North Allegheny girls basketball team snaps Norwin’s 12-game streak

By: Josh Rizzo
Tuesday, January 28, 2020 | 10:07 PM

Norwin’s Jayla Wehner found solace in the possibility of having another meeting with the North Allegheny girls basketball team down the road.

The Knights were held to a season low in points and shot 2 of 13 from beyond the arc in the first half of a 60-42 road loss to the Tigers on Tuesday. Norwin saw its 12-game winning streak undone by an off shooting night.

Missing an opportunity to lock down the Section 1-6A title rankled the Norwin senior guard. But it may be a good primer for the Knights, who have larger aspirations than being section champions.

“That was our first big test,” said Wehner, who led Norwin with 14 points and shot 4 of 8 from long range. “The first game Lizzy (Groetsch) was in foul trouble, so she was out for some of the game. That was our first test and wake-up call. This is what the playoffs are like. Not all the teams have given us a game like that, and some people are new to it. We didn’t respond the way we should have.”

North Allegheny junior Lizzy Groetsch put Norwin (14-3, 10-1) on its heels from the outset. Groetsch scored seven of her game-high 21 points in the first three minutes of the game. That allowed the Tigers to surge ahead 10-2 after a 3-pointer from Jasmine Timmerson with 4 minutes, 59 seconds left in the opening quarter. North Allegheny (15-3, 10-1) never trailed. Timmerson finished with 14 points.

North Allegheny coach Spencer Stefko thought the team’s effort on defense was the big difference-maker.

“We guarded better and were tougher tonight,” Stefko said. “The first time we played them, we weren’t good enough. We were better tonight, and luckily they had an off night shooting.”

The Knights’ previous scoring low came Jan. 9 during a 48-28 win over Shaler. The Knights missed 11 of their first 13 3-point attempts Tuesday and shot 29.1 percent (7 of 24) for the game.

“It was a night that we struggled to shoot a little bit,” Norwin coach Brian Brozeski said. “I think that was in part to how North Allegheny came out to play. They came out with more intensity than we came out to play with.”

Brianna Zajicek, who finished with 10 points for the Knights, scored on a jumper to cut the lead to 10-7 and close a 5-0 spurt in the first quarter, but Norwin wouldn’t get any closer. North Allegheny responded with a 19-6 stretch that lasted into the third quarter and put the game out of reach.

The Tigers led 31-16 at halftime.

Stefko said while he is thrilled with the win, he doesn’t plan on celebrating too much. He believes another meeting between these teams looms in the postseason.

“Nobody ever won anything on January 28,” Stefko said. “We would be foolish to think winning this game means we won something. We need to go look at the film and see the mistakes we made that the other 12 playoff teams are going to see on film.”

Tags: North Allegheny, Norwin