Mustangs’ bumpy ride ends at a golden gate

By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports.com Senior Correspondent

Shakyla Mayo’s job on Senior Night was to read a few words that were written by her big sister. She was supposed to tell everyone about Shyanna’s college future. The day when the girls were going to be split apart.

Those words were never spoken. At least not by Shakyla. She immediately broke down crying.

“I wasn’t able to start it,” Gov. Mifflin’s junior said. “My sister and I have been playing basketball with each other forever. I wasn’t ready for that night to come and it came. It was overwhelming.”

The comforting part was the end wasn’t quite here. There were still a few more games. A chance to soften the blow. That’s what happened Friday night.

Fourth-seeded Gov. Mifflin defeated No. 3 Wilson 47-34 in the Berks girls basketball final at Santander Arena. The Mayo sisters walked away from their last county game wearing gold medals.

Shakyla turned a week on the biggest stage into a showcase. Anyone who didn’t realize she was among the best players in the league was presented with a mountain of irrefutable evidence.

There was the buzzer-beater to knock off top-seeded Berks Catholic 41-40 in the semifinals Tuesday. Then there was this performance. For the first three quarters, Mayo was in a league of her own.

The 5-8 guard knocked home 3-pointers. She cut through the lane and maneuvered around Wilson center Isis Dojan. She made 7-of-10 shots and scored 16 of her game-high 19 points. All in 24 minutes.

It was an All-Berks kind of performance. The kind that will get folded into Mifflin’s illustrious history. The Mustangs won their fifth county championship since 2015. Mayo helped bring it home.

“People that don’t know about her, now they know,” Mifflin coach Mike Clark said. “I thought Ky did more scoring than she usually does. This team needed her to score and she did that.”

Mifflin was ahead 32-18 heading into the fourth quarter and overcame an endless stream of fouls and missed free throws to put it away. The lead was never smaller than six points in the second half.

The version of Shakyla Mayo that showed up for this game wasn’t the same version who averaged 11.5 points during the regular season. This girl was more assertive. She refused to be denied.

“I saw a different drive than I’ve seen for the rest of the season,” Shyanna Mayo said. “We talked about how much we wanted it.”

A switch flipped for Mifflin (17-8) when the playoffs began. A team that lost three league games in 16 days discovered another gear. No one in Berks has more talent. Shakyla Mayo, Taylor Koenig, Elisa Fiore and Anyah Ortiz are among the top players in the county.

Their talent rose to the surface.

Clark believes he can pinpoint the moment his team found itself. It was the regular-season finale, when Reading High came into Shillington and handed Mifflin a 12-point loss. A result that could have been demoralizing proved motivating.

“It changed when Reading beat us and cheered in our locker room,” Clark said. “I told the girls, ‘You see them? You see this feeling?’ It can be our championship. That’s what I think happened.”

Fiore ran the offense, defended the paint, drilled two 3-pointers and scored eight points. Koenig scored 11 points, including a triumphant layup at the buzzer. Shyanna Mayo six contributed points.

Mifflin lost both meetings against Berks Catholic during the regular season. The Mustangs lost to Wilson at home 25 days ago. They turned the tables on both. One was the preseason favorite to repeat as champ. The other a heated rival.

“It was a bumpy ride,” Shakyla Mayo said. “It was hard. Our team came together. I told them, ‘We had it. We just have to keep pushing ourselves. We know what we can do.’ We did it.”