Katie Nolan keys Seton Hill's focus on defense as Griffins rise to top of PSAC West

Katie Nolan and her Seton Hill women’s basketball teammates are not fans of the 60s.

And it has nothing to do with bell-bottoms or hippies.

The Griffins’ goal is to hold every opponent below 60 points, and that defensive focus has played a major role during their rise to the top of the PSAC West. Only three teams have scored more than 60 on Seton Hill (14-4, 8-1) this season.

Nolan, a 6-foot-1 graduate student forward who leads the team in scoring (14.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.4 rpg), has made major strides on defense.

“I think Katie, as much as anyone, has really improved her care on that end,” coach Mark Katarski said. “Katie has understood that’s a way to win. Defense is a thing that’s in everybody. It’s not a talent thing.”

Added Nolan: “I feel like in previous years, we’ve just tried to outscore teams, and this year we’ve buckled down on defense.”

Team chemistry helps, too. In addition to Nolan, the Griffins start another graduate student (Canon-McMillan product Cheyenne Trest), two seniors (South Fayette product Samantha Kosmacki and Spain native Sonia Sarda) and a redshirt junior (Rena Enterline). The chance to play a final season with that group helped convince Nolan to return for an extra year, particularly after the PSAC canceled last season because of covid.

“There is genuine love between all of us,” said Nolan, a native of Yorkville, Ill., who started getting recruited by Seton Hill because her AAU team, the Illinois Rockets, was coached by Pittsburgh native Drew Ondik. “You can always count on each other off the court, which I think is super helpful when we get on the court.”

“I love my team a lot. I love the coaching staff and the program, so having the ability to come back for another year was something I couldn’t turn down, especially because you only have a limited amount of time to play college basketball.”

This season, Nolan has balanced basketball with a part-time job. She works 20 hours a week as a case manager at SPHS in Greensburg. Katarski said that experience has paid dividends on the court.

“With young people between the ages of 18 and 25, it’s amazing what one year does for them, and I think Katie has strung together four or five really good ones during her college experience on and off the court,” he said.

As Nolan has developed into one of the top players in the conference — she was second-team All-PSAC West as a junior when she averaged 13.6 points and 9.3 rebounds — opponents have focused on shutting her down. Yet she leads the PSAC with a .619 field-goal percentage this year. She also eclipsed 1,000 career points earlier this season.

“It’s hard to get Katie the ball this year,” Katarski said. “It’s also hard for her to do what she wants with it. She has done an amazing job of getting in position to catch it and getting in a place to pass the ball out and recognize double teams and also go and finish it.”

Seton Hill’s current eight-game winning streak includes a victory over No. 17 IUP on Wednesday and a triumph over No. 15 Gannon on Jan. 10. The Griffins will be among the favorites in the PSAC Tournament.

“We want to keep showing everyone in the conference who Seton Hill is and continuing to win,” Nolan said, “and, hopefully, getting the PSAC championship and get to an (NCAA) tournament game.”