Westmoreland high school notebook: Greensburg CC’s Gribble set to join elite group

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, January 10, 2026 | 6:45 PM

A career-long quest for another milestone could happen this week for Greensburg Central Catholic girls basketball standout Erica Gribble.

A lot of players score 1,000 points in their four-year window of court time. But far fewer get to 2,000.

The senior point guard and Richmond commit is within 26 points of 2,000 for her prep career, a milestone only six other female players in Westmoreland County have achieved.

Gribble, who is averaging 23 points per game this season, has 1,974 points, GCC’s all-time scoring mark.

GCC (8-4), the No. 2-ranked team in WPIAL 3A, plays at Deer Lakes on Monday night and hosts Steel Valley on Thursday night.

Gribble, who received her first college scholarship offer when she was in eighth grade, would join a short list of local 2,000-point getters that comprises WPIAL all-time scoring leader Gina Naccarato of Monessen (3,364), second-place 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).

Gregory was the most recent to reach the milestone in 2013.

Gribble, who has averaged 19.7 points over 100 career games — she has never missed a game — is also the top scorer in her family. Her sister, Alayna, is the all-time leading scorer at Norwin with 1,782 points. Middle sister Olivia, who also played at Norwin, finished with 973 points.

Alayna played at Pitt and St. Joseph’s, Olivia at Marietta.

The sisterhood of the traveling points could end up with a combined 5,000 by the time Erica finishes at GCC. They have 4,729 so far.

The Gribbles are often considered the standard for basketball-playing siblings on the girls side in Westmoreland County. The Butlers have the market cornered for the boys.

The four brothers from Latrobe combined for 5,496 points in high school. Austin Butler, Latrobe’s boys all-time leading scorer and Hempfield’s first-year coach had 1,905, Max Butler had 1,249, Landon Butler 1,185, and Bryce Butler, who was one of the top Division II players in the nation playing for West Liberty, 1,157.

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Thin ice

Hempfield and Penn-Trafford continue to jockey for position atop the PIHL Class 2A standings.

Both teams are 12-2-0-0, but Hempfield has a narrow 38-36 lead, over the Warriors. Hempfield’s edge stems from a shootout victory.

The Spartans, who lead 2A with 86 goals, have won seven straight, including 7-3 over Penn-Trafford.

Junior forward Guerin Gardner of Hempfield has 29 points, second in 2A behind Zakhar Bryndin of Bishop Canevin (37).

• Greensburg Salem junior forward Jake Fink is firmly in the scoring race in Class A. He has 21 goals and 12 assists for 33 points, which is tied for second in the classification with Linus Jesionowski of Avonworth.

Matthias Lezama of Quaker Valley leads with 38.

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Game moved

The Hempfield at Norwin girls basketball game scheduled for Monday night has been moved to Tuesday to be part of a girls-boys Section 2-6A doubleheader. The girls tip at 6 p.m., followed by the Hempfield and Norwin boys at approximately 7:30.

The Norwin girls’ X account posted the schedule change was made so the teams can watch the Steelers’ wild-card playoff game.

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Ringing in the new year

Hempfield softball players and coaches received their WPIAL championship rings Thursday during a home girls basketball game against Upper St. Clair.

Class 6A champ Hempfield defeated rival Seneca Valley, 1-0, in the title game to win its ninth WPIAL title and seventh in the last decade.

The Lady Spartans, led by six Division I players and a supporting cast, won nine straight games before falling to Nazareth, 6-4, in the PIAA semifinals.

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WCCA rolls on

With the Westmoreland County Coaches Association wrestling championships in the books, the next event will be the boys and girls bowling championships set for Jan. 17 at Hillview Lanes.

Last year, Hempfield swept the team titles. Ashley Bensur of Hempfield won the girls’ individual title, and Baxter Diehm of Valley was the boys’ champ.

After that, it will be the diving and swimming championships Jan. 23-24 at Derry.

The WCCA will then take a break until the track & field championships come around in the spring.

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Pryor reference

When star quarterback Matt Sieg of Fort Cherry was named the Maxwell Football Club’s national player of the year last week, it conjured memories of a local player who also stood under the national spotlight.

Former Jeannette star quarterback Terrelle Pryor, considered by many to be the best player to come out of Westmoreland County, won thesame Maxwell award and also was the USA Today and Parade Magazine national player of the year in 2007.

Pryor was the No. 1 rated recruit in the nation before committing to Ohio State and bouncing around the NFL as a quarterback and wide receiver. He is in the WPIAL Hall of Fame. Pryor was the first player in Pennsylvania history to run and pass for over 4,000 yards in a career.

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Recruiting

• Derry senior all-state football lineman Dylan Pitzer received a Division II offer to play at Clarion. Pitzer (6-foot-7, 273 pounds) was the Class 3A Interstate Conference Defensive Lineman of the Year as he made 67 tackles and had 10 sacks for the Trojans. He was the 3A finalist for the Bill Fralic Memorial Award as the WPIAL’s best two-way lineman.

• Norwin baseball player Tyler Faust will continue his playing career at Judson University in Illinois. Faust is a third baseman and outfielder.

• Southmoreland transfer Gabe Kubasky, now playing at Fairmont Senior, picked up a Division II football offer from Concord.

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, Jeannette, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland