Career record in sight for Bethel’s Westphal
Bethel Park coach Jonna Burke knows a good scorer when she sees one.
With 1,625 career points, the longtime Black Hawks coach is the all-time leading scorer at the school, where she starred in the late ’80s as a double-double machine. Now in her 18th season at the helm, she has seen plenty of great players come and go. Several of her star pupils have surpassed the 1,000-point mark under her watch, but her record remains intact — for now.
The way Burke sees it, if the season resumes on time and Bethel Park is able to play a full slate of games, senior guard Liv Westphal could be the one to finally take the throne.
“I was thinking, ‘Oh, this kid could get it,’” Burke said. “And I don’t know now, because of what the season is going to hold. The number of games is going to probably be cut, so that might not allow her to get it, but I thought she was definitely going to be in the hunt, for sure.”
Westphal is a four-year starter for the Black Hawks and a Duquesne recruit who earned second-team all-state recognition last season. The 5-9 sharpshooter will be even more of a focal point this season for Bethel Park, which lost fellow 1,000-point scorer Maddie Dziezgowski to graduation.
As a junior, Westphal averaged 15.2 points per game and knocked down 51 3pointers to help the Black Hawks reach the WPIAL Class 6A championship game. Bethel Park lost to North Allegheny in the title game, 54-50, but rebounded to win a pair of state playoff games and advanced to the PIAA quarterfinals before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the PIAA to cancel the remainder of the postseason.
Although she already has more than 1,100 career points and is within striking distance of her coach’s career record, individual accolades are the furthest thing from Westphal’s mind going into her senior season.
“It was definitely harder for us [last year], because we lost in the WPIAL championship, so we were really eager to win the state championship,” Westphal said. “I wanted to play it out and see where it would have gone.”
With Dziezgowski gone, Westphal is one of only two returning starters from last year for the Black Hawks along with junior guard Riley Miller. Dziezgowski’s younger sister, Emma, is back after a torn ACL last year, and she will be counted on to help lighten the load for Westphal.
Still, if Bethel Park is going to make a return trip to the WPIAL title game this year, it’s no secret who will be the one leading the charge.
“She is really one of the best players I’ve ever coached. She’s so talented,” Burke said. “For as good as she was her first three years, she’s almost doubled that. To me, she’s kind of elevated her game right now to where she’s really a dominant player.
“She’s the kind of kid that other teams really are going to have to worry about.”
Westphal has always had a knack for shooting the ball, especially from 3- point range. She’s also perfectly capable of playing point guard and being a distributor for the offense. But as she’s gotten older and progressed through the years, she’s continued to add other elements to her game.
“In the past, she was definitely more of a catch-andshoot kid with deep range,” Burke said. “But now, what she’s sort of added is the midrange pull-up, and it’s great. It’s just in time. To me, it makes her even more difficult to guard.
“It’s quicker, more consistent, better decision making — where she is from when she was younger to now, she’s come so far.”
Westphal received offers from more than a dozen Division I schools over the course of her high school career, but all along, she never lost touch with Duquesne — the first school to offer her a scholarship when she was still in eighth grade. Next year, she’ll join a Dukes team loaded with former WPIAL standouts, including freshman guards Megan McConnell (Chartiers Valley) and Tess Myers (North Catholic).
Of course, Westphal still has some unfinished business to take care of before moving on to the next level.
Since arriving as a freshman, Westphal has led the Black Hawks to a 64- 14 record and three consecutive trips to the WPIAL semifinals. Last year was their first time reaching the WPIAL championship during that span, though, and Westphal still hasn’t forgotten the crushing loss and the painful memories it created.
“I just want that gold this year,” Westphal said. “I don’t like the silver medals. I want the gold.”