City of Basketball Love

By Andrew Robinson (@ADrobinson3)
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Always hustle.

It was the first thing Natalie Berndt’s father Jon instilled and always harped on from the first time she picked up a basketball. These days, it’s evident the CB East sophomore never takes a moment off and a main reason she hasn’t left the starting lineup since being inserted there early last season.

Berndt’s efforts have been undeniable for the Patriots as they prepare for their state playoff opener Friday night at District 3 6A runner-up Dallastown.

“I just want to go as far as we can into the season,” Berndt said. “I’m just going to do whatever I can to help the team.”

From driveway drills alongside her older brother Kyle - a 2023 CB East grad now serving as a manager for the Rutgers men’s basketball team - through middle school, Natalie always had her dad as a coach of travel or community teams, mentor or source of postgame feedback. Jon Berndt passed away on Sept. 1, 2021 after a three-year fight against cancer while Natalie was in eighth grade.

“It was hard but there’s not really anything I can do about it other than play hard and do what I can for my teammates,” Berndt said.

Natalie and Kyle’s careers at East overlapped for one year, Kyle helping the Patriots boys reach the state playoffs as a senior. Natalie started out as most freshmen do, coming off the bench and filling various roles as needed.

That lasted all of five or six games, East coach Liz Potash remembers. An injury opened a starting spot, Berndt’s name went in the lineup and she’s been one of the first five checked in the book ever since.

“She went in and we could never take her out,” Potash said. “We had a lot of seniors, so I think she was a little timid but we were in her ear all the time, ‘shoot, there’s never a bad shot, shoot, shoot, shoot.’ I think bringing that into this year, she’s just grown.”

Natalie, who stands about 5-foot-9, has excelled on both ends of the court this season. She’s shooting nearly 45 percent from long range while her size, wingspan and quick feet have allowed her to cover all manner of players defensively.

Sensing her team would need a little bit more from her offensively, Berndt has worked to become more than just a shooter this season. That’s been noticeable, but what has really caught her coach’s eye comes at the other end of the floor.

“She attacks the basket more than she has in the past, she’s always just been the shooter but she’s attacking more this year,” Potash said. “In all honesty, her defense has been unbelievable. What she’s been able to do for us defensively this year, we knew it was good last year but we put her on pretty much anyone this year and when she’s on them, she makes life really hard for them.

“We’re asking her to take away the best player and shoot 45 percent from three and she’s managing to do it playing pretty much all 32.”

Along with senior Chantal Van Dongeren and junior Sydney Ralph, Berndt gives East a trio of versatile, tenacious defenders who also don’t foul a lot.

Berndt chalked up some of her defensive acumen to matchups with her 6-foot-4 brother and also to her second sport in lacrosse. In the spring, she plays as a midfielder for the Patriots, so there’s a lot of offensive and defensive roles that go with it which is not unlike what she’s done this winter.

“I take a lot of pride in my defense, I feel as though that leads to offense,” Berndt said. “As many stops as we can get on defense, that’s going to lead back to the offensive end. Being a multi-sport athlete helps with the footwork but it’s mostly just hustle.”

Teams tend to send a lot of defensive attention toward senior Anna Barry, so there were going to be chances for Berndt to be a scorer this year, although it’s taken some work for the sophomore to convince herself to be a little more aggressive.

“I’m definitely driving more to the basket and taking all my shots that are open and playing more confidently,” Berndt said. “I’m still trying to step into that role.

“I still need to do that more, draw more fouls and get to the rim.”

Jon Berndt was a fixture in the Doylestown basketball scene and he always had his kids around the gym at CB East. Potash, who has been coaching the Patriots for a decade, still finds herself looking at his customary spot in the bleachers and expecting him to be there

“They were at every game, they sat right across from our bench,” Potash said. “When we play, I always look across, I know where he’d be sitting. We talked with her about it when she first came up in the program, but it’s hard, he was her first coach, he did a lot with her but she’s got really good friends, a great mom and a great brother who support her.”

Natalie never got to play in a high school game with her dad present, but she knows exactly what he’d tell her.

“It just pushes me honestly,” Berndt said. “I just want to keep going forward, always hustle for my team.”

East has a long bus ride ahead of it Friday, followed by a matchup with a Dallastown team that has a lot of height and has been airtight defensively. Sometimes, a playoff game can swing on a hustle play and because the Patriots also have Natalie Berndt, they have just the person to get one for them.

“She can’t shoot enough, she can’t play enough, she can’t have a ball in her hand enough,” Potash said. “You’re not that good of a player by accident, she’s put the work in.”