It’s another banner performance for Bulldogs, who complete sweep of Saints
2023 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Berks Catholic’s matchup zone gave Wilson trouble scoring in the first half Monday, so the Bulldogs made an unconventional adjustment at halftime.
Point guard and leading scorer Laila Jones started operating in the high post and worked an effective high-low game with center Violet Houck as the Bulldogs eventually pulled away in the second half for a 39-26 victory over the Saints in Division I of the Berks Girls League at Wolf Gymnasium.
“We weren’t really on in the first quarter and I can tell when my teammates get down,” Jones said. “You have a lot of ups and downs in games. I knew I needed to get Violet involved and bring up the energy a little bit.”
Berks Catholic led 7-5 after the first quarter and Wilson led 12-10 at the break in a low-scoring first half.
Jones hit Houck on a perfectly executed inbounds play from under the basket for the first points of the third quarter, then quickly threaded the needle to break the zone for another assist on a Houck layup shortly after.
Freshman Kailani Hardy, who provided a spark off the Wilson bench with six second-half points, scored the next bucket through contact, although she missed the and-one free throw.
The development of Hardy, a 5-9 wing, and 5-6 classmate Ryan Leaman’s is something to watch as the playoffs approach.
“I’m a little out of breath, a little bit tired,” Hardy said after playing major minutes in both the JV and varsity game and picking up four rebounds and two steals in the latter game. “I’m working on it. I just feel like I’m getting even better.”
Each ramped up their varsity minutes when top reserve Janai Tisdale went out with an injury for five weeks; they have shown no jitters as key bench options for Wilson head coach Chris Gallo.
Hardy averages a touch over 5.0 points per game and has played in 14 games; Leaman averages a touch over 2.0 points and has played in 16 games, with seven 3’s, fourth on the team.
“When Tisdale was hurt, Ryan really got minutes because she was the first guard off the bench,” Gallo said. “That has been great for her. Both of them come in and do whatever we ask.”
Jones hit Houck again for a layup with 3:16 left in the third quarter and the 8-0 run proved lethal for the Saints (4-2, 6-8), who couldn’t find a way to crack Wilson’s stingy man-to-man defense, fell behind by 10.
The Bulldogs (8-0, 16-1) came into Monday allowing only 31.3 points per game, third-best in the league behind Wyomissing (26.1) and Oley Valley (28.9); they hunkered down on that side of the ball the rest of the game.
Houck, a sophomore, scored nine of her 11 points in the second half.
Jones scored eight of her game-high 13 in the fourth quarter as she started looking for her own shot. The sophomore also had four assists, four rebounds and four steals.
“It’s a really unique group of girls,” Gallo said. “We didn’t talk about being freshmen last year and we don’t talk about how old we are this year. They just come every day and do what they’re supposed to do. They work hard.”
Wilson is off to its best start since 2011-12 when it began the year 20-1 and won the BCIAA title. The Bulldogs concluded a county title three-peat and back-to-back District 3 titles in 2014. They haven’t been back to the BCIAA championship since.
“I don’t know how many times we look up at that banner,” Jones said. “But it’s a lot. We got to go get it. We’re good enough to compete against everyone. It’s been a while.”
The Bulldogs made a significant step in that quest with the sweep over the two-time defending Berks I champion Saints. The young group that starts only one senior is primed and motivated to bring success to West Lawn that the girls basketball program hasn’t seen in a decade.
Wilson’s only loss is a 36-30 setback to undefeated Dallastown — currently the top ranked team in District 3 Class 6A — two days after Christmas. The Bulldogs have won nine straight since.
Wilson played defending Berks champ Wyomissing tough in the BCIAA semifinals last season before falling 43-35. The Bulldogs and Spartans are in position for the top two seeds in the BCIAA tournament.
“If we see them in the county chip, we’ll be ready,” Jones said.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Berks Catholic | 7 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 26 |
| Wilson | 5 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 39 |
| Saints (6-8) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Mad. Langdon | 5-13 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
| Corado | 3-12 | 0-0 | 1-10 | 3 | 7 | 7 |
| McFadden | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Mirenda | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Roberts | 2-5 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Linderman | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mac. Langdon | 0-1 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Totals | 10-36 | 2-3 | 4-22 | 5 | 22/28 | 26 |
| Bulldogs (16-1) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Jones | 4-15 | 4-5 | 1-3 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| Houck | 5-8 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
| Crocona | 1-4 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Tisdale | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Williams | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Moncada | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Evans | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leaman | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peacock | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hardy | 3-4 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Waibel | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robinson | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 15-36 | 6-10 | 3-9 | 9 | 15/19 | 39 |
Turnovers: Berks Catholic 18, Wilson 9. Team Rebounds: Berks Catholic 6, Wilson 4.
