NEW WASHINGTON — The Truckers flipped the script on the Ashland girls basketball team.

Second-seeded Norwalk stormed to an insurmountable halftime lead and coasted to a 50-20 win over the top-seeded Arrows in a Division III district semifinal Tuesday night at Buckeye Central High School.

A year ago, Ashland followed the same blueprint in winning its first district title since 1979. The Arrows led last year’s district championship game 31-8 at the break.

Norwalk took a 34-5 advantage to the locker room Tuesday.

“They jumped on us last year on this same floor and I guess it was our turn,” Norwalk coach Kyle Brubaker said. “This is kind of a rivalry because we’re seeing each other a lot at districts, but it’s a rivalry built on respect.”

Quick Start

The game was tied 2-2 after a Kennedy Lacey offensive rebound and putback with 7:01 remaining in the first quarter before Norwalk (18-6) took control. The Truckers outscored the Arrows (20-4) 18-2 the rest of the period and took a 20-4 lead into the second quarter.

Trinity Lazzaro, Norwalk’s smooth senior point guard, scored 12 of her game-high 19 points in the opening eight minutes.

“I know that’s what she’s capable of,” Brubaker said. “You don’t necessarily expect somebody to come out that hot, but that’s a senior point guard who doesn’t want to be done.

“I told the girls in our locker room if you’re lost and don’t know where to go or who to follow, follow that dog right there and good things will happen.”

Cold Shooting

Ashland connected on just seven field goals the entire evening. 

“That’s the coldest we’ve ever shot,” Ashland coach Renee Holt said. “We couldn’t throw it in the ocean.

“That’s just the game of basketball.”

Lacey, the District 6 Player of the Year who averaged 22.6 points a game, had a rare off-night. She managed just four points while being hounded by Norwalk’s long defenders.

“The main part of our defensive game plan was focused on her,” Brubaker said of Lacey. “We know they have other players. We kind of thought we could maybe try to do everything — not let (Cici) Steury get off and not let (Camryn) Cox get off and still make things tough on Lacey.”

Historic Run

Ashland won its second straight outright Ohio Cardinal Conference championship and matched last year’s single-season record with 20 wins. The Arrows are 40-10 in the last two years.

“It’s an awesome senior class that set the standard. My seniors just reminded me that we won three games when they were freshmen,” Holt said. “Back-to-back conference champions and they hadn’t won one before that in 30 years.

“Last year we secured a district championship and that was (46) years. That really is a testament to that senior class.”