Sydney Corado finds the range as Saints knock down Mustangs in Berks I
2023 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Sydney Corado’s outside jumper was bound to come around eventually. Berks Catholic’s 6-foot junior hadn’t made a 3-pointer in four games, her longest such streak since she was a freshman.
Corado drilled three 3’s in the first quarter Friday night at Wolf Gymnasium as the Saints defeated Gov. Mifflin 56-48 to get a leg up in Division I of the Berks Girls League.
“It was very important to get off to a fast start in this game,” Corado said. “When I score I just feel so much more confident. Then I can start finding teammates for open shots and the offense opens up.”
Corado laid in an easy putback to start the game; seeing one go through the net was all she needed to let a few 3’s go. It was needed early and if actions speak louder than words, the hot shooting start screamed that the Saints were here to play.
The Mustangs (2-2, 6-5) went on an 8-0 run after Corado’s first basket before she hit back-to-back 3’s to tie the game. Mifflin’s freshman sensation Bella Super then hit a 3, which Corado responded to with her third 3-pointer of the quarter to tie the game 11-11.
Super, who finished with 23 points off the bench, scored another bucket before Mackenzie Langdon hit a 3 at the buzzer to give the Saints (3-1, 5-5) a one-point lead after the first quarter.
“Sydney Corado was huge early on for us,” Berks Catholic head coach Bob Birmingham said. “She knocked some shots down and that’s what she needs to get some confidence because she can light it up.”
Apparently she also crashes the boards and defends the rim with tenacity as she racked up 14 rebounds and three blocked shots to go along with her 15 points.
Berks Catholic held a 42-21 rebounding advantage, another crucial part of the game considering Molly McFadden and Emma Linderman held Mifflin top scorer and Berks’ top 3-point shooter Taylor Koenig to an 0-for-9 clip from deep. The Saints held the Mustangs to 13% shooting from 3 overall.
“Molly and Emma did a great job on Koenig,” Corado said. “We knew (Koenig) was one of their best players and knew we had to get out on them and her especially because she’s a really good three-point shooter.”
All of that goes without mentioning the inevitable Madison Langdon, who scored a team-high 23 points while handling Mifflin’s constant pressure, providing needed buckets when Mifflin went on runs, and knocking down clutch free throws to seal the victory at the end of the game.
“We knew we had to come into this game playing tough, aggressive, and give it our all,” Langdon said. “This was a super-big win for us. We always say to take it one game at a time and play as a team. I think we did that tonight.”
The Mustangs regained the lead on Bridget Martin’s bucket to begin the second quarter; Langdon hit a 3 shortly after to give Berks Catholic a lead it never relinquished.
The Saints pushed their lead to eight near the end of the first half until Super scored five straight points to make it 28-25 at the break.
Super scored again to start the second half but Gianna Roberts answered with a big 3 from the top of the key for the Saints, who then went on a 6-1 run to extend the lead to nine. Mifflin responded with an 8-2 run before McFadden and Langdon each scored a deuce to give the Saints a 43-36 lead headed to the final quarter.
Berks Catholic extended that lead to its largest at 10 on Corado’s putback with 5:25 left in the game, but Mifflin had more fight left, shortening the lead to three on two occasions.
Langdon made four foul shots down the stretch as Mifflin entered new-foul-rule territory, rewarding the Saints with two shots instead of one-and-ones like in the past.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Berks Catholic | 14 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 56 |
| Gov. Mifflin | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 48 |
| Saints (5-5) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Roberts | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Mad. Langdon | 7-21 | 6-8 | 3-11 | 3 | 6 | 23 |
| McFadden | 1-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Mac. Langdon | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Linderman | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
| Mirenda | 4-7 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 9 | 10 |
| Corado | 6-15 | 0-0 | 3-7 | 1 | 14 | 15 |
| Totals | 20-54 | 8-12 | 8-22 | 13 | 42/49 | 56 |
| Mustangs (6-5) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Estrada | 2-6 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| George | 3-8 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Martin | 4-12 | 1-2 | 0-2 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| Super | 10-20 | 0-4 | 3-9 | 0 | 5 | 23 |
| Hiester | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Koenig | 1-14 | 1-2 | 0-9 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Vazquez | 1-1 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Totals | 21-61 | 3-10 | 3-23 | 6 | 21/29 | 48 |
Turnovers: Berks Catholic 27, Gov. Mifflin 14. Team Rebounds: Berks Catholic 7, Gov. Mifflin 8.
