Over the last two years, the Norwin girls basketball team compiled a 54-6 record and won two Class AAAA WPIAL titles. The Knights also had reigning Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Player of the Year, Alayna Gribble, to lead the charge.
Gribble has since moved on to Pitt, where she’s averaging 7.7 points per game as a freshman.
“Anytime you lose a Division I athlete, it is a significant loss,” said Brian Brozeski, who is in his sixth season as coach of the Knights. “She was a good defender for us, as well.
“We lost a lot of seniors last year. With that loss, we lost experience. We are in a different situation. We know the skills they have, but not experience. The nice thing about this group, they practiced with those seniors that won championships, so that has helped them make the transition into this year.”
All the practice last year’s reserves received against one of the best starting lineups in the WPIAL has paid off early in what many believed to be a rebuilding season for the Knights.
The Knights entered themselves in the grueling North Allegheny tip-off tournament and came away with a 2-1 record, including a scintillating 43-42 win against District 10 powerhouse and last year’s PIAA Class AAA runner-up, Villa Maria. Their lone loss came at the hands of Class 6A No. 1-ranked North Allegheny, 46-43, in a rematch of last year’s Class AAAA WPIAL championship thriller.
“That is a tough tournament, and we handled our own,” Brozeski said. “We wanted to challenge ourselves and see where we are at. We saw a lot of positives and some things we need to work on.”
The fifth-ranked Knights also won their last tune-up before section play, 52-41, at home against Bethel Park.
For the last four years, Norwin has been the team to beat in its section and throughout the WPIAL. Although the Knights are off to a solid start, the target is not on their backs anymore as the clear-cut favorite.
“We are going to be challenged and tested,” Brozeski said. “You have to do your due diligence and come to work. It is going to be a battle each and every night. We have a challenge right off the bat going up against Penn-Trafford.”
Challenge accepted, as the Knights cruised to a 53-35 win to improve to 4-1.
Even with the graduation of five seniors last year, Norwin still has plenty of upperclassmen it can rely on, starting with seniors Danielle McMaster, Abby Gabauer and Taylor Ingel.
Yes, Norwin is still considered the two-time defending WPIAL champion, but this group is looking to form a new identity — with the same results.
“Every year, it changes a little,” Brozeski said. “Every group has its own personality. We just want to win the next — whether it is the next possession, quarter or game.
“We keep our goals close. We set small goals that will take care of big goals later on. We need to grow every game and minimize the mistakes. We need to focus on improving every day.”
First Published: December 23, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
