Norwin girls cruise past McKeesport for 7th straight victory

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, December 27, 2018 | 7:42 PM

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Norwin girls basketball coach Brian Brozeski likes to create a family atmosphere in his program.

The team had a pizza party and a karaoke night during the Christmas break and players and coaches alike could be heard singing Happy Birthday to senior Jessica Kolesar in the locker room after Thursday’s 67-39 win over McKeesport at the Penn-Trafford holiday tournament.

This is one close-knit group, on and off the court. And a focused one at that.

“This is a game,” Brozeski said. “There is a fine line between work and having fun. But you want them to enjoy it.

“It’s always a concern that your routine might be broken (during a break). But our girls stayed focused and played for one another like they do.”

Class 6A No. 4 Norwin improved to 7-0 as that team concept played out accordingly on the floor. The Knights built a double-digit lead early with a 23-point opening quarter and cruised to the victory.

Junior guard Olivia Gribble scored a team-best 16 points, connecting on four 3-pointers, and senior forward Emily Brozeski added 14 points for Norwin, which will play Ringgold (1-7) Thursday in the round-robin tournament.

Norwin has won its last four games by an average of 27 points.

“We wanted to come out and take control of the game early,” said Gribble, who scored 11 in the first half as Norwin stacked a 38-18 lead. “We were a little sloppy in the beginning but we got it going. We needed to get control of the game, and we did that.”

Repeated attempts by McKeesport (3-4) to string together scoring runs were thwarted by Norwin’s pressure and ability to get productive possessions.

With coach Brozeski subbing fresh three-, four- and even five-girl lineups, the Knights used a balanced approach and shared the ball with regularity.

“We want to be able to master the fundamentals and play team basketball,” Brian Brozeski said. “We want them to be ready to move on defense and help one another out.”

McKeesport managed just two field goals in the second quarter as Norwin used a 12-0 run to stretch its advantage to 25. The lead ballooned to 28 early in the fourth.

Junior Jhayla Bray, who provides an active and energetic presence inside for the Tigers despite her 5-foot-7 stature, had a team-high 10 points, including a few putbacks.

Junior guard Jayla Wehner added nine points for Norwin, seven in the first half.

Norwin made all 10 of its free-throw attempts.

Sophomore guard Mara Polczynski made two 3-pointers and scored eight for the Knights.

Bill Beckner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: McKeesport, Norwin