Norwin girls expect tense tussle with Upper St. Clair in WPIAL Class 6A finals

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, February 28, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Purchase Photo Options

The celebration was short after Norwin won its WPIAL semifinal over Canon-McMillan on Tuesday night in Mt. Lebanon.

Veteran coach Brian Brozeski, who has been through many postseason runs, made sure his team boarded the bus with perspective after a 42-26 win that saw the Knights fend off a late rally with a game-ending 13-0 run.

“Any time you make it to the championship, you have to smile,” Brozeski said. “But the goal is not to get there. It is to come out victorious.”

Norwin (15-7), the No. 1 seed and defending 6A champion, will go for its fourth WPIAL title at 5 p.m. Saturday when it plays No. 2 Upper St. Clair (18-6) at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.

Brozeski said 6A coaches probably would have had differing opinions at the start of the season on who would make the WPIAL finals.

But the WPIAL had it right, as the top two seeds — and top two teams in Section 2 — will play for the title.

Whether that means the class is down or more competitive is debatable.

“I thought 6A was a crapshoot,” Brozeski said. “Some teams … you play them 10 times, someone goes 6-4. Coming into this tournament, there were probably eight (teams) that could have won it.”

Beating Upper St. Clair, which was the favorite at the start of the season, twice is going to be a challenge for Norwin, which won 52-43 at USC and lost to the Panthers, 63-53, at home.

Rylee Kalocay, USC’s standout guard and a Kent State commit who returned at full strength after tearing her ACL last season, had 19 points in the second meeting. Meredith Huzjak had 11.

Norwin’s Kendall Berger had 19 in the first game and 17 in the second.

In the first game, Meredith Huzjak scored 16 and Mia Huzjack added 12.

“We have to show them something they haven’t seen yet,” Brozeski said. “That might take watching 10 hours of film.”

USC coach Pete Serio said his team will have to rely on fundamentals to knock off the returning champs.

“Norwin is such a well-coached team,” Serio said. “They are always so prepared.

“Defense and rebounding will be key for us. Norwin has both inside and outside talent. We need to contest every shot and limit their second chances.”

The Panthers will lean on title-game experience they gained in 2021, ’22 and ’23, all runner-up finishes. Their last title was in 2008.

Could this be their year?

“Norwin won it all last year, so they have the experience,” Serio said. “We will need to play our best to honor the opportunity in front of us.”

Norwin players were looking forward to the finals experience again, some for the first time, others for a second.

“I loved the environment,” said junior guard Ava Christopher, who scored 16 points in last year’s 56-41 win over North Allegheny.

“It’s an exciting experience. It would be cool to win it again.”

Brozeski recalls the celebrations after the first two titles.

“I think about when I hugged Lauren Buchanan,” Brozeski said. “That was one of my top moments, until I got to hug my daughter last year. It’s the subtle things you remember.”

Averi Brozeski, a senior who came off the bench in last year’s final, was ill at The Pete in 2024.

“I had the flu, and I was head sick, so I don’t remember much,” she said. “I know the atmosphere was insane. I remember my dad putting the medal around my neck and us hugging.”

Berger had 10 points in last year’s final. She said temperament is a key to a repeat.

“We can’t get too in our heads,” Berger said. “We worked hard to get here.”

Said Averi Brozeski: “We have to rebound and box out.”

Norwin can lean on an assistant coach who was part of the 2015 and ’16 championship teams in Abi (Gabauer) Courtley.

“She has a lot of memories she can share from a woman’s perspective,” Brozeski said. “She can talk to them about high school, college, life.”

And celebrations that last longer than the drive home on the parkway.

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

Tags: Norwin, Upper St. Clair