Elite Westmoreland County basketball teams to open playoffs with legit title hopes

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, February 14, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Purchase Photo Options

It is not hyperbole to say a special postseason could be in store for Westmoreland County basketball teams — a lengthy, compelling postseason that generates county-wide interest.

The talent is there, right alongside the potential.

The WPIAL playoffs are scheduled to begin this weekend, and some local teams could be legit contenders to compete for the top prize.

Deep playoff runs last year, coupled with the return of numerous key players, signify a season that could go deep into March, WPIAL and PIAA tournaments combined, for the area’s better-seeded teams.

Take the Norwin girls. The top-seeded Lady Knights could be ramping up to something special after reaching the WPIAL and PIAA 6A semifinals last year.

Norwin (18-3), which won the Section 1 title going away and went 16-0 against WPIAL competition, has a starting lineup that saw time in seven playoff games a year ago as the Lady Knights went 24-5.

Norwin won back-to-back WPIAL titles in 2015 and ’16 but never has won a state championship.

Seniors Lauren Palangio, Ava Kobus and Bailey Snowberger and junior Kendall Berger have played in plenty of high-stakes games.

“A season is a whirlwind of events,” Norwin coach Brian Brozeski said. “What stinks is that you can’t really stop to take it all in until it’s over. I like where we’re trending, but we can’t get stale. We have to keep the energy up in practice.”

Another local No. 1 seed is Greensburg Central Catholic, which leads the county in WPIAL titles in girls hoops with five, the last in 2007, and also has an abundance of talent.

The Big 3 of seniors Mya Morgan and Avery Davis and sophomore Erica Gribble are as good a guard trio as any in the state.

GCC (16-5) made the WPIAL quarterfinals — it was upset by Burgettstown — and the PIAA semifinals last season in 2A. Defending state champion Kennedy Catholic could show up again on the Centurions’ path, but that’s far down the road.

“It’s just basketball,” GCC coach Chris Skatell said. “Let’s not get carried away (with the seeding). We still have to go out and play. We have to get back to work.”

Then there are the GCC boys who, judging by their run of success against upper-class teams, are built for a title push.

A number of role players have blended perfectly with the whipsaw duo of seniors Tyree Turner and Franco Alvarez to make the second-seeded Centurions (20-2) a beast in 2A.

“You want to test yourself in that environment against those (larger classification) teams,” Alvarez said. “Coach (Christian) Hyland scheduled those games so we could experience that. We have to work on some of the finer details when the playoffs come. We have as much experience and skill as anybody, so we’re super-excited.”

GCC never has won a WPIAL title in boys basketball, something Hyland reminds his team about.

“I will mention it here and there,” he said. “It’s one of our goals. It’s something we haven’t done.”

Franklin Regional (20-2) is another team to watch on the boys end. The Panthers are seeded second in the WPIAL 5A playoffs.

An up-tempo team that doesn’t stop defending, shoots 3-pointers well and has one of the top finishers in the WPIAL in senior Cam Rowell, the Panthers have won 13 of their last 14 games.

“These guys are resilient,” Panthers third-year coach Jesse Reed said. “They’re tough kids, and they keep their composure. The leadership has been great.”

Franklin Regional had not won an outright section title since 2008. It hasn’t had a winning record since 2018-19, and it missed the playoffs the last two years.

Adjusting to different styles and not sticking to one strategy could be the key to a prolonged run. Franklin Regional last made the WPIAL finals in 2017-18.

“You have to be malleable,” Reed said. “You have to be able to play different styles and adjust. The more games you play and more reps you get, the more comfortable you get. Being in those situations is vital.”

The Yough boys (18-4) can’t be slept on either, led by WPIAL scoring leader Terek Crosby and senior forward Austin Matthews. The No. 7-seed Cougars made the WPIAL quarters and played back for a spot in the state tournament last year.

The Monessen boys (17-4) and girls (16-5) also bring experience to the postseason. They are the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds in Class A.

Only twice in history have Westmoreland boys and girls teams won basketball titles in the same season. That happened in 2015 with the Norwin girls and Monessen boys and in 1995 with a Monessen boys and girls title sweep.

Only once has more than one girls team from the county won titles in the same season. Monessen and GCC brought home hardware in 2006.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Norwin