Shakyla Mayo-Gov. Mifflin

Shakyla Mayo really enjoys playing basketball with her older sister Shyanna. They have a lot to celebrate after the Mustangs pulled off a dramatic (41-40) win over top-seeded Berks Catholic in the Berks County semifinals. Shakyla, a 5’6 junior guard, made a game-winning layup just before the buzzer. She told me that she blacked out for a moment. You can probably understand why. It’s the first game-winning shot of Shakyla’s career, and she was playing at Santander Arena for the first time. Shyanna, a 5’6 senior, converted a putback to get Gov. Mifflin within 40-39 with ten seconds remaining. After Mackenzie Gordos missed the front end of a 1-and-1, the Mustangs pushed the ball ahead to Shakyla who drove right down the middle of the lane. She was immediately mobbed by her teammates. The Mayo sisters had eight points apiece. Taylor Koenig finished with a game-high 15 points for #4 seed Gov. Mifflin. The 5’7 sophomore scored the first five points of the game. The (16-8) Mustangs trailed 8-5 after the first quarter and 24-18 at halftime. They outscored the Saints 11-4 in the third quarter to take a 29-28 advantage entering the final eight minutes. Koenig jammed eight points into that quarter. Caraline Herb and Caroline Reedy drilled 3-pointers in the fourth quarter after Berks Catholic fell behind by four. Freshman guard Madison Langdon put the Saints on top 38-36 with a fast break layup with 3:15 to go. Reedy, a 5’9 senior who recently reached 1,000 points, sank a pair of free throws with 35 seconds left. Berks Catholic had a 40-37 edge until Shyanna’s basket with ten seconds to play. The (19-5) Saints were 7-10 from the foul line, but missed the front end of two 1-and-1 opportunities in the closing seconds. Gov. Mifflin went 6-10 from the charity stripe. The Mustangs and Saints have won the previous seven Berks County championships. Their coaches, Bob Birmingham (615) and Mike Clark (273), have 888 combined victories. This was an instant classic between two great programs. Berks Catholic knocked down seven shots from beyond the arc, while Gov. Mifflin made five. They’ve got more triples than any other teams in the county. Shakyla said she had extremely high expectations for their team this season because they have so many skilled offensive players. 5’5 junior Anyah Ortitz chipped in with seven points. She was an all-division selection last year. Shakyla stressed that this was a chance for the Mustangs to get revenge after losing to the Division 1 champion Saints twice in the regular season. Gov. Mifflin will square off against rival Wilson in Friday’s Berks County final at 6pm. Shakyla discussed the biggest key in that matchup. We also talked about her favorite class and teacher at Gov. Mifflin. I asked her if Biology is harder than basketball. Shakyla mentioned that she watches film all day. I think she’ll be watching the final ten seconds of this game for a very long time.