Bella Furno’s hot shooting leads Norwin girls past North Allegheny in Class 6A quarterfinals

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, February 21, 2025 | 10:08 PM

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She might have been ill, but Bella Furno didn’t show it.

Truth be told, the Norwin senior guard had visiting North Allegheny feeling a little queasy as her 3-pointers — 6 out of 8 — splashed through the nets Friday night in top-seeded Norwin’s 52-30 victory in the WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinals.

She turned this game into a Disco In-Furno.

All 18 of her career-high points came from behind the arc for Furno, who had flu-like symptoms for about a week. Her hot shooting sparked the defending WPIAL champions to a one-sided playoff opener.

“All she needed was a week off,” Norwin coach Brian Brozeski said. “With her being sick, we weren’t sure what to expect tonight. But when she’s on, she’s on. She actually has every shot in the bag.”

Norwin (14-7), which hadn’t played a game in 14 days, moves on to the semifinals for the third straight year and will take on No. 4 Canon-McMillan (14-8) on Tuesday at a time and site to be determined.

The winner will advance to the finals at 5 p.m. next Saturday at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.

Furno, a West Virginia Wesleyan commit, made three 3s in the second quarter to stake Norwin to a 28-17 halftime lead. It was all Lady Knights from there.

“It was hard to breathe at times,” said Furno, still a touch under the weather. “I only practiced on Wednesday and Thursday. It helps to see the ball go in. I wanted to come out with a bang. I have worked to improve my shot. Tonight, it (shots came from) corners and elbows.”

Norwin made nine 3s as a team.

The eighth-seeded Tigers (13-8), meantime, faded substantially after a competitive first quarter as they were outscored 17-4 in the second quarter and 11-3 in the third.

“We tried regular man, a 1-3-1 (zone) and face-guarded (Furno),” North Allegheny first-year coach Gabby Baldasare said. “She shoots lights out.”

Brozeski is used to coaching against longtime championship coach Spencer Stefko, so it was odd to look down the sideline and see Baldasare coaching her first playoff game, a rematch of last year’s title game.

“I think (Stefko) was here because I swear I heard him,” Brozeski said, glancing up at the bleachers. “Gabby is doing a nice job. Tonight, honestly, was a crapshoot. When you watch their film, they do so many different things. We weren’t sure what style or what lineup we might see.”

Style didn’t matter because Norwin dictated the pace after a slow-going first quarter that saw the Lady Knights in front 13-11.

Senior Kendall Berger had 10 of those points and finished with 15.

Furno picked up the scoring slack when she got into a catch-and-shoot rhythm. To that end, Norwin turned the momentum into smothering defense, holding the Tigers to one field goal in the third.

Furno made back-to-back 3s before junior Ava Christopher finished a layup off a backdoor pass from Berger to put Norwin ahead 23-16.

Junior Kylie Rodkey put back a miss, and Furno capped the half, which ended with an 11-0 run, with another 3.

“We talked about controlling the pace,” Baldasare said. “We had shots but missed a lot of bunnies around the rim.

“With Norwin, you can shut down one girl, and someone else is going to hurt you. Pick your poison.”

Furno and Christopher made 3s in the third to extend the lead to 39-20.

Seniors Averi Brozeski and Lexi Heller scored early in the fourth to give Norwin it’s largest lead at 43-20.

“I wanted us to play free and confident,” Brian Brozeski said. “You never know who is going to pull the rope.”

Christopher finished with nine points. Senior Leah Skweres led North Allegheny with 10, including two 3s.

Norwin has won 10 of their last 12 games.

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

Tags: North Allegheny, Norwin