Pospisil shining at biggest moments for NC
CRANBERRY TWP — Scoring 17 points in a WPIAL semifinal win will get you noticed.
Scoring 18 in a district title victory will certainly garner attention.
But what Emma Pospisil has done for the North Catholic girls basketball team during the entirety of her senior season and career has not gone unnoticed.
At least not in the Trojanettes' gym.
“She's good at letting the game come to her and she sees the floor really well,” said North Catholic coach Molly Rottmann. “She's a really good point guard who has some impressive weapons to get the ball to.
“The thing is we've always known she has the ability (to score),” Rottmann added. “She has a knack of knowing what she's able to do, what's needed from her, and when to do it.”
With dynamic players like Tess Myers and Kylee Lewandowski on the floor around her, Pospisil hasn't had to fill up the scoring column on her stat sheet for North Catholic to succeed.
Throw in Cassie Foster and the duo of Belle O'Hara and Sarah Berardelli inside and the Trojanettes' offense is as potent as they come.
“There honestly is no pressure when it comes to scoring,” said Pospisil, a Sarver native. “We have so many weapons. Everyone can score the ball and we have great chemistry and play so well together. It makes being a point guard pretty easy.”
Pospisil has shown she can be whatever her team needs her to be.
A passer? Sure. A shutdown defender? Of course. Pick up the scoring slack? Sign her up.
When Myers got into foul trouble during the WPIAL Class 4A final against Southmoreland, Pospisil stepped into the breach with 10 points in the second quarter.
Her scoring touch helped North Catholic turn a close game into a 42-26 halftime lead. The Trojanettes cruised the rest of the way to win their fourth title in four years and 20th overall.
Pospisil has worked a great deal on her shot on the chance that it will be needed in crunch time. Thank a friendly neighborhood rival for that.If Pospisil wants to get some work in, all she needs to do is walk a short distance to the home of Knoch standout guard Nevaeh Ewing, who has a half-court set up inside a large garage on her family's property.“It has a gun and everything,” Pospisil said. “Since I live so far from school (a 45-minute drive) and if I'm having a bad day, I can go over there and shoot my little heart out.”Pospisil played against Ewing twice a year in the same section. She said, though, it wasn't at all weird.“It was fun — friendly competition,” Pospisil added. “She's a great player.”Pospisil said she really doesn't care what role she has to fill for North Catholic.“I'll do whatever it takes to win,” she said.And North Catholic has won — a lot.Pospisil can hang four gold medals around her neck.It's something she still can't quite wrap her head around.“Freshman year I never thought we'd get (to the Petersen Events Center for the WPIAL championship game) once, let alone all four years. It's been so surreal to make it and win it all four years. There's 20 WPIAL banners in our gym and we're responsible for four of them. I hope one day my kids will go there and see those banners.”Pospisil lives in the Knoch school district, but grew up going almost exclusively to private schools.She did attend public school in the eighth grade to see what it was like, but said, “it wasn't for me.”Pospisil, who will attend Ursuline College to study nursing and continue her basketball career, thanks her family for giving her that kind of choice and that kind of chance.“My parents have certainly made sacrifices,” Pospisil said. “They knew there were so many opportunities for me (at North Catholic) on and off the court.”Her older sister, Abby Pospisil, played volleyball at Knoch and won a WPIAL and PIAA title as a senior in the fall of 2017 with the Knights.“She holds (the state title) against me,” Emma Pospisil said, laughing.She hopes to get a state title of her own this season.A PIAA crown is the one thing that has eluded the Trojanettes over the past three-plus seasons.The journey for that championship begins against familiar foe Freeport at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Kiski Area High School in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A postseason.“We want it really bad,” Pospisil said. “We have been preparing all week and we've been dying to get back out on the court.”While it basically comes down to state title or bust for the Trojanettes, Rottmann said nothing can diminish what her nine seniors, the bulk of them at the school all four years, have accomplished.“I think they're highly motivated,” Rottmann said. “We don't really talk about it, but whether they do it or not, they've left quite a resume and legacy.”
