Chris Gallo-Wilson

When two longtime rivals meet with their seasons on the line, things tend to get interesting. There was drama in the fourth quarter of the Berks County quarterfinal between #3 Wilson and #6 Gov. Mifflin. The Mustangs cut a 16-point deficit to three before falling 55-44 in West Lawn. “I can’t say enough about how hard Mifflin played,” emphasized Bulldogs’ head coach Chris Gallo. Wilson was up 7-5 after eight minutes and 18-17 at halftime. Shakyla Mayo kept the (10-13) Mustangs in the game in the first half. The all-county senior guard provided eleven of Gov. Mifflin’s twelve points in the second quarter. Mayo poured in 21 points, and ended her Mustangs’ career with 772. Laila Jones found Violet Houck for a layup to begin the third quarter. Jones then made a 3-pointer to give the (15-8) Bulldogs a six-point cushion. Wilson outscored Gov. Mifflin 20-8 in that period. The Bulldogs increased their advantage to 44-28 in the final quarter. On Monday, the Mustangs lost to Wilson 67-42. They were not going to go down without a fight this time. Gov. Mifflin splashed four treys in the fourth period. Taylor Koenig (11 points) hit three of their five triples, including two down the stretch. Jayla Richardson, one of six seniors on the roster, knocked down a deep 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 44-39 with three minutes remaining. Mayo’s fast break layup concluded a 13-0 run and all of a sudden it was 44-41. Laura Crocona sank a key jumper from the right baseline with 1:40 to play. That shot put the Bulldogs in front 48-41. Wilson went 9-of-10 from the free throw line over the last eight minutes. They were just 3-9 from the stripe over the first three quarters. Jones made all four of her foul shots in the last period. The 5’6 point guard contributed 16 points and eight assists. Jones had several nifty passes to Houck for easy buckets. “There’s a confidence that you have when you know where your buddy is gonna be. Stockton always knew where Malone was gonna be. She has that feel with Violet. It’s amazing,” said Gallo. Houck, a 5’11 center, had a season-high 16 points. Crocona chipped in with eleven. Jones, Houck, and Crocona are all freshmen. The Bulldogs scored 11 of the final 14 points to advance to the semifinals. They fell to Gov. Mifflin 47-34 in last year’s county championship. This is a much different team, and one with a bright future. Wilson will take a 6-game winning streak into Tuesday’s matchup with second-seeded Wyomissing at Santander Arena. The Spartans blew out Exeter 59-26 on Saturday afternoon. “What really impressed me was how hard defensively they played their zone. They move the ball, they share the ball, and they have a really nice rotation,” noted Gallo. The other county semifinal will feature #1 Berks Catholic and #4 Reading.