Westmoreland County basketball notebook: Ava Christopher’s return bolsters Norwin lineup

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, February 22, 2026 | 4:12 PM

Even at Norwin, where rotations run deep and the bench is long, the absence of one player can make a big difference.

Senior Ava Christopher missed 10 games this season with a knee injury, and the Knights had to wait for her to return.

The crafty guard is back, and Norwin is back in the WPIAL Class 6A semifinals.

“It’s huge for us,” Norwin coach Brian Brozeski said. “She’s a leader. She makes everyone around her better.”

Norwin (18-4) will play Upper St. Clair (12-11) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Keystone Oaks.

If the Knights win, they will go to the finals for the third straight year.

Christopher has played a key role in several playoff runs and has more experience than anyone on the team.

“We adapted to playing without her,” Norwin guard Lenyn Brozeski said. “But we got stronger when she came back.”

Christopher has won a WPIAL title and been a runner-up in her prep career. She has been on the floor for playoff games in all four of her years on the team.

Norwin is 12-0 with Christopher in the lineup this year, including a 57-42 win over Hempfield in the WPIAL quarterfinals.

If they go to 13-0, they’ll be back at Petersen Events Center playing for another title.

“I was a little rusty coming back,” Christopher said. “Defensively, I was good, but offensively I had to get back to real time.

“They held it together really well without me.”

Christopher admitted this is will be her last year of competitive basketball. She plans to attend Pitt but is not pursuing college basketball.

“The run is coming to an end,” she said.

Running it back

Penn-Trafford’s girls came up short in the WPIAL Class 5A semifinals, but the Warriors (19-6) will try to fire up another run in the state playoffs.

Penn-Trafford will host Peters Township (15-10) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the WPIAL third-place game.

Both teams have clinched PIAA berths. The loser will be fourth.

The Belle Vernon girls, meantime, will play for fifth place in WPIAL Class 4A. The Leopards (21-4), who have more wins than any team in program history, will host South Park at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The winner will be the fifth seed from the WPIAL. The loser is sixth.

And the Monessen boys, fresh off their first semifinal since 2018-19, will play for third in Class A. The Greyhounds (13-10) will play No. 2 Nazareth Prep at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The loser gets the fourth seed for the state bracket. Monessen made the state tournament in 2024 and lost in the first round.

The PIAA playoffs begin March 6.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Monessen, Norwin, Penn-Trafford