Sophomore Gribble guides Norwin girls past rival Penn-Trafford

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, January 4, 2018 | 12:24 AM

Norwin relied on a familiar name in girls basketball Wednesday night to extend a modest winning streak to three games and push its section record over .500 in the early going with a victory over neighboring Penn-Trafford.

Olivia Gribble, a younger sister of former Norwin star Alayna Gribble, scored 20 points with six 3-pointers, and Norwin overcame a scoreless second quarter to beat the visiting Warriors, 51-36, in a WPIAL Section 2-6A game.

The Knights (4-5, 2-1), who have posted six consecutive winning seasons and won back-to-back WPIAL championships in 2015 and '16 but lost the bulk of their starting lineup from a 17-6 team in 2017, but they have momentum heading into their next game Friday at No. 4 Penn Hills in another section matchup.

“It's been a complete roller coaster, but it's been a fun roller coaster so far this season,” Norwin coach Brian Brozeski said. “I'm just starting to learn how to push the right buttons.”

Norwin's five losses have come by an average of 7.4 points, including a 15-point setback to No. 5 Latrobe. Without factoring in that game, the average margin of defeat drops to 5.5 points.

Gribble, a sophomore, opened the game with two 3-pointers in the first two minutes to spark Norwin to a 16-0 run, part of an 18-2 scoring burst in the first quarter.

But Penn-Trafford (4-5, 0-2) recovered in the second quarter to close the gap.

“We started to put some pressure on them and got some transition points out of it,” Penn-Trafford coach John Giannikas said. “We felt more comfortable going into halftime.”

The Warriors outscored the Knights, 12-0, to cut the Norwin lead to 18-14 at the break.

Gribble, whose older sister, Alayna, sparked Norwin to back-to-back WPIAL championships and plays at Pitt, quickly went to work again with a 3-point shot in the opening minutes of the second half as Norwin stretched its lead back to double digits heading to the fourth quarter.

“Give them credit,” Giannikas said. “They got some good looks and knocked them down.”

Gribble finished 6 of 7 from 3-point range. All but one of her field goals were from behind the arc.

“At the start of the game, we needed that from Olivia,” Brozeski said. “I don't know what happened to us there in the second quarter, but I think maybe the custodians played a joke on us and put Saran wrap on the baskets.”

Magen Polczynski added 12 points for Norwin, which, despite its scoring drought, led throughout.

Mackenzie Aunkst paced Penn-Trafford with 17 points. The Warriors were playing without junior guard Reaghan Panza, who is sidelined indefinitely with a hand injury.

Dave Mackall is a freelance writer.

Tags: Norwin, Penn-Trafford