 8, Hendrickson 0 0-0 0, Webster 1 0-1 2, Jorah Harbaugh 0 0-0 0, B. Young 5 4-10 14, Vogl 3 1-2 7, Kruse 2 0-2 4. Totals 14 (2) 7-17 37.
 
Norwich (10-0) – Bates 1 0-0 3, Kyle 3 0-2 8, B. Kelly 0 2-8 2, K. Kelly 6 1-2 13, Samuelson 0 0-0 0, H. Sheetz 1 4-6 6, Adams 3 0-0 6. Totals 14 (3) 7-18 38.