Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Norwin’s Kendall Berger hits 1,000 points

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, February 5, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Senior Kendall Berger has a number of memories as a member of the Norwin girls basketball team.

She has a WPIAL championship, PIAA playoff experience and a number of high-scoring performances.

Now, she has a scoring milestone.

Berger scored the 1,000th point of her career last weekend when Norwin lost a home game to South Fayette.

The Clarion commit needed 10 but finished with 13 in a 48-36 setback.

It had been a while since a Norwin girl scored 1,000. The last to do it was Alayna Gribble, the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,782 points, in 2015.

Playoff teams

The local playoff picture is just about set.

Qualifiers from Westmoreland County are Norwin (11-6, 7-1) in 6A; Franklin Regional (15-5, 11-0), Penn-Trafford (20-0, 11-0), Latrobe (10-9, 6-5) and Greensburg Salem (12-8, 5-6) in 5A; Burrell (12-8, 7-5), Belle Vernon (9-11, 6-6) and Yough (11-9, 5-7) in 4A; and Greensburg Central Catholic (15-4, 10-2) in 3A.

Two locals are on the bubble.

Ligonier Valley (6-13, 4-8) was still alive in Section 2-3A. The Rams host South Allegheny (4-15, 4-8) on Thursday night. The teams are tied for fifth in the section.

Mt. Pleasant (4-15, 4-9) must win Thursday at Ringgold and have Yough lose to Laurel Highlands to get into the 4A playoffs.

The WPIAL will meet Monday and announce playoff seedings and opening matchups.

The tournaments could start as early as Feb. 13, the league said.

Comeback for a spot

Greensburg Salem locked up a playoff spot with a 48-46 win over visiting Latrobe on Monday.

The Golden Lions had to come from behind to clinch.

Down 46-40 with 1 minute, 44 seconds remaining, they rallied by scoring the final eight points of the game.

Mya Heasley led the way with 19 points, including five 3-pointers, and Regan Kerr kicked in 13.

Champs again

Franklin Regional waited a long time to raise another section championship banner.

The Panthers (15-5) clinched at least a share of their first section since 1979 on Monday with a win against Armstrong.

Unbeaten Penn-Trafford (20-0) had a much shorter wait but also returned to section glory, capturing a share of its first title since 2014-15.

Back on top

Norwin is again the No. 1-ranked team in WPIAL Class 6A.

The Knights vaulted past previous No. 1 Upper St. Clair with a 56-47 win over the Panthers.

Norwin is gunning for a fourth straight section title.

Scoring leaders

The top five scorers in Westmoreland County as of last week were Erica Gribble, Greensburg Central Catholic (21.4 ppg), Navarah Smith, Jeannette (19.6), Madison Johnson, Monessen (18.5), Carley Berk, Latrobe (15.7) and Janelle Norman, Valley (15.1).

Gribble, a junior, has topped 1,400 career points.

Quotable

“I hope we’re on the other side of the bracket.” — GCC coach Chris Skatell on possibly seeing top-ranked Shady Side Academy for a third time this season

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Norwin, Penn-Trafford