Wilson, Dojan hoping to block Mifflin’s path to another girls’ championship

By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent

Isis Dojan played an entire quarter with a piece of gauze jammed into her right nostril. That was the result of, as she noted with a smile, catching the ball with her face.

It gets rough in the paint. Lots of traffic. Lots of jostling and banging bodies. No one spends more time there than Dojan. The 6-2 center is a game-changer within 10 feet of the rim.

Wilson escaped the Berks semifinals against Reading High largely because of Dojan’s defensive presence. It was hard to overcome her height and long reach, nosebleed and all. The final tally was 11 points, 21 rebounds and six blocks.

“I don’t know if it’s because I’m 5-8 but I’m not a big block-shot guy,” Wilson coach Chris Gallo said. “She obviously changes the shots. The big thing is not just changing the shot, does she go and get the rebound? She did that.”

Wilson (17-5) is back in the Berks girls basketball final for the first time since 2017. The third-seeded Bulldogs will face No. 4 Gov. Mifflin (16-8) at Santander Arena Friday at 6 p.m.

Getting here wasn’t easy for Wilson. The four seniors in the starting lineup, Keira Levengood, Kelsy Moschak, Amiyah Nguyen and Gia Borelli, fought through adversity. They dealt with a coaching change when Gallo replaced Kevin Calabria after their sophomore season and endured the challenges of having a first-year coach during a pandemic as juniors.

It has finally turned around. From 12-11 to 9-9 to one win from climbing the Berks mountain. All that experience has helped.

“I think from the beginning of the year this group expected to win,” Gallo said. “They honestly didn’t know what it was going to take. That was our talk during scrimmages. We thought we were good and we weren’t.”

Wilson lost two of its first three games, including a 54-46 decision at home against Mifflin, before finding its way. The Bulldogs have won 16-of-19 with their losses coming against undefeated Cedar Cliff, Berks I champ Berks Catholic and Methacton. They beat Mifflin 48-45 at Shillington in the rematch.

Nguyen and Borelli have continued to improve as floor leaders. Moschak is the defensive stopper.

Levengood averages 9.1 points and is an all-around force who can handle the ball and pass from her 5-10 frame. There isn’t another player like her in the league.

Then there’s Dojan, the one junior in the group, who forces opponents to change their approach.

“Sometimes at practice I have to go against her,” Levengood said. “I hate it. She blocks me all the time.

“I know I can always count on her to help me out if somebody gets by me on defense.”

Entering the fourth quarter against Reading, Dojan had three baskets and was frustrated by some of her missed shots. She was still dominating the game. She can do that without ever scoring a point.

Opponents can’t match up against 6-2. They have to find a way around her and those blocked shots take a mental toll.

“It kind of comes naturally,” said Dojan, who scores a team-high 11.9 points. “I’ve been working more at it. Trying not to foul when I’m blocking shots. I can imagine it’s frustrating to not be able to score.”

Wilson hasn’t lifted the county championship trophy since 2014. That was the Avery Marz, Carley Brew, Jessie Wallace team that completed a run of three consecutive titles. No one has won three in a row since.

Eight years is a long time for Wilson to wait for a county championship. These players want to join the club.