Norwin basketball sweeps boys/girls doubleheader vs. Penn-Trafford

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 | 10:19 PM

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It was a sweep for the Norwin basketball teams Tuesday in their annual battle against rival Penn-Trafford.

The girls opened the night with a 62-53 victory, and the boys closed with a 69-55 victory.

And it was the energy of their teams that girls coach Brian Broseski and boys coach Cam Auld liked most about their teams’ effort.

The Norwin girls used a strong second quarter to give them breathing room. The Norwin boys did their damage in the second half by erasing a 26-23 deficit.

“Energy,” Brozeski said. “I liked the energy we played with. That was something we could control.

“We cannot control whether we are making shots or of they are making shots, but we could control how hard we actually play. We came out witha good energy level and were able to maintain it for most of the game.”

He also got huge games from junior Elizabeth Yarosik and sophomore Nia O’Barto.

The duo combined to score 36 points, 16 in the second quarter when the Knights grabbed control of the game. Yarosik finished with a game-high 22 points. She was a top reserve last year.

O’Barto was a spark. She scored 12 of her 14 points in the second quarter when Norwin opened up a 32-25 lead at halftime.

The duo scoring took the pressure off the Knights’ lone returning starter, Ava Christopher, who ended up with 12 points.

Brozeski said he liked the contribution from every player.

“Elizabeth and Nia were sparks,” Brozeski said. “Any one of the 10 player we play can lead the lead. Nia is one of the hardest workers, so I am not shocked with her performance. The girls understand what they can do, and they do that at a high level. They stay within their role, and I am really proud of that.”

Penn-Trafford (1-2) had trouble at times with Norwin’s pressure.

The teams were tied, 14-14, after a quarter before Norwin used an 8-0 run to take a 22-14 lead. The Warriors were held scoreless for more than six minutes before Torrie DeStefano made two free throws. She finished with 17 points.

“I believed we got tired a little in the second quarter,” Penn-Trafford first-year coach Chuck Fontana said. “We battled back but never got the lead in the second half.

“We opened the season against three good teams. That will help us down the road. Norwin is a good team. We play fast, and we are going to turn the ball over. We just must shoot better.”

Rayla Johnson had 11 points for the Warriors, and Hannah Weishaar scored 10.

The Norwin boys outscored Penn-Trafford, 46-26, to pull away in the second half.

“We went inside more in the second half, and it opened up things from the outside,” Auld said. “I also felt our energy on defense gave them problems.”

Mario Csukas scored 15 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, including 10 in the third quarter, and Nate Kuch added 11 of his 13 points in third quarter as Norwin led 47-41.

“I am disappointed that we lost, but I saw a lot of good things,” Penn-Trafford boys coach Doug Kelly said. “We have two starters out (Tyler Boss and Peyton Mastro), and we had five players out their playing varsity basketball for the first time.

“Norwin played really well in the second half. We need to be able to make more shots. We played physically in the first half, and they took it away. We have things to work on, but we will figure it out.”

Caleb Dubyak and Ethan McDonald each scored nine to lead Penn-Trafford.

“Playing against North Allegheny helped us,” Auld said. “If you look at the scoreboard, we had a lot of players contribute. That is what made me proud.”

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Norwin, Penn-Trafford