Merow seals narrow win for Port in the opener

March Madness is a few months away, but don’t tell Port Washington High School senior Norah Merow.

The post player ushered in the basketball season with a buzzer-beater to push the Pirates over visiting Nicolet, 44-42, on Nov. 18.

The game was tied with 2.6 seconds left. Port was to inbound the ball from the side of the court, coach Dave Ross said.

Assistant coach Brian Miller called a play for Merow inside.

“She was able to get a good post, and right when she caught it she immediately did a drop step to her left and hit it when the buzzer went off,” Ross said.

“Obviously, it’s a big win for us. We really didn’t play very well, but we had to grind it out, which we did. It was exciting to win on a play like that.”

Merow had 14 points and nine rebounds. Senior Savanna Miller had 15 points, 11 steals, six assists and six rebounds. Delaney Rauch had eight points.

Port evened its record on Nov. 25 in a 60-34 home loss to Homestead.

Merow had nine points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Miller had eight points and five steals. Rauch had seven points and seven rebounds.

The Pirates have few experienced players returning from last year’s team, and Ross said there’s a learning curve since some are playing different positions.

Port lost six seniors, all of whom started or were in the rotation, including 6-feet, 2-inch forward Lillian Merow, who averaged 13.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. She was named to the North Shore Conference third team and plays for the University of Nebraska Omaha.

Norah, Lillian’s younger sister, averaged 10.8 points per game and shot 46.6%, second in the league. She averaged 6.3 rebounds per game and earned NSC honorable mention.

Among the other sibling graduates was point guard Sierra Miller. Savanna, now fully recovered from a torn ACL two years ago, is taking her spot.

“She’s learning how to play the point guard position, which takes time,” Ross said. “She’s strong and she knows the game. She just hasn’t played (point guard) for years because her sister had the spot for four years.”

Rauch was a starter last year but at a different position. She is a forward who sometimes handles the ball, Ross said.

Sophomore Grace Riley, last season’s  junior varsity point guard, is learning a bigger, faster, stronger varsity game.

“I think she’s doing a really good job learning,” Ross said.

In the paint, junior Ava Paulin is another new starter.

The rotation, Ross said, will change week to week as he tries to put players in positions to succeed.

“We just need to be patient. We’re very young,” he said.

What the Pirates lack in experience they make up for in other ways.

“The strength of the team is there’s a willingness to learn. I saw some of that with the younger players coming to open gyms and wanting to get better,” Ross said.

“We’re just a different team right now, and with more experience we’re going to start having small successes that lead into larger ones, and they want to learn and they want to get better.”

Ross said the offense will operate at different speeds, and the defense is still figuring out its niche.

“We have a core group of players who want to and will develop into nice players in the future,” he said.

Port competes in the new Glacier Trails Conference, which has old NSC foes West Bend East and West, and the Pirates also scheduled former league opponents Grafton and Cedarburg to keep rivalries going.

Port was to host GTC foe Sheboygan South on Wednesday, Dec. 3. It hosts Cedarburg on Tuesday, Dec. 9.