Berks Catholic begins critical finishing run with Berks I win at Reading High
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Berks Catholic’s girls basketball team typically gets stronger as the season progresses due to a tough schedule that includes many of the top programs in District 3, such as Delone Catholic, Lancaster Catholic, Palmyra, Wilson, and York Catholic.
The Saints have hit some bumps along the way this season but put together an important all-around team performance Tuesday in a 51-37 Berks Girls League Division I victory over Reading High at the Geigle.
“We really brought the energy and it just clicked for us,” said junior guard Madison Langdon, who scored eight of her game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter. “We played really well as a team.”
The Saints’ entire starting five contributed and showed the moxie to combat Reading High’s relentless pressure.
Berks Catholic (6-2, 8-9) wasn’t frazzled after trailing by three at halftime and outscored Reading by 17 in the second half. Junior forward Sydney Corado led the charge in the third quarter with seven of her 15 points.
“(Sydney) really brought the energy up and got everyone motivated,” Langdon said.
Corado hit a 3-pointer with 4:10 left in the third to tie the game 26-26 and start a 9-0 run that gave the Saints a six-point lead heading into the fourth.
“We knew we weren’t playing to our potential in the first half,” Corado said. “We needed to work together as a team. I think the energy was there the whole game. We were just forcing stuff and needed to take our time in the second half.”
Corado (eight rebounds, two blocks), Molly McFadden (seven rebounds, two blocks), and Giana Mirenda (six rebounds) also tag-teamed on defense and rebounding in the latter half to slow Reading senior post Mariah Ruiz, who had eight points and five rebounds in the first half. Ruiz only had two points and two rebounds in the second half.
The Saints ended the game with a 37-26 rebounding advantage.
Langdon and Gianna Roberts, who had all eight of her points in the fourth quarter, closed it out as the Saints flowed with backdoor cuts, crisp passes, and finishes at the rim.
“I thought we played really well on both ends of the floor in the second half,” Berks Catholic coach Bob Birmingham said.
“But in particular on the offensive end,” he said. “That’s the way we want to play. We want to share the ball.
“That was probably as good as we’ve looked all year in the second half.”
Tamyia Collier, who scored all nine of her points in the final quarter, kept the Red Knights (6-3, 9-10) in the game to begin the fourth by thrice cutting the lead to four, the last on two free throws to make it 36-32 with 6:19 left.
Langdon then hit a two, Roberts drilled a 3, and Langdon made another bucket to push the lead to 43-32 with 3:51 left.
The Red Knights never got closer than nine the rest of the way.
Berks Catholic now has the inside track to a runner-up finish in Berks I, which would give it an automatic berth in the BCIAA playoffs.
Two wildcard teams will qualify for the tournament based on power ratings; Gov. Mifflin, Reading High, and Brandywine Heights are vying for those spots. The Bullets strengthened their case with a win over Berks IV-leading Oley Valley Tuesday.
Berks Catholic’s win also strengthens its claim for a District 3 Class 4A playoff spot. The Saints came into Tuesday as the 10th and final qualifier and moved up to No. 7 in the ever-changing (and unofficial) District 3 power rankings.
The Saints have four games left on its regular season schedule: Daniel Boone, Gov. Mifflin, Twin Valley, and Conrad Weiser. A five-game winning streak to end the season will put the Saints in prime position for the playoffs and will make looking back on the rocky part of the season and losses to some top-notch opponents much easier.
“They’re all big games,” Birmingham said. “We can’t look past anybody. We’ve got to take them one at a time. We need four more wins to get to where we want (to be), not only in counties but districts. We want to be in the top half of those brackets.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Reading High | 8 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 37 |
| Berks Catholic | 10 | 7 | 15 | 19 | 51 |
| Saints (7-9) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Mad. Langdon | 4-15 | 8-10 | 0-2 | 2 | 5 | 16 |
| Corado | 6-10 | 1-2 | 2-5 | 2 | 8 | 15 |
| McFadden | 2-5 | 2-6 | 1-2 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Mirenda | 2-5 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 6 | 5 |
| Roberts | 3-4 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| E. Linderman | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| K. Linderman | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 17-39 | 13-22 | 4-11 | 9 | 31/37 | 51 |
| Red Knights (9-10) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Collier | 3-7 | 3-5 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Rodriguez | 4-14 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Spring | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bradley | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Ocasio | 0-6 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Ortega | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Hutchinson | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ruiz | 4-13 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
| Gaskins | 1-5 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Miley | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 16-53 | 5-7 | 0-9 | 7 | 21/26 | 37 |
Turnovers: Berks Catholic 16, Reading High 11. Team Rebounds: Berks Catholic 6, Reading High 5.
