Entire Central Penn women’s basketball team named Players of the Month

The Lady Knights’ upset win over USCAA D1 Washington Adventist earlier this month was the deciding factor for Head Coach Chris Norkus. Weighing all the options, he named his entire basketball squad as the January Player of the Month. 

“I actually don’t think I can name just one individual player. This team has really come together and played as a group,” said Norkus, who works full-time at the college as a senior admissions counselor.   

“Whether it’s Khadijah [Robinson] or Jahrae [Patterson] controlling every aspect of rebounding or Lee [Borelli] pushing the ball on a break and making the right pass at the right time, leading to buckets,” said Norkus. “Or the tenacity of Wislene [Verna] on the defensive end of the floor allowing that energy to spread within the team.” 

“The girls coming off the bench,” continued the first-year coach, “putting in solid minutes and also being vocal leaders like Ashleigh [Matter] and Cierra [DeWalt]. And the way Sharai [Thornton] comes in and looks to be aggressive… 

“And to have an elite playmaker and scorer off the bench with Tahniyaah [Jackson] who can easily score 20 and dish 10 assists per night really alleviate some pressure off of former national scoring leader Ja’Lynn Burton-Jones.” 

Building on January’s success 

In addition to defeating Washington Adventist in January, the Lady Knights knocked off a tough Penn State Lehigh Valley team. Norkus is hopeful that these two signature wins can power the team forward through the end of the season. 

“We have a lot of work to do, with the toughest part of our schedule coming in February,” he said. “It’s now time for us to really focus and prepare for the next challenge.” 

Tonight is Senior Night for the 8–2 Lady Knights, who play Christendom at East Pennsboro High School. All the seniors will be recognized prior to the start of the game. Tip-off is 8 p.m.