Thursday basketball rundown: Norwin girls get defensive in win against Mt. Lebanon

Don’t mind the Norwin girls if they are pretty defensive these days.

Their ability to lock down opponents is a big reason why the Knights are 4-0.

Norwin continued its outstanding defensive play Thursday by beating visiting Mt. Lebanon, 50-23, in a non-section game.

Under coach Brian Brozeski, Norwin has played excellent defense over the years, but the Knights have been particularly impressive early this season. They have limited each of their first four opponents to fewer than 30 points and are giving up an average of 26.5 a game, the best mark by any WPIAL team in the largest three classes.

The latest effort came against a Mt. Lebanon team that reached the PIAA Class 6A final last season. The 23 points scored by the Blue Devils (2-2) were their fewest since the 2017-18 season.

Kendall Berger led Norwin with 18 points, while Payton Collins paced Mt. Lebanon with six.

Mohrbacher fuels Freedom girls

In a battle of unbeaten teams, Freedom needed more scoring in the fourth quarter Thursday, so it turned to Mohrbacher. Julz Mohrbacher scored 10 of her team-high 16 points in the final quarter to help Freedom (4-0) rally for a 41-37 win at Beaver (3-1). Freedom outscored Beaver, 16-9, in the fourth. Shaye Bailey and Cassidy Harris each chipped in 10 points for Freedom. Chloe List scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Beaver.

South Fayette girls score big

South Fayette (3-0) poured in 51 first-half points on its way to a 74-44 home win against Bethel Park (0-3). Maddie Webber and Lainey Yater both scored 19 points in the first half. Webber, a Villanova recruit, finished with 23 points and Yaiter 19. Ava Leroux, an Elon recruit, added 10.

Trinity girls overcome slow start

Trinity scored only three points in the first quarter against Bishop Canevin. Luckily for the Hillers, the offense came alive in the second. Trinity (2-1) scored 18 points in the second quarter and went on to beat visiting Canevin (1-3), 49-41. The Hillers were led by Eden Williamson’s 18 points. Canevin got a team-best 16 points from Rachel Boehm.

Montour nips Upper St. Clair

In the top boys game of the night, Montour (2-2) escaped with a 57-56 win against visiting Upper St. Clair (1-2). Montour was whistled for a foul with .4 seconds left, but Upper St. Clair missed both free throws. The Spartans were outstanding defensively in the fourth quarter, holding Upper St. Clair to only one field goal. Jake Wolfe led the Spartans with 18 points, while Nick Sukernek hit five 3-pointers and scored 22 points for the Panthers.

Three stars

*** — Maddie Syka, Lincoln Park. Syka helped Lincoln Park improve to 4-0 by tallying a game-high 19 points in a 62-37 triumph at Burrell. Teammate Aizlyn Thompson added 17.

** — Tiffany Zelmore, Mount Pleasant. Zelmore’s 25 points propelled Mount Pleasant to a 49-44 overtime win against visiting Yough. The Vikings outscored the Cougars, 10-5, in overtime.

* — Regan Atkins, Laurel. Atkins scored a game-high 19 points in leading Laurel to a 64-36 win at Rochester. Her sister, Tori, added five points.

Pup Bites

• The Baldwin girls handed visiting Shady Side Academy its first loss, 61-45. Gia Schoeb (22 points), Katie Lucarelli (14) and Mary Vargo (11) all scored in double figures for Baldwin (2-2), while freshmen Maggie Spell (14) and Karis Thomas (11) were the top scorers for Shady Side (3-1).

• Greta O’Brien connected on four 3-pointers and scored a game-best 21 points to help Avonworth remain undefeated after a 57-19 home win against Brashear (0-1). Teammate Becca Goetz added 14 points, which included a 10 of 12 effort from the free-throw line. Brashear got six points apiece from Kiki Turner and Ari Sherill. Avonworth has surrendered a WPIAL-low 17.3 points a game.

Hot from deep

Players with three or more 3-pointers: Nick Sukernek, Upper St. Clair, 5; Greta O’Brien, Avonworth, 4; Zoe Ringer, Beaver, 4; Kelsey Wandera, Canon-McMillan, 4; Johnna Hill, Laurel, 3; Jake Wolfe, Montour, 3.