Normally, Nia O’Barto wears her hair up in two tight buns, a look that would make Princess Leia proud.
“Yes, the space buns,” the 5-foot-5 Norwin sophomore guard said with a grin. “That’s kind of the signature of mine.”
But she opted for a different style Thursday night, just tying her hair straight up with no frills.
“I just decided to wear it like I do in practice,” she said.
Maybe she should do it more often.
Minus the space buns, O’Barto’s shooting was out of this world as Norwin opened Section 2-6A play with a 62-38 victory over visiting Connellsville.
O’Barto made 6 of 9 3-point shots and finished with a career-high 20 points as No. 2-ranked Norwin (6-0, 1-0) unloaded its bench and remained undefeated.
Ten Norwin players scored, and 12 played.
Four of O’Barto’s 3s came in the first half as the Lady Knights built a 28-17 lead by halftime.
While they led by double figures most of the game, their lead seemed precarious until they finally pulled away in the fourth.
Connellsville (3-6, 0-1) managed to be clingy thanks to the play of 6-foot freshman guard Saige Mickens, who scored 21 points and helped the Falcons close the gap to nine early in the third.
“They did a nice job of maximizing their strengths,” Norwin coach Brian Brozeski said of Connellsville. “They tried to take us out of what we wanted to do. They did a nice job fronting us. (Mickens) has some game.”
As for O’Barto, whose previous high was 14 points in the season opener against Penn-Trafford, she found a rhythm early.
She hit back-to-back 3s to give the Lady Knights a 14-7 lead after the first quarter. She made two more in the second, with the second one stretching the advantage to 28-15.
“Once I am in a rhythm, if I miss, I go to the next shot,” O’Barto said. “I feel like we trust one another. When one of us makes a shot, we feed off each other and play as a team.”
Brozeski saw a spark from O’Barto after Norwin came out stagnant early.
“She has so much energy, you look at her mannerisms,” the coach said. “She is practically frothing at the mouth to get into the game. She can’t wait to get in there.”
Senior Ava Christopher added 11 points for Norwin, which held Connellsville to one 3-pointer, which came in the fourth.
After Mickens scored four quick points out of the break to cut it to 30-21, Norwin regained its footing.
Christopher scored on a coast-to-coast layup, O’Barto hit a 3 and then a layup and sophomore Aubrey Graney connected on a 3 to give Norwin a 17-point cushion late in the third.
Norwin did not have a run greater than 6-0 until the fourth, when the advantage swelled to 62-35. O’Barto’s 3 and sophomore Makenna Black’s layup off a feed from O’Barto were part of a 7-0 run than gave Norwin a 56-31 lead.
Fresh legs from Norwin’s side had Connellsville constantly moving and adjusting.
“That is one of our strengths,” Brozeski said. “Our practices get really competitive when you have five good on five good.
“We know any one of our girls can have a big night.”
Graney finished with seven points.
Connellsville led briefly at 4-2. Another freshman, Macey Orndorff, had seven points in the loss.
Norwin has shown resiliency. It trailed by 15 in the third quarter Friday in a 61-59 win at Perkiomen Valley near Philadelphia. It was Perkiomen Valley’s first home loss in three years.
The early surge saw the Knights jump from unranked to No. 2.
“We’re happy but not satisfied,” Brozeski said. “These girls have a great mentality. They just refuse to lose.”