It was an incredible year for both Norton basketball programs, as they both finished on top of the Metro Athletic Conference (MAC). With the win over Cloverleaf on Feb. 2, the boys won their first conference title since 2020-2021. The Lady Panthers' big win over Ravenna on Feb. 8 clinched the title for them. The Lady Panthers (13-7, 12-1), led by head coach Brian Miller, have dominated over the last decade. This season, they won their eighth straight conference title, an incredible streak. The Lady Panthers will share the conference title with the Streetsboro Rockets after they split their games against each other this season. The Rockets handed the Lady Panthers their first conference loss last season in over six years, ending their historic streak. The Rockets came close this year to ending the Lady Panthers conference title streak with their 45-38 in early January. But when the Rockets traveled to Norton on Jan. 16, the Lady Panthers were ready and defeated them 48-40. When taking on the rest of the conference, the Lady Panthers took care of business by outscoring them 686-421. The Lady Panthers were led this season in points by two underclassmen: freshman Alivia Goff, averaging 13.1 PPG, and sophomore Dakota Graham, averaging 10.2 PPG. Seniors
Andie Osolin and Madison Dobbins also played a significant role this season. Osolin has averaged almost five steals a game, and Dobbins has averaged over six boards a game.
Juniors Kenzie Tatka and Olivia Farrell also gave the Lady Panthers big minutes, with Tatka averaging nearly five rebounds a game and Farrell being the fourth leading scorer on the team. Freshman Haley Sanderson also gave the Lady Panthers big minutes off the bench and shot 36% from beyond the arc. For the Norton Panthers boys' basketball team (17-2, 12-1),
their season started with a loss at Streetsboro, but since that moment, they have won 12 straight conference games, leading to their MAC title. It is BJ Sanderson's third conference title since becoming the head coach of the Panthers in the 2017-18 season. When the Panthers clinched the outright title vs. Cloverleaf, it did not come easy, with a double-digit deficit at halftime. The Panthers fought back to victory, a theme in many games this season, most notably in their first home game vs. Woodridge. The Panthers trailed by seven in the fourth quarter when they came back and tied late, which allowed senior Zach Bowman to hit the game-winning shot as time expired. The Panthers carried the momentum from that game the rest of the season, only falling to Northwest. This season, the Panthers were led by Luke Dobbins, who led the team in points per game (17.2) and rebounds per game (7.3). Second in scoring for the Panthers was sophomore Buddy Willig, who, before being lost to a season-ending injury two weeks ago, was averaging 11.2 PPG. Seniors Zach Bowman, Andrew Lewis, and Noah Willig averaged over 20 minutes a game and gave the Panthers points when needed. Bowman shot 40% from beyond the arc, Lewis shot just under 30% from three, and Willig averaged eight PPG and almost five rebounds per game. After missing the first four
games, sophomore Isaac Hunter earned a starting role and has averaged over eight points per game.