On one side is a team led by underclassmen actualizing their potential; the other is a upperclassmen-laden squad with seniors who want to end their careers with some hardware.
The rhombus-shaped trophy signifying the Berks Girls League champion will either go home with Reading High to the historic Geigle Complex, which opened in the early 1970s, or roughly five miles down the road with Gov. Mifflin to the new Gov. Mifflin Athletic Community Center (GMACC), which opened in 2023.
The third-seeded Mustangs (16-8) and fourth-seeded Red Knights (16-8) were each underdogs in their semifinal games Thursday according to seeding, but found a way to advance to the final scheduled for Friday at 6:00 p.m. in Santander Arena.
Sophomore guard Bella Super scored 25 points to lead the Mustangs to a 60-56 comeback victory over No. 2 Wilson. Senior guard Yamilex Rodriguez scored 16 points, including the game-winner with 15 seconds left, to lift Reading High to a 40-38 victory over top-seeded and two-time defending champion Wyomissing.
Sophomore guard Brooklyn George scored a team-high 12 points in Mifflin's 54-45 win over Twin Valley in the quarterfinals. Rodriguez scored a team-high 15 points in Reading's 44-28 victory over Conrad Weiser in the quarterfinals.
Gov. Mifflin has won the most Berks Girls League titles with 14. The Mustangs most recent title came in 2022 with a 47-34 victory over Wilson behind 19 points from Shakyla Mayo.
Mifflin has won five titles this decade: 2022, 2020, 2019, 2016, and 2015. They now have 19 championship appearances, the second most in Berks history behind Wilson's 22.
Reading High is tied with Wilson for second-most trophies at nine and now has 17 title game appearances.
Reading's last county championship was in 2010, a 40-39 victory over Wilson, which capped a span of six Berks Girls League titles starting in 2002. Deva'Nyar Workman led the Red Knights with 19 points on Reading's last title team.
The Red Knights have been back to the championship game four times since 2010, most recently two seasons ago in a 46-28 loss to Wyomissing. They also lost to Mifflin 52-34 in 2020, Mifflin 61-53 in double OT in 2019, and 62-53 to Wilson in 2012.
The 2020 and 2019 matchups are the only times the Mustangs and Red Knights have faced off in the county championship.
The Berks I foes have played each other twice this season with each winning a game on the other's home court.
Rodriguez swiped a late steal and made the ensuing free throws to give the Red Knights a 50-48 victory over the Mustangs in Shillington on Jan. 7. On Feb. 3, Super scored 15 points to lead the Mustangs to a 52-42 win over a shorthanded Red Knights, who were coming off an on-court incident in their previous game against Wilson that resulted in multiple suspensions.
Here's a breakdown of Reading High and Gov. Mifflin's stats.
Rodriguez, a 5-4 guard, leads the Red Knights with a 13.7 scoring average (sixth in Berks) and 13 3s. She's made 55 free throws this season at a Berks-best 84.6-percent clip.
Senior 5-9 wing Tamyia Collier (8.7 ppg), freshman 5-7 guard Xiani Beatty (7.6 ppg), junior 5-11 forward JilliAnn Laws (4.9 ppg). senior 5-10 forward Zaniaya Bradley (3.8 ppg), senior 5-9 wing Elyssa Spring (3.8 ppg), senior 5-3 guard Kailani Ocasio (3.1 ppg), and junior 5-10 forward Nayara Ortega (3.0 ppg) round out Reading's top scorers.
Reading High head coach Rashida Suber goes deep into her bench with 10 players appearing in 19 or more games.
The Red Knights have the No. 4 scoring offense at 49.1 ppg, but get the majority of those points inside the arc with only 49 made 3s. They are the No. 5 foul shooting team in Berks by free throw percentage (59.2-percent) and the No. 6 scoring defense at 40.3 points allowed per game.
Reading High head coach Rashida Suber (photo courtesy of Bill Snook) and Gov. Mifflin head coach Mike Clark (PhilMarPhoto).
Super, a 5-7 guard, leads the Mustangs with a 19.2 scoring average and 45 3s. Super is the No. 2 scorer in Berks trailing only Wyomissing's Amaya Stewart (19.8 ppg). The 45 made 3s are second in the league trailing only Brandywine Heights' Sophia Benner (64 made 3s).
Senior 6-0 center Mia Vazquez averages 9.7 points per game and has made 52 free throws at a 71.2-percent clip, one of only 12 players in Berks to shoot 70-percent or better from the foul line.
George, a 5-8 guard, averages 8.5 ppg and has made 36 3s. Sophomore 5-7 guard Bridget Martin (7.7 ppg, 14 3s), freshman 5-11 forward Saray Renninger (5.9 ppg, 17 3s), and senior guard Jayda Armstrong (1.8 ppg) is about as deep as Gov. Mifflin head coach Mike Clark's rotation goes. Clark has been the head coach for all five Berks Girls League titles Mifflin has won this decade.
Freshman guard Abby Brumbach is the only other player to appear in more than eight games.
The Mustangs have the top scoring offense in Berks at 53.1 ppg and like to let it fly from deep. They've made 131 3s on the season, second-most in Berks behind Brandywine Heights' 133. They are the No. 4 foul shooting team in Berks with a 59.4-percent team average. The Mustangs allow the fifth-most points per game in Berks at 43.7, only Muhlenberg, Antietam, Daniel Boone, and Fleetwood allow more.
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