Westmoreland County high school basketball notebook: Norwin facing somewhat familiar foe

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, March 14, 2024 | 9:12 PM

Familiarity is only going to take Norwin so far Friday night in the PIAA Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals. At least that is Lady Knights coach Brian Brozeski’s take on his team’s next matchup.

“We played them in the beginning of the year, but both teams look a lot different now,” Brozeski said. “That game was a long time ago.”

Norwin (23-3) will take on District 1 runner-up Spring-Ford (23-5) at 6:30 p.m. at State College for a spot in the state final four. Spring-Ford defeated Norwin, 51-46, early in the season at the State College Tournament.

How early was it? The game was played Dec. 8.

Norwin has won 21 of 23 since.

“It’s tough to remember a lot from that game,” Norwin senior forward Lauren Palangio said. “I know it was a long bus ride and we had some jitters. We need to be more relaxed this time and play our game.”

Palangio had 18 points and senior Ava Kobus added 11 in the loss to the Rams, who handled Peters Township in the state second round, 74-53.

Norwin overcame an 11-point deficit late in the second quarter to get past Chartiers Valley, 56-47, in Tuesday’s second-round matchup at Peters Township.

Norwin had won four previous playoff games by an average of 23.5 points.

“We needed a game like that to test us,” Palangio said. “It was good to have.”

Spring-Ford is a guard-oriented team, like North Allegheny, which won’t be around to see Norwin for a fourth time after losing at the buzzer Tuesday to North Penn. “Spring-Ford has shooters and ball-handlers,” Brozeski said. “They rely on pressure and try to get into transition. They like to get up and down.

“We’re going to have to be ready to play. There is nothing easy from here on out.”

Year of the Panther

The Franklin Regional boys continue to hear about the merits of the 1997 team. That Panthers group is the benchmark by which all teams that came after it are judged.

Led by Aaron Lovelace, the Panthers went 29-4 and reached the PIAA finals.

The current team, with its 25-3 record, has made it to the quarterfinals for the first time since, yes, you guessed it, ‘97.

“It’s hard to measure up,” coach Jesse Reed said. “They made a state final. We’ve still got work to do.”

Reed is too young to remember a team that played 27 years go. He was, after all, born in 1993.

The motivation for the Panthers is not to compare itself to a team of the past, but rather make its own mark for future teams to remember.

“We have a lot of motivation to keep our season going and play for a state title,” Reed said.

Four quarters

The game of basketball, coach Chris Skatell said, “is a game of ebbs and flows.”

Skatell’s Greensburg Central Catholic girls basketball team certainly did some ebbing and flowing Tuesday night at North Allegheny in the Centurions’ 54-45 PIAA Class 2A second-round victory over West Middlesex.

First, GCC ebbed its way to a 15-0 lead right from the start.

What followed for Skatell’s squad could be described as some bad flow. And by the time there were still several minutes remaining in the game, that 15-point advantage had been whittled to eight.

“Last year, we were playing (Maplewood) up at Slippery Rock,” Skatell said. “It was 19-2, in favor of us, at the end of the first quarter. When we rolled out to start the fourth quarter, the game was tied. I told the girls, they made some adjustments on us and they made some plays. You made some mistakes. So, here we are, tied.”

GCC went on to beat District 10 Maplewood, 61-48, in the second round.

On Tuesday, the WPIAL champion Centurions, behind three double-figure scorers led by Mya Morgan’s 15 points, advanced to meet District 5 champion Everett in the quarterfinals Friday, despite getting just two points from high-scoring sophomore Erica Gribble against West Middlesex.

Part of the team

Norwin senior guard Kendall Williams has only appeared in two games this season, the first when Hempfield agreed to let her score an uncontested basket in a section game.

The second was the WPIAL championship, when she played the final 30 seconds.

Williams has been out most of the season with a knee injury. While she contemplated coming back for the PIAA playoffs, she decided it was best to shut it down with a college career ahead at Wilkes University, a Division III school in Wilkes-Barre.

The WPIAL final was thrill for Williams and her teammates.

“We talked about her getting in the floor if we made it to the Pete,” Brozeski said. “It’s amazing that it all worked out. A similar thing happened to our assistant (coach) Abi Gabauer. She was injured during her junior year, but we were able to get her in during the WPIAL championship.”

Said Williams: “I haven’t been on the court (at full speed) in two years, so it’s been tough. I wanted to come back, but with college, this was the safest choice.”

WPIAL strong

Four WPIAL 5A boys teams advanced to the state quarterfinals, which means the WPIAL is guaranteed to have a team in the finals in Hershey on March 22.

Moon (25-3) and Bethel Park (15-13), who will play each other Friday in another quarterfinal, also advanced.

Storming the Castle

Norwin has become a regular site for PIAA games. It will host four state quarterfinal games Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, Bishop Carroll (17-10) and Union (17-11) play at 6 p.m. in boys Class A, followed by the Shady Side Academy (26-2) and Westmont Hilltop (21-4) girls in 3A at 7:30.

On Saturday, a Class 5A girls matchup features McKeesport (23-4) and Armstrong (23-5) at 11:30 a.m., followed by Union (21-5) and Bishop Guilfoyle (18-8) in girls Class A at 1:30 p.m.

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., Norwin