If the Berks Girls League playoffs started today . . .

By Sean McBryan Last updated Apr 14, 2023

By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent

If the Berks Girls League playoffs opened today Berks Catholic would again be the No. 1 seed and open in a quarterfinal against Berks II champion Exeter.

There’s still more season to go with key league games ahead, but let’s take a look at how the playoff structure would appear if it tipped off tonight:

The eight-team field will include the four division winners, two runners-up and the two remaining teams with the highest power rating.

The division leaders are Berks Catholic, Exeter, Wyomissing, and Brandywine Heights; each has at least a two-game lead in the loss column.

Reading High, which beat Twin Valley 53-30, has the upper hand in the race for the Berks I-II runner-up spot. Schuylkill Valley, which beat Oley Valley 45-37, has the edge for the Berks III-IV spot.

That leaves two at-large bids, determined by power ranking: Wilson (.611) and defending champion Gov. Mifflin (.571) have the lead over Oley Valley (.561), Fleetwood (.513), Muhlenberg (.502) and Hamburg (.446) at this point.

The eight-team field is initially seeded by power ranking. A committee consisting the eight qualifying head coaches can adjust the seeding.

Assuming that doesn’t happen, here’s what the matchups would look like:

No. 1 Berks Catholic vs. No. 8 Exeter
No. 2 Wyomissing vs. No. 7 Schuylkill Valley
No. 3 Reading High vs. No. 6 Gov. Mifflin
No. 4 Wilson vs. No. 5 Brandywine Heights

Seven of these eight teams made the BCIAA playoffs last season; the only difference is Exeter swapping in for Twin Valley as the Berks II champ. The Eagles played in Berks I last season. The move to Berks II has helped it rebound after a two-win season.

The Raiders took a graduation hit and are 2-15 after a district quarterfinal and state playoff appearance last season.

Oley Valley’s Dana Messner tries to get a shot off against Wyo’s Amaya Stewart. (Tim Macrina photo)

Berks Catholic appears to be the favorite for the county title. The Saints will be motivated to avenge last season’s 41-40 semifinal loss to eventual champion Gov. Mifflin on a buzzer-beater.

The biggest challengers figure to be the Mustangs, who last week saw the return of injured top scorer Taylor Koenig; Wilson, which lost 47-34 to Mifflin in the championship last year; Reading High, which lost 37-34 to Wilson in the semifinals last year; and Wyomissing, which was off to a 14-0 start before dropping two of its last four games.

Brandywine Heights also deserves a mention; the Bullets lost to Mifflin 70-58 in the quarterfinals last season and appeared in the state playoffs for the first time since 1980. They returned four starters.

District 3 picture

Things get a bit trickier when it comes to Berks teams making districts.

Only Berks Catholic (4A), Wyomissing (4A), and Reading High (6A) are currently within qualifying range in their respective classifications.

The top 10 qualify in 4A. The Saints are currently No. 2 and the Spartans No. 3. Fleetwood (No. 13), Schuylkill Valley (No. 14), and Hamburg (No. 19) remain outside at this point.

The top 12 qualify in 6A. The Red Knights are currently No. 10. Wilson (No. 16) and Gov. Mifflin (No. 18) are currently out.

Brandywine (No. 8) and Oley Valley (No. 9) still have a chance in 3A; the top six qualify.

The top 14 qualify in 5A; the closest Berks teams are Muhlenberg (No. 19) and Exeter (No. 20).

Berks has the lowest-rated teams in three classes: Antietam in 2A, Tulpehocken in 3A, and Daniel Boone in 5A.

The top-ranked teams in each class are: Linville Hill Christian (1A), Lancaster Country Day School (2A), Lancaster Catholic (3A), Delone Catholic (4A), Greencastle-Antrim (5A), and Central York (6A).

Berks leaders

Scoring leaders (with at least 13 games played):

Grace Reedy (22.3), Alexis Hess (17.5), Morgan Snyder (15.9), Amaya Stewart (15.4), Caraline Herb (13.4), Olivia Moyer (13.3), Addison Benner (13.1), Natane White (12.9), Laila Jones (12.6), Juliana Stichter (12.5), Madison Langdon (11.9), Shakyla Mayo (11.8), Hailey Kilgore (11.4), Hailie Edwards (10.9), Ryanne Wheeler (10.7), Anyah Ortiz (10.5), Yamilex Rodriguez (10.3).

Gov. Mifflin’s Taylor Koenig has averaged 12.7 points in three games since returning from injury. Ky Brantley averaged 27.7 through three games before a season-ending injury.

3-point leaders: Caraline Herb (38), Natane White (35), Hailey Kilgore (35), Lexi Loeb (34), Alexis Hess (33), Grace Reedy (27), Juliana Stichter (25), Shakyla Mayo (21), Hailie Edwards (18), Alex Trevena (17).

Team leaders

Points allowed per game: Wyomissing (28.8), Wilson (32.6), Schuylkill Valley (36.4), Fleetwood (38.7), Hamburg (38.7).

Scoring average: Wyomissing (52.9), Berks Catholic (49.1), Reading High (47.0), Gov. Mifflin (45.8), Exeter (44.4).

3-pointers: Berks Catholic 89, Schuylkill Valley 82, Gov. Mifflin 73, Twin Valley 65, Wyomissing 60.