Norwin uses late surge to roll past Upper St. Clair in girls Section 2-6A basketball showdown
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Monday, January 27, 2025 | 10:13 PM
Norwin’s Ava Christopher celebrates after scoring against Upper St. Clair during the second half on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at USC.
Norwin’s Kendall Berger scores after being fouled by Upper St. Clair’s Ryan Prunzik during their game on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at USC.
Norwin’s Ava Christopher steals the ball from Upper St. Clair’s Ryan Prunzik during their game on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at USC.
Norwin’s Averi Brozeski breaks away upcourt after a steal against Upper St. Clair on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at USC.
Norwin’s Ava Christopher defends against Upper St. Clair’s Rylee Kalocay during their game on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at USC.
Norwin’s Kendall Berger drives to the basket against Upper St. Clair’s Avery Bayer during their game on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at USC.
Upper St. Clair’s Rylee Kalocay drives to the basket past Norwin’s Kendall Berger during their game on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at USC.
Norwin’s Averi Brozeski battles Upper St. Clair’s Grace Howell for a rebound during their game on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at USC.
Norwin head coach Brian Brozeski watches from the bench during the Knights’ game on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at Upper St. Clair.
Upper St. Clair’s Rylee Kalocay shoots against Norwin’s Kendall Berger during their game on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at USC.
Upper St. Clair head coach Pete Serio watches from the bench during the Panthers’ game against Norwin on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at USC.
Last week, Canon-McMillan defeated Upper St. Clair to unlock the door to first place in Section 2-6A girls basketball.
On Monday, defending WPIAL champion Norwin kicked the door in and took over sole possession of the top spot in the section.
Defense, rebounding and free throws were big keys as the Knights finished strong and defeated the Panthers, 56-47.
“I’m really impressed with how the mature the girls played,” Norwin coach Brian Brozeski said. “There was some high quality basketball on both sides, and I’m not going to lie: It is fun to watch.”
Trailing by eight points midway through the third quarter, the Knights outscored the Panthers the rest of the game 31-14.
“There’s a lot that goes into our runs that we have,” Norwin senior guard and Clarion commit Kendall Berger said. “We kind of pulled it together as a team, and we needed to stop fouling, stop being handsy and take better shots. Once we started moving the ball more and rotating better, we got more open looks.”
Both teams started the section showdown with 5-1 section records.
The start could not have gone better for Upper St. Clair. Panthers senior and Kent State commit Rylee Kalocay outscored Norwin in the first two-and-half minutes, 7-0.
“She can play, and she has a great competitive attitude with a high motor,” Brozeski said. “She is very athletic, and she’s going to make shots, you have to understand, you’re not going to shut her out. I give Rylee a lot of credit because after this year, it’s going to be fun following her, but right now, it’s not.”
Norwin did a great job keeping the ball out of Kalocay’s hands for most of the night as she would score 12 points the rest of the way for a game-high 19 points.
The first half was close and competitive as the Panthers led by two points after one quarter and four points at halftime.
However once USC took a 33-25 advantage, it was all Knights the rest of the night.
One of the keys was free-throw shooting: Norwin connected on 21 of 24 from the line.
“It something we’ve been trying to get better at,” Brozeski said. “That’s been an Achilles heel for us, but that was one of our goals, we had to win at the foul line because we know in these big games, when you get a chance to get free shots, you have to make sure you are taking advantage and the girls did a good job.”
While the Knights dominated at the free throw line, the Panthers were only 2 for 5 from the line.
“We can’t continue to put teams on the foul line,” Upper St. Clair coach Peter Serio said. “We were outscored 21-2 on the free-throw line. It’s the third game in a row where its happened. We need to stop fouling. When we miss shots, we need stops on defense, not fouls.”
It was a balanced scoring attack for Norwin, which had eight players end up on the score sheet, and while Berger, with 17 points, was the only Knights player in double figures, they had four other players score between seven and nine points.
Norwin (10-6, 6-1) now has won six of its last seven games and controls its destiny toward a section championship.
Top-ranked Upper St. Clair (12-5, 5-2) has lost three in a row.
“Our mindset will be fine,” Serio said. “We will get in the gym and get back to work. I believe in my players and this team. Norwin is a good team. There is no shame in losing to them.”
Tags: Norwin, Upper St. Clair
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