Red Knights ready to ‘Go out with a bang’ after shocking Saints in Berks semifinal
Ashanti Chapman and Reading High’s four other seniors get to play one more game together.
With their backs to the wall and facing the end of their season the Red Knights unveiled their best game of the season and pulled off a major upset Tuesday, knocking off top-seeded Berks Catholic 39-33 in a Berks Girls League semifinal at Santander Arena.
When the final buzzer sounded, ending a near-flawless fourth quarter by the fourth-seeded Red Knights (14-10), the players raced to center court and started a wild celebration that carried over into a boisterous locker room party.
“It’s crazy,” said Chapman, a defensive stalwart who helped hound the Saints (18-6) into 21 turnovers, 15 in the second half. “Everybody came with the energy, our defense was great, we were moving, talking. We were just all excited.”
Less than two weeks after a 20-point loss to Berks Catholic at the Geigle the Red Knights changed their tactics, played a physical – yet controlled – face-guarding defense and held the Saints to their lowest scoring total in 14 games.
Chapman challenged the ball all the way up court, disrupting the Saints’ offensive flow, When the Saints found cutters to the basket the Red Knights’ interior defenders were well-positioned to turn them back.
Despite their aggressive defensive play none of the Red Knights were ever in foul trouble, in part because coach Rashida Suber made effective use of her bench.
She constantly shuttled players in and out, and the tactic worked: Reading got 17 points and 13 rebounds off the bench; Berks Catholic got none of either from its reserves.
“We just wanted to wear them down,” said Suber, “and we know our bench is deep and we can do that.”
Junior Bianca Seabury came off the bench to provide the biggest shots of the game, back-to-back 3-pointers in the early minutes of the fourth quarter to tie it 28-28.
The Red Knights had trailed by eight late in the third quarter before taking over the game. They outscored Berks Catholic 17-5 in the final quarter and 19-5 over the final 10 minutes.
“Even though we were down eight we stayed calm and we came back,” Chapman said.
Berks Catholic (18-6) went nearly 10 minutes without a field goal before Madison Langdon scored in the final seconds.
Chapman led a balanced Reading scoring attack with nine points; Rodriguez scored seven. Caraline Herb led Berks Catholic with 12 points.
“They physically took us out of the game,” said Berks Catholic coach Bob Birmingham. “We’ve seen that kind of pressure before. We just didn’t react the way we needed to tonight. They wore us down on this big court.”
The Red Knights will return to that same court for their final game Friday at 6 against Wyomissing, a 43-35 winner over Wilson in the second semifinal.
Win or lose the Red Knights are done after that because they did not qualify for the District 3 Tournament. Suber felt that was a strong motivating factor.
“That (loss to Berks Catholic on Jan. 31), we had games after it,” Suber said. “This one, we don’t have games after it if we lose. So, we had to do what we need to do. And they showed up today.”
Reading took the lead for good with 3:45 left when Laysha Pimentel, a senior reserve guard, came off a screen and hit a 3-pointer from above the foul circle to make it 31-28.
They steadily pulled away after that by making eight of their next 10 free throws, the last a double bonus by Yamilex Rodriguez for a 39-29 lead. The Knights shot 55 percent from the line in the regular season and made just 12-of-22 in two previous losses to Berks Catholic.
“They really wanted this,” Suber said. “They were focused. They were locked in. Usually, some foul shots in a close game like that, they get a little nervous. They were locked in; they wanted this.”
Reading is back in the title game for the first time since 2020, when Chapman and Pimentel were on the floor for a 52-34 loss to Gov. Mifflin. Reading last won a Berks championship in 2010.
“Ashanti’s been around here since we had the run here,” Suber said. “She talks to me all the time about how much she wanted to get back here. I know how much it means to her (to be) going out with a bang.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Reading High | 10 | 5 | 7 | 17 | 39 |
| Berks Catholic | 13 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 33 |
| Red Knights (14-10) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Chapman | 2-12 | 4-6 | 1-3 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| Y. Rodriguez | 1-3 | 4-4 | 1-3 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Hernandez-Albino | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Spring | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Franklin | 2-4 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Collier | 2-9 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Seabury | 2-5 | 0-2 | 2-3 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Hopkins | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Pimentel | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Bradley | 0-2 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Totals | 10-44 | 14-21 | 5-12 | 4 | 30-31 | 39 |
| Saints (18-6) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Roberts | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Corado | 1-4 | 5-6 | 0-1 | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| M. McFadden | 2-5 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Herb | 3-7 | 5-6 | 1-3 | 1 | 7 | 12 |
| M. Langdon | 2-14 | 2-5 | 0-1 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Brown | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mirenda | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 9-32 | 13-19 | 2-9 | 5 | 30-35 | 33 |
Turnovers: Reading High 13, Berks Catholic 21.
