No surprises for battle-tested Norwin, Greensburg Central Catholic girls in state playoffs

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, March 5, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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The long bus rides. The offbeat gymnasiums. The unfamiliar opponents and schools no one has ever heard of.

The PIAA basketball playoffs can be a world of discovery for teams that have never been there.

Coaches try to sell the state postseason as “just another game,” but there are noticeable differences to playing beyond the WPIAL tournament.

The Norwin and Greensburg Central Catholic girls, though, don’t have to worry about these issues.

After lengthy runs in the PIAA postseason last year, the newly crowned WPIAL champions are primed for another run through the state’s version of March Madness.

“We need to come out and play physical and rebound,” GCC senior guard Mya Morgan said. “We have to play our game.”

GCC (20-6) won its sixth WPIAL title — the first since 2007 — with a 62-41 victory over Serra Catholic in the Class 2A final.

The Centurions will take on Bellwood-Antis (15-10) on Friday night at GCC in the hopes of jump-starting another state run.

Norwin (21-3), meantime, has its eye on a PIAA title after winning its first WPIAL championship since 2016 and its third title overall.

The Lady Knights took care of rival North Allegheny at The Pete, 56-41, for their 12th straight win.

They open the PIAA tournament Friday night at home against William Penn (16-10).

After losing in the semifinals last year, Norwin won three straight in the PIAA bracket, defeating Central Dauphin, 34-19, Lebanon, 57-43, and North Allegheny, 50-30.

They fell to Cedar Cliff, 55-47.

“One thing is you want to reset and refresh,” Norwin coach Brian Brozeski said. “I think about that part in the ‘Last Dance’ (documentary) where Michael Jordan said, ‘This is why I love my coach: He gives us time off.’ Early in my career, I might have said, ‘Let’s keep going and grind it out.’ ”

Norwin took the weekend off to recharge after the WPIAL final. The Lady Knights never have made the PIAA finals, but some rest could help them make another push.

“I think that our experience playing after the long bus rides (last year) will definitely help us as we get deeper into playoffs,” senior guard Ava Kobus said.

Senior forward Lauren Palangio, who had 12 points and 15 rebounds in the WPIAL title game, said a key is to remain focused on the eve of a new tournament.

”I think the biggest thing we learned last year is to just take it one game at a time and play the best that we can as a team,” Palangio said. “The season can definitely feel super long once you get into states, but you just have to stick together and play for each other to get through to the ultimate goal.”

GCC also went 3-1 in the state bracket a year ago, dispatching of Windber, 55-33, Maplewood, 61-48, and Shenango, 53-35.

A 56-44 loss to Kennedy Catholic in the semis ended the season.

Last Thursday night during the WPIAL championship game, GCC students chanted, “We want Kennedy,” and it was hard for the team to tune it out.

A rematch with the Golden Eagles is on the wish list of fans from both schools. Both teams are loaded with talent and seem like natural if not inevitable opponents in the state’s big dance.

Kennedy Catholic won another District 10 championship and now will focus on a PIAA repeat.

“If we’re healthy, we can make a run,” GCC coach Chris Skatell said. “We understand we have a great opportunity.

“We understand it matters to be just as physical and tough in the fourth quarter as it does in the first.”

GCC has been to the PIAA championship game twice, the most recent in 1997 when it won the program’s only state title with a 48-45 victory over Trinity of District 3.

The Centurions were the state runners-up in ‘96.

The GCC boys team made the state final in 1980 and lost to Exeter, 71-62, at Hersheypark Arena, and again in 2011 — when Franklin Regional boys coach Jesse Reed was a senior — when it fell to Imhotep Charter, 67-34, at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center.

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

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Norwin