WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball championship
No. 2 Norwin vs. No. 1 Canon-McMillan
5 p.m. Saturday, Petersen Events Center
WPIAL titles: Norwin 3 (2024, ’16, ’15); Canon-McMillan 0
Norwin (19-4)
Coach: Brian Brozeski, Norwin
Projected starting lineup
No., Name, Height, Class, Position
12, Kylie Rodkey, 5-8, sr., G
15, Anna Fraser, 5-8, sr., G
21, Liz Yarosik, 5-8, jr., G
30, Ava Christopher, 5-9, sr., G
31, Aubrey Graney, 5-5, so., G
How the got here: Norwin defeated No. 7 Hempfield, 57-42, in the quarterfinals; and No. 3 Upper St. Clair, 46-28, in the semifinals.
Notable: Norwin returns to the “Pete” for the third straight year after winning its third WPIAL title in 2024 and finishing second last year. … The Knights were considered the preseason favorite in Class 6A and held the No. 1 ranking most of the season until Canon-McMillan beat them 44-37 late in the season, which ultimately secured the Big Macs the No. 1 seed. … Norwin had its second-best defensive output of the season score-wise in the semifinals, holding No. 3 Upper St. Clair to 28 points. Christopher scored a season-high 18 points, including three 3-pointers. Norwin led by two after the first quarter, 12 at the half and 14 after three, before winning by 18. … Lenyn Brozeski, who has had the hot hand of late for the Knights, had 10 points after scoring 17 in a quarterfinal win over Hempfield. … Christopher has by far the most postseason minutes of anyone on the lineup, and junior Liz Yarosik played nearly 20 minutes in last year’s title game, a 45-40 loss to USC. … Christopher had 11 in the loss, which saw Norwin shoot 3 for 15 from 3-point range. Norwin only led for 38 seconds. … Most of the rotation is new to the finals. … Brozeski made 5 of 6 3s against Hempfield in the quarterfinals. … Freshman Giuliana Giannikas is growing up fast in a deep rotation.
Canon-McMillan (20-4)
Coach: John Fontana
Projected starting lineup
No., Name, Height, Class, Position
5 Madison Clair, 5-10, sr., G/F
10 Samantha Miller, 5-5, sr., G
13 Lauren Borella, 5-7, sr., G
33, Faye Saunders, 5-10, jr., F
44 Brooke Stanton, 5-11, so., G/F
How they got here: Canon-McMillan beat No. 8 Mt. Lebanon, 37-34, in the quarterfinals; and No. 5 Seneca Valley, 47-42, in the semifinals.
Notable: Canon-McMillan’s whole team is new to the finals. This will be the Big Macs’ first trip to the WPIAL championship. … When the Big Macs avenged an early-season Section 2 loss to Norwin, they held the Knights to two points in the third quarter and led by 16 heading to the fourth. Norwin cut it to four in the final quarter before falling. … Canon-McMillan clinched its first section title since 2016. Norwin had won three straight section titles. … Madison Clair had 17 points, including 8 of 10 free throws, and junior Faye Saunders had 12 of her 14 in the first half. … Borella is a West Liberty commit. … Clair leads the Big Macs in scoring at 12.8 points per game. Saunders and Borella average 9.1 ppg. … Borella also delivers 5.3 assists and Saunders 7.7 rebounds. … Canon-McMillan has three girls 5-foot-10 or taller. Norwin has one.
Next up: The winner plays host to the eighth-place team from District 3 in the PIAA first round March 6, while the loser visits the top seed from either District 4 or District 6.