Brandywine girls wrap up Berks IV title to solidify county playoff picture
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
The Berks Girls League’s eight-team playoff field was finalized Monday on the final night of league play.
For Berks Catholic, Brandywine Heights, Exeter, Gov. Mifflin, Reading High, Schuylkill Valley, Wilson and Wyomissing: let the dancing commence.
The qualifiers will initially be seeded by District 3 power ratings; that order can be changed by the seeding committee, which consists of the eight qualifying coaches. Teams can challenge to move up and the committee will vote on the challenges.
If the current order remains, the following will be the quarterfinal matchups when the tournament tips Saturday:
| No. 1 | Berks Catholic | vs. | No. 8 | Schuylkill Valley |
| No. 4 | Reading High | vs. | No. 5 | Brandywine Heights |
| No. 2 | Wyomissing | vs. | No. 7 | Exeter |
| No. 3 | Wilson | vs. | No. 6 | Gov. Mifflin |
The Saints (12-0 Berks I, 17-5), Eagles (7-4 Berks II, 11-11) and Spartans (11-0 Berks III, 20-2) each had clinched division titles before winning Monday.
Caraline Herb scored 19 points and Madison Langdon 17 to lead the Saints to a 49-34 win over Conrad Weiser. Grace Reedy scored 23 to lead the Eagles past Twin Valley 46-32. Amaya Stewart scored 26 as the Spartans topped Fleetwood 54-20.
Addison Benner scored 17 points to lead Brandywine Heights (9-3 Berks IV, 15-7) over Antietam 45-1 to clinch the final division title. Bullets head coach Jason Bieber picked up his 250th win; Bieber won a state title coaching Boyertown in 2017.
The Bullets will be without top scorer Olivia Moyer (13.0 points per game) for their playoff run; the junior tore her ACL Jan. 14 in a game against Exeter.
Morgan Snyder scored 17 and Ryanne Wheeler 12 to pace Oley Valley (9-3 Berks IV, 15-7) as it defeated Kutztown (3-9 Berks IV, 6-16) 59-21 to finish tied the Bullets.
The teams split their regular season games; Brandywine won the tiebreaker by virtue of a higher power ranking.
The Lynx were squeezed out of the playoffs when Schuylkill Valley defeated Hamburg.
Natane White had 18 points as the Panthers (7-4 Berks III, 10-10) rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to defeat the Hawks 40-33.
Schuylkill Valley earned the Division III-IV runner-up spot by virtue of defeating the Lynx head-to-head in league play.
Oley Valley defeated Schuylkill Valley in an earlier non-league game, but that game has no bearing on the BCIAA playoff tiebreaker rules.
That left three available spots: The Berks I-II runner-up and two remaining teams with the highest power ranking.
Laila Jones (20 points), Laura Crocona (13 points), Violet Houck (12 points), and Janai Tisdale (12 points) led Wilson (9-3 Berks I, 14-8) over Gov. Mifflin (8-4 Berks I, 10-12) 67-42 to clinch second place in Division I.
The Bulldogs, Mustangs, and Red Knights were locks to make the field based on their power rankings, and each had defeated Division II runner-up Twin Valley.
Gov. Mifflin and Reading High enter the playoffs with at-large berths.
Last year, the fourth-seeded Mustangs defeated No. 3 Wilson 47-34 for the BCIAA championship. The Mustangs knocked out top-seeded Berks Catholic 41-40 on Shakyla Mayo’s buzzer-beater in the semifinals.
Gov. Mifflin has won five of the past eight county championships, in 2022, 2020, 2019, 2016 and 2015; Berks Catholic has won the other three, in 2021, 2018, and 2017.
Wilson won three in a row from 2012 to 2014, the Mustangs won in 2011, and Reading High went back-to-back in 2009 and 2010.
From 2004 through 2008, the Bulldogs and Red Knights each won twice. Schuylkill Valley is the only other team to win since 2004, capturing a title in 2005.
