Keira Levengood-Wilson

Reading players had shot after shot after shot sent back by Wilson center Isis Dojan. Keira Levengood certainly knows the feeling. She has to go up against Dojan every day at practice. The third-seeded Bulldogs held off the Red Knights 37-34 in the Berks County semifinals. Dojan stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, 13 rebounds, and nine blocks. The presence of the 6’2 junior in the lane is one reason why Wilson allows just 34 points per game. The (17-5) Bulldogs held #7 seed Reading scoreless for over seven minutes of the second quarter. The Red Knights didn’t score for the first two minutes of the fourth quarter. They were held 14 points below their season average. Reading jumped out to a 7-1 advantage. Levengood told me that their team was really looking forward to playing at Santander Arena, but she admitted that they were nervous early on. Wilson settled down and went in front 17-10 at halftime. Levengood finished with a game-high 14 points. The 5’10 all-division forward had six in the second quarter when the Bulldogs outscored the Red Knights 11-3. Ashantin Chapman hit a floater late in the third period to pull Reading within 25-21. Wilson responded with a quick 7-0 run to go up by eleven points. Amiyah Nguyen buried a trey from the right corner. That was followed by a Dojan layup and a Kelsy Moschak jumper from the right wing. The Red Knights lost to the Bulldogs by 15 and 18 points in the regular season. They weren’t going to get blown out again. Kya Washington, Yamilex Rodriguez, and Laysha Pimental connected from beyond the arc to pull Reading within 37-34. The Red Knights had the ball and seven seconds to try and force overtime. Second-year head coach Rashida Suber drew up a great inbounds play from underneath their own basket. Pimental ended up with an open look from the left corner, but her 3-pointer was off the mark. Wilson survived despite going 10-19 from the free throw line. Reading was 5-7 from the stripe. The Red Knights hit five triples compared to one for the Bulldogs. Washington had a team-high ten points. Rodriguez, a 5’5 freshman, contributed nine off the bench. Chapman added seven points. Reading’s four-game winning streak came to a halt. Suber, who scored 2,111 points in her career with the Red Knights, has seen her squad go from (6-10) last year to (13-11). Wilson has also improved dramatically in Chris Gallo’s second season in West Lawn. The Bulldogs were (9-9) a year ago. They lost in the county quarterfinals two years in a row. Levengood helped Wilson capture a county title in soccer. She’s trying to do the same on the court. Levengood emphasized that the competition in Division 1 benefits them now. All four semifinalists in the Berks County girls basketball playoffs were from that division. Levengood gave Reading credit for not quitting in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs will battle rival Gov. Mifflin in the county championship at 6pm on Friday. Wilson is searching for its first county title since 2014. Levengood will be attending Louisville, but not for sports. We talked about her favorite class at Wilson.