Girls’ Basketball

Norwich 55, Chenango Valley 45

NORWICH – Norwich found its balance on offense, and combined that with scrappy defensive play to earn its first win of the season here Thursday evening.

Jenni Borfiz scored 13 points for NHS (1-1) to lead the way, Breanna Cashman added 11, while Carin Kuhn scored nine, and Caitlyn Brown had eight off the bench.

The Purple Tornado’s frenetic defense forced the Warriors into 24 turnovers, and rarely did the visiting club get into a rhythm on offense. The Warriors, too, never led in the game tying it once – at four apiece 3 1/2 minutes into the game.

While NHS led throughout the game, the final margin of victory was Norwich’s second largest of the game. Borfitz hit a three and Kassidy Seary scored on a layup at the end of the third quarter to make it a 39-30 game.

The momentum at the end of the third carried into the fourth. Brown canned a three, Borfitz completed a traditional three-point play, and Kuhn hit two free throws at the 5:19 mark to give Norwich a 47-35 lead.

CV got it back to within six points with under two minutes to play as Hannah Elliott hit a three, followed that with a bucket in the lane, and teammate Dani Forbidussi scored five points in a row, the last three coming on a wide-open trifecta closing the gap to 51-45.