District 3 Class 4A Quarterfinal Preview: No. 7 Berks Catholic at No. 2 Northern Lebanon
- Sean McBryan
- Feb 20
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 21
Five Berks Girls League teams are still alive in their respective District 3 tournaments with the 6A & 5A quarterfinals set to tip off Thursday and the 4A quarters & 3A semis set to tip off Friday. Let's dive deeper into the 4A matchup between No. 2 Northern Lebanon and No. 7 Berks Catholic.
No. 7 Berks Catholic at No. 2 Northern Lebanon
The seventh-seeded Saints (12-11) travel to Fredericksburg to battle the No. 2 Vikings (20-4) Friday at 7:00 in the 4A quarterfinals. The winner will face either No. 3 Wyomissing or No. 6 Susquehanna Township in the semifinals.
Senior 5-4 guard Madison Langdon scored a team-high 16 points in the Saints' 58-49 victory over No. 10 Bishop McDevitt in the first round Tuesday.
Senior 5-8 forward Giana Mirenda had 14 points and 12 rebounds and senior 6-0 wing Sydney Corado piled on 15 points (four 3s) as the Saints came back from a 14-point deficit to the Crusaders.
Berks Catholic did not qualify for the Berks Girls League playoffs this season, but have won four in a row including a victory over Berks champion Reading High on Jan. 27.
Langdon, who reached 1,000 points this season in December, leads the Saints with a 15.2 scoring average — the third-highest total in Berks. She has hit 42 3s, which is the fifth-most in Berks.
Corado averages 11.8 points — No. 8 in Berks — to go along with 36 3s.
Junior 5-10 wing and third-leading scorer Liv Welker (5.3 ppg) is ineligible for the postseason after transferring to Berks Catholic from Daniel Boone this season.
Freshman guard Abby Cannon (3.2 ppg) entered the starting lineup to replace Welker in the opening round of districts, joining Langdon, Corado, Mirenda (4.6 ppg), and senior 5-9 forward Molly McFadden (4.6 ppg).
Senior 5-7 guard Emma Linderman and sophomore 5-7 guard Katy Linderman are the first two off the bench for head coach Bob Birmingham, who has the most wins in Berks girls basketball history with 661.
Northern Lebanon had a first-round bye in districts and last played on Feb. 10 in a 45-41 double OT loss to Manheim Township in the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoff semifinals.
Senior 5-7 guard Olivia Shutter leads the Vikings with a 13.1 scoring average and 35 made 3-pointers. She also reached the 1,000-point mark in December.
Junior 5-9 forward Saoirse Phillips (8.8 ppg), junior guard Kasey Weimer (8.6 ppg), junior 5-4 guard Hayley Sheroky (8.2 ppg), junior guard Mackenzie Miller (2.4 ppg), and sophomore forward Selah Martino (1.6 ppg) have each played in all 24 games this season for head coach Ken Battistelli, who is in his 18th season leading the Vikings.
Senior guard Lily Harris and junior forward Kalyn Harmon have each played in 19 or more games off the bench.
Berks Catholic scores 46.5 points per game while allowing 42.0; Northern Lebanon scores 45.9 ppg and allows 33.0.
The teams have played three common opponents this season: Delone Catholic, Fleetwood, and Lancaster Catholic.
Berks Catholic lost to Delone Catholic 42-38 on Jan. 11; Northern Lebanon defeated the Squires 32-30 on Dec. 27. Both teams defeated Fleetwood with Berks Catholic winning 53-20 on Dec. 7 and Northern Lebanon winning 54-12 on Jan. 28. Both teams lost to Lancaster Catholic with the Crusaders beating Berks Catholic 37-31 on Jan. 18 and Northern Lebanon 40-38 on Dec. 20 and 51-29 on Jan. 24.
Last season, fifth-seeded Berks Catholic fell 66-43 to No. 4 Bishop McDevitt in the 4A quarterfinals and then lost 52-49 to Eastern York in the consolation round. Third-seeded Northern Lebanon defeated No. 6 Trinity 38-35 in the 4A quarterfinals before falling 45-15 to eventual champion Wyomissing in the semifinals.
The Vikings lost 65-44 to Allentown Central Catholic in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A tournament last season.
Overall, Northern Lebanon is 14-18 in District 3 playoff games and has appeared in one championship, winning the 4A title with a 46-44 victory over Bishop McDevitt in 2017.
Berks Catholic holds a 22-17 overall record in districts with three championship appearances and no titles. The Saints fell 38-27 to Lancaster Catholic in the 3A title game in 2016, 58-47 to Lancaster Catholic in the 4A title game in 2018, and 33-27 to Delone Catholic in the 4A title game in 2022.
תגובות