Saints, Madison Langdon, shake off slow start, pull away for win over Eagles
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor
All it took was a little baseline runner in the opening minute of the second half to get Madison Langdon and her Berks Catholic teammates going Saturday in their BCIAA quarterfinal against Exeter.
The fourth-seeded Saints struggled at the outset, falling behind by as many as nine points, but Langdon sparked them with 16 second-half points en route to 54-35 victory at Wolf Gymnasium.
“We had a rough beginning,” said Langdon, a junior and the Saints’ leading scorer, “but there’s 32 minutes in the game and every time you’re on the court you have an opportunity to get better and keep going.”
Langdon, like most other top scorers, only needs that first one to drop to get the feeling, and that was the case Saturday. She missed her first three shots of the game but found the touch in the second half. She knocked down four straight shots in the third quarter and hit 6-of-8 in the second half, including each of her three 3-pointers. She finished with a game-high 22 points on just a dozen shots.
“Her first couple baskets of the second half, you saw she was going to the basket,” said Berks Catholic coach Bob Birmingham, “and then she buried the 3’s after that. She’s just very difficult to guard because she can score at every level.”
Langdon’s third 3-pointer of the game, late in the third quarter, was a game-changer. The Saints (12-10) were leading by just five when she collected a pass on the left wing and drained the shot. Grace Reedy, Exeter’s top player, came out to stop the shot but fouled Langdon in the process.
Reedy sensed instantly how big a play it was; she put her hands on her head in disbelief. Not only did she pick up her third foul on the play but she gave Langdon a chance for a rare four-point play, which she converted.
That gave the Saints their biggest lead of the game at 38-29; they continued to pull away after that.
“That (four-point swing) made us start doubting ourselves,” said Exeter coach Derek Wolfe, who saw his team control the opening 10 minutes its effective zone defense.
“That (3-pointer) came on a kick-out,” Birmingham said. “That’s what we want to do. The easiest 3 to shoot is when you’re stepping into it, when the ball’s coming from under the basket.”
The Saints made it look easy from long range: They knocked down 7-of-8 over the final three quarters and 8-of-13 overall.
(Susan L. Angstadt photo)
Berks Catholic went nearly nine minutes without a basket early in the game and trailed 13-4 after Meredith Fylypowycz’s transition basket. BC’s Gianna Roberts stopped that skid with a 3-pointer and Sydney Corado added another a few minutes later.
The Saints were within a point at halftime; it was no contest after that as they outscored the fifth-seeded Eagles (14-9) 33-13 in the second half. Langdon scored 11 third-quarter points and outscored the Berks II champs over the final two quarters.
“She wasn’t playing with confidence in the first half,” Birmingham said of Langdon. “She was almost second-guessing herself at times. We didn’t have to say much to her (at halftime). She’s played enough basketball. She knows what to do.”
The Eagles’ lengthy zone made the Saints look bad. Berks Catholic had more turnovers (17) than shots (14) in the first half. It was a different story in the second half.
“We really worked on getting the ball in, and those 3-pointers became a lot more open,” Langdon said.
The Saints won the game as much with their second-half defense as anything. Reedy, the league’s scoring leader at 21.3 points per game, had 11 in the first half but incredibly didn’t score in the second half.
Reedy picked up her fourth foul on a charge in the final minute of the third quarter, her team down seven, and spent the next three minutes of game time on the bench. She returned with 5:48 remaining and Exeter trailing 41-33 but couldn’t save her team. She went 0-for-5 from the floor in the final quarter, 3-of-18 overall and made just one of 10 3-pointers.
The Saints threw multiple defenders at Reedy, just as they did in their 54-37 crossover victory over the Eagles earlier this season. Reedy scored 20 in that one.
Berks Catholic defenders Emma Linderman, Mirenda and McFadden took turns on Reedy and never allowed her to get comfortable.
“They made it difficult for her,” allowed Wolfe. “Foul trouble made it difficult for her.”
Reedy got few open shots. Her two first-quarter baskets came off a steal and a rebound. She hit a 3-pointer in the second quarter and ended the first half just seven points shy of Exeter’s career scoring mark of 1,389.
That achievement will have to wait until the opening round of the District 3 Tournament later this month.
As for the Saints, they advance to Santander Arena for a Wednesday semifinal against either top-seed Wilson or eighth-seeded Schuylkill Valley, which meet in a quarterfinal Saturday night.
For time being they can be happy knowing they’re the only Berks team over the past two seasons to hold Reedy to 11 points or fewer.
“I’m just really proud of how we played her,” Langdon said.
Reedy’s 11 points were a team-high; no one else scored more than eight. Overall, the Eagles shot just 28 percent and got out-rebounded 32-18.
“We didn’t want her to get an open shot,” Birmingham said of Reedy. “We doubled her almost every time to make her give it up. We said, if they’re gonna beat us the other kids are going to beat us. She’s capable of beating us; she’s a big-time scorer.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Exeter | 11 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 35 |
| Berks Catholic | 4 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 54 |
| Eagles (14-9) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Ware | 2-10 | 3-4 | 0-3 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Fylypowycz | 3-4 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Kopanski | 1-1 | 1-6 | 0-0 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| Flood | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Reedy | 3-18 | 4-6 | 1-10 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| Keperling | 0-1 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Dolan | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Warner | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| McAuliffe | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 11-39 | 12-20 | 1-14 | 3 | 18/18 | 35 |
| Saints (12-10) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Roberts | 3-4 | 1-2 | 2-3 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Mad. Langdon | 8-12 | 2-7 | 4-6 | 1 | 7 | 22 |
| McFadden | 3-4 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| Mirenda | 2-4 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| Corado | 3-6 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 2 | 9 | 8 |
| E. Linderman | 0-1 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| K. Linderman | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 18-32 | 8-19 | 8-13 | 7 | 30/32 | 54 |
Turnovers: Exeter 18, Berks Catholic 25. Team rebounds: Exeter 0, Berks Catholic 2.
