(Matt McCarthy/Daily News photo) Norway sophomore Hannah Burklund (33) looks for an open teammate in the second half Thursday night in a Skyline Central Conference game versus Rapid River at Norway. The Knights defeated the Rockets 42-32.

NORWAY — It was Winterfest coronation, Parents Night and Senior Night wrapped into one on Wednesday at Norway and the host Lady Knights came away with a 42-32 win over Skyline Central Conference foe Rapid River.

Norway sophomores Donna VanHolla and Andi Carlson each netted a game-high 14 points for Norway.

Both teams started out lethargic in a slow-developing first quarter.

“We got off to a rough start tonight. Our first quarter wasn’t good, but the girls had several distractions with everything extra going on,” said Norway head coach Joe Tinti. “Once the girls got focused, we dictated the pace of the game and were able to work our offense.”

Other than the 6-foot senior center Natalie Belanger, Rapid River struggled offensively. Belanger, who finished with 13 points and six rebounds, also had eight blocked shots.

“We’re very reliant upon Natalie (Belanger) in our offense, but lately we’ve struggled getting her the ball,” said Rapid River head coach Scott Goodacre. “Tonight, we did a much better job of that.”

“Natalie Belanger is a great player, and she has been for the last three years for them,” Tinti said. “We knew she was the focus of their offense and defense. So we switched to a zone defense in the second half.”

The switch held Belanger to 4 points after the break.

Goodacre felt his team moved the ball well in their half-court offensive sets.

“We lost to Norway by around 15 points or so at out place, so tonight I feel is a good sign for us, that we played them better this time,” he said. “We fought back into the game a little in the final quarter, and I am happy about that.”

When the Knights girls would get into the lane offensively, Belanger would appear between them and the basket more often than not. Norway worked the ball around the perimeter and got some good looks at the basket, especially in the second and third stanzas.

“We wanted to win tonight’s game, with it being senior and parents night. Our seniors all played a real nice game tonight, which is great for them to finish up their careers with a great home game,” Tinti said.

The Knights seniors are Cadeance Lindsley, Maddie Chellew (who celebrated her birthday Thursday) and MacKenzie Clifford, who snared a game-high 15 rebounds.

“I am going to miss all three girls dearly, especially MacKenzie (Clifford), she’s been with me on the varsity since part way through her freshman season,” Tinti stated.

Norway, who improved to 8-6 (8-4 SCC), travels to Munising on Friday to complete its regular season and SCC schedule.

“One of our goals for this season, was to finish with a winning record, and we accomplished that,” Tinti said.

Rapid River completed it regular season at 2-13.

Jada Freudinger netted 21 points as the Norway JV defeated Rapid River.

Bob Bal of WHTO FM contributed to this story.

R. River 6 7 7 12 — 32

Norway 5 16 14 7 — 42

RAPID RIVER: Pilon 6, Thibault 2, Dausey 3, Keys 2, Poore 6, Belanger 13; FT: 5-7; F: 16; Fouled Out: None; 3-point FG: Poore 2, Dausey.

NORWAY: Lindsley 2, VanHolla 14, Adams 1, Chellew 4, Clifford 2, Carlson 14, Freudinger 5; FT: 10-27; F: 8; Fouled Out: None; 3-point FG: VanHolla.