Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Norwin fighting through injury to key senior

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, January 14, 2026 | 6:17 PM

Previous Next

Like most teams, Norwin has the normal aches and pains associated with play at the halfway mark of section schedule.

Rest and recovery are valued more as teams aim for the stretch run.

But the Class 6A No. 1-ranked Knights (11-2) have been patiently awaiting the return of a key player from a more pressing injury.

Senior guard Ava Christopher has missed four games with a knee injury and may not return until late in the regular season.

Adjusting to life without Christopher has been a challenge — the team is 2-2 without her — but one the Knights are facing.

The versatile Christopher went down early in the Trinity game Dec. 30 at the Peters Township tournament.

“Fortunately, she doesn’t have a fracture,” Norwin coach Brian Brozeski said. “She may come back later rather than sooner, so we have to have other girls step up. They can’t be expected to do what she did, so we’re still figuring things out.”

One of only three seniors on the roster along with Ann Fraser and Kylie Rodkey, Christopher is a glue player on both ends of the floor. She brings championship-level experience to a young group.

Norwin won a WPIAL title two years ago and was the runner-up last season.

“Both ends,” Brozeski said. “She is the total package.”

The backcourt has a bright future, and youthful guards have done their best to fill the void left by Christhoper’s absence.

Sophomore Nia O’Barto, an offensive sparkplug, is having a breakout season, and freshman Giuliana Giannikas has been fearless adjusting to the varsity level off the bench.

Sophomores Aubrey Graney and Lenyn Brozeski also have provided big minutes.

Junior Liz Yarosik is another key contributor who brings experience to the rotation.

P-T rolling

Penn-Trafford has quietly put together a seven-game winning streak and suddenly sits alone on top of Section 2-5A. First-year coach Chuck Fontana’s team took down Indiana in impressive fashion Monday, riding a hot start — they scored the first 10 points — to a 59-38 win.

The Warriors are 8-3 overall and 5-0 in section. They have won 18 straight at home.

Climbing the ladder

Greensburg Central Catholic star point guard Erica Gribble reached the 2,000-point mark for her career Monday at Deer Lakes, becoming just the seventh girl in Westmoreland County history to score that many points.

The question now is, how many of those former standouts can she pass on the local list?

The top six all-time scorers in Westmoreland are: Gina Naccarato of Monessen (3,364), Charel Allen of Monessen (3,110), Vanessa Abel of Southmoreland (2,327), Ciara Gregory of Jeannette (2,130), Jen Sabota of Latrobe (2,072) and Danielle Dawson of Greensburg Salem (2,007).

Gribble has 2,001 career points through 13 games this season (101 career games). GCC could make another WPIAL title and PIAA playoff run, which could stretch to 30 or more games, meaning Gribble, at her current pace, could score 400-plus points. That would put her over 2,400 and in third place in the county.

“I guess it would be cool to maybe get to 2,500,” Gribble said. “But that would be a bonus to winning more championships.”

Johnson nears 1,000

Monessen senior guard Madison Johnson has closed to within 31 points of 1,000 for her career.

She would become the 18th girl at the school to reach the milestone. The last Greyhounds player to do it was Mariah Ward in 2013.

Steelers matter

A few local teams moved games Monday so players, coaches and fans could watch the Pittsburgh Steelers’ AFC Wild-Card playoff game against the Houston Texans.

The Hempfield-Norwin game was moved to Tuesday as part of a girls-boys doubleheader, whereas Mt. Pleasant at Ringgold was made a varsity-only game (6 p.m.) and North Catholic at Derry was bumped up to a 5 p.m. tip.

Livingston injured

Latrobe coach Mackenzie Livingston wore a neck brace Thursday against Greensburg Salem and will soon be going through physical therapy after she was injured in a vehicle accident.

Livingston was traveling last week when she hit three deer and totaled her car.

“I was taken by ambulance with, thankfully, minor injuries,” she said.

Livingston, who lives in Blairsville, was driving home from practice Tuesday night and hit the deer, two of them bucks, on Route 217.

Livingston said she has a neck ligament strain and pain in her back.

“I didn’t go to ER right away,” she said. “I felt OK after the accident. The next day I got worse, and I went to a local urgent care and they decided to send me by ambulance to Conemaugh Hospital in Johnstown. I was given a neck brace and thankfully only have to wear it for a short time period.”

Livingston doesn’t expect to miss any games. She teaches health and physical education at Latrobe.

“I was in the ER until 4 a.m., so coaching the next day’s game wasn’t the easiest after experiencing some bad whiplash,” she said. “However, my team showed up and played one of our best basketball games this year. I am thankful my girls had my back and made it a less stressful game to coach.”

Schedule watch

Local games to watch Thursday include Franklin Regional at Plum (Section 1-5A), Latrobe at West Mifflin (Section 2-5A), Freeport at Derry (Section 1-4A), Mt. Pleasant at Yough (Section 3-4A), Ringgold at Belle Vernon (Section 3-4A), Avonworth at Ligonier Valley (Section 2-3A) and Riverview at Jeannette (Section 4-2A).

Nonsection games include Penn-Trafford at Hempfield and North Hills at Norwin.

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., Hempfield, Latrobe, Norwin