Berks Girls Basketball Playoffs: Who's In, Who's Out?

With the BCIAA cutoff date arriving today, the Berks County girls basketball playoff field is nearly set, with division champions, crossover results, and power rankings shaping up the eight-team bracket.

The four division champions automatically qualify, along with two crossover winners between divisions and then two wildcard teams based on District 3 power ranking.

Automatic Qualifiers: Division Champions

Four teams have secured playoff spots by winning their divisions:

• Berks I: Wilson (12-0 league, 20-2 overall)

• Berks II: Exeter (8-3, 13-9)

• Berks III: Schuylkill Valley (10-1, 14-6)

• Berks IV: Oley Valley (10-2, 14-8)

  
  

Wilson head coach Matt Raquet. (PhilMarPhoto)

Wilson, which held off Gov. Mifflin for the Berks I crown, is the likely No. 1 seed with a 0.803843 power ranking as of end of day Feb. 3. Exeter (0.637227), Schuylkill Valley (0.570680), and Oley Valley (0.530831) follow.

The Eagles regained the Berks II title from Twin Valley. The Panthers wrangled the Berks III crown away from Wyomissing. The Lynx won their third consecutive Berks IV title.

Crossover Matchups

Two additional automatic bids are awarded through crossover games between division runner-ups.

In the Berks I–II matchup, Gov. Mifflin (10-2, 15-5) earned the playoff spot with a 66-35 win over Twin Valley (6-5, 10-12) on Jan. 29, securing the runner-up qualifier.

Kutztown head coach Jessica Plisko. (PhilMarPhoto)

In the Berks III–IV matchup, Kutztown (9-3, 13-8) won 45-29 over Wyomissing (8-2, 9-11) on Dec. 17, earning the automatic playoff bid. The Spartans have one more league game tonight against Hamburg, but can't catch Schuylkill Valley for the Berks III crown.

Wildcard Race

The final two playoff spots will be awarded to the highest-rated remaining teams in the District 3 power rankings. Reading High (0.620868) is pretty safe for one of the spots. That leaves four teams with 0.500000 or higher power rankings:

• Twin Valley (0.562488)

• Berks Catholic (0.541025)

• Conrad Weiser (0.536999)

• Wyomissing (0.514133)

  
  

Seeding Process Begins After Cutoff

Following today’s cutoff, the eight-team field will be pre-seeded based on District 3 power ratings. A seeding committee made up of the eight qualifying head coaches will meet one day later to finalize the bracket.

Exeter head coach Derek Wolfe. (PhilMarPhoto)

Coaches will have the opportunity to challenge seeds using factual information. Challenges begin with the No. 1 seed and proceed downward, with private voting determining outcomes. In the event of a tie, the higher seed remains in place.

The official bracket is expected to be finalized shortly after the committee meeting with the quarterfinals set for Feb. 7, semifinals for Feb. 11, and the championship for Feb. 13.

Here's how the quarterfinal matchups would look if there are no seeding challenges:

• No. 1 Wilson vs. No. 8 Kutztown

• No. 2 Gov. Mifflin vs. No. 7 Oley Valley

• No. 3 Exeter vs. No. 6 Twin Valley

• No. 4 Reading High vs. No. 5 Schuylkill Valley