Bethel Park and Baldwin clashed in a girls section basketball game Feb. 3 as the feature attraction of Bethel Park’s Women and Girls in Sports celebration.
Although the Black Hawks lost to the visitors, Bethel Park coach Steve Norman was impressed by the “Sports Night” activities and talked about it the next day.
“The commentary I received and what I saw in social media posts was overwhelmingly positive,” Norman said. “I started coaching back in 2022 because my sister needed a soccer coach, then she needed a basketball coach. The goal was always for her to feel like she had the support to passionately pursue her goals.
“I really hope our team felt that same support last night, and I hope we can return the favor to the teams who came and cheered for us. There’s a lot of teams that can’t field a JV team or struggle to go (five on five) in practice because of the decline in interest in girls sports at the high school level. Yesterday was a great day for the present and future of our program and girls in sports.”
The veteran coach said the support shown by the community was highly valued by the players on this year’s team.
The 2025-26 team roster consisted of seniors Kat Boff (G), Bella Coleman (G) and Abigail Stutzman (F), who tore her ACL and was unable to play all season; juniors A.J. Elphinstone (F), Gabby Labate (G), Avery Bonacci (G), Lucy Dzanaj (F) and Sarah Nath (G); sophomores Fiona O’Neill, Ellery Stipp (F) and Emma Straub (G); and freshmen Addy Owen (G) and Naiya Turner (G).
“It was honestly an equal opportunity offense,” Norman said, “with lots of selfless play and kids hitting the girl with the best matchup or the hot hand on any given night.”
Boff ended up leading the team in scoring; Turner was tops in the rebounding department.
“Our AD Laura Grimm has always been so supportive of me and our team in my three years here,” Norman said. “Our boosters also have been proactively great about giving our team every opportunity to be successful. Every year, you see coaches saying parents are why they’re getting out of coaching. I’m fortunate that’s not the case here.
“So many of the younger players who come to youth camp and who I see at travel tryouts and games were there supporting us. In particular, I hope there were members of our travel program who liked what they saw and have a stronger passion to be on the varsity floor by the time they get to high school. And a big thanks to Duquesne’s women’s team for coming out; really nice of them to spend a night off at Bethel Park.”
The Black Hawks wrapped up the season 12-10 overall and in fifth place in Section 4-5A with a 5-7 record, missing a playoff berth by one game.
“Although it didn’t end how we wanted, we improved and did very well together as a team,” Coleman said. “We did very well against teams that are very talented, and I think we surprised a lot of people.”
Boff chimed in with a similar message.
“Although our season did not end the way we wanted or hoped it would,” Boff said, “I think our team fought the hardest we could and played as a team supporting each other all the way to the end.”
Thomas Jefferson won the section title with a 12-0 record, followed by Baldwin (9-3), Trinity (8-4), Peters Township (6-6) and Bethel Park.
“Like lots of teams this time of year, we were a little banged up,” Norman said following the Baldwin game. “We play in the hardest section of 5A. I think that’s abundantly clear; just about every night demands your best. As much as it’s tough, there’s not much value long term in winning a bad game.
“We’ve lost to two of the top four teams in 6A and some of the best of 5A. Overall, I’d say our coaching staff is proud of the accomplishments our young team made. That being said, of course we wanted to make it to the postseason and that’s the ultimate measure of success. We wanted that for our seniors and the entire program.”
The Black Hawks defeated Albert Gallatin and Uniontown twice this season and split decisions with Peters Township. Next year, Bethel Park will move up to Class 6A.
“It will bring some changes, for sure,” Norman said. “It seems like we will always play Peters and Baldwin. We’re going to miss Bella Coleman’s 3-point shooting. Late in the year, she really stepped up her rebounding and in the paint, too. Kat Boff will be missed as well. She added so much versatility.
“That being said, we’re excited. We’re always excited at Bethel Park. We’ve gotten great offseason attendance for open gyms, so kids always step up and into the opportunity in front of them. Our expectation is to compete for a playoff spot.”