Violet Houck-Wilson

Wilson’s girls basketball team has motivation to shut down all of its opponents. “If we don’t play a good defensive game, we’re running the next day,” said Violet Houck. The Bulldogs held Berks Catholic to just 12 points over the first three quarters in a 39-26 victory at Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium. Houck mentioned that head coach Chris Gallo stresses defense every day at practice. It’s working. Wilson is (16-1, 8-0) and allowing a mere 31 points per game. Gallo, who spent 15 years coaching the Schuylkill Valley boys basketball team, is (57-26) over four seasons with the Bulldogs. Saints’ senior guard Gianna Roberts hit a 3-pointer with 2:30 left in the second quarter to even the score at 10 apiece. Mackenzie Langdon made a pair of free throws in the third period. Those five points were all that Wilson gave up over the middle quarters. The Bulldogs led 12-10 at halftime and outscored Berks Catholic 11-to-2 in the third period. Sophomore point guard Laila Jones finished with a game-high 13 points and five assists. “It’s crazy, sometimes I don’t even expect it. If it weren’t for Laila, I probably wouldn’t have as many points. She sees the court so well,” emphasized Houck. Jones crammed eight points into the final quarter. Houck added 11 points. The 5’11 sophomore center also plays lacrosse and is a standout hurdler on the track team. Promising freshman Kailani Hardy chipped in with six points off the bench as Wilson extended its winning streak to nine. Madison Langdon managed a team-high 12 points for the Saints despite not feeling well. The 5’5 junior guard had seven points in the last eight minutes. Sophomore guard Janai Tisdale did a solid job defending Langdon. Berks Catholic committed 21 turnovers including nine in the decisive third quarter. The Saints were up 7-2 early, but slipped to (6-8, 4-2). They connected four times from beyond the arc and went 2-for-3 from the foul line. The Bulldogs hit three triples and were 6-of-10 from the stripe. Wilson completed a season sweep of Berks Catholic. The Bulldogs won 43-31 on December 15th. Wilson is on a roll while starting four sophomores. Gallo uses two freshmen and a sophomore off the bench. “I think we proved a lot of teams wrong. I don’t think other teams thought we could be this good,” said Houck.