Reading High Heats Up From 3 to Overcome Schuylkill Valley in BCIAA Quarterfinals
- Sean McBryan
- 34 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Reading High sophomore Jay'Liyah Hood-Marshall and senior Nayara Ortega had hit a combined 13 3-pointers on the year coming into Saturday's BCIAA quarterfinal against Schuylkill Valley.
They combined for eight Saturday to lift the fourth-seeded Red Knights past the fifth-seeded Panthers in a 58-44 victory at the Geigle Complex.
Reading advances to face either Wilson or Kutztown, who play tonight at 7:30, in the BCIAA semifinals next Wednesday at Santander Arena. It's the fourth straight BCIAA playoff win for the defending county champion Red Knights.
This loomed as the season finale for each team as Schuylkill Valley is No. 9 in the District 3 Class 4A power rankings and the top eight qualify. In 6A, Reading High is No. 18 and the top 16 qualify.
Schuylkill Valley implemented an odd-front zone the entire game and dared Reading to take outside jumpers. It worked in the first quarter as the Red Knights (13-10) missed all seven of their field goals and fell behind 14-4.
“A lot of teams play zone because they say we just don’t shoot well," Reading High head coach Rashida Suber said. "But today showed that’s something we can add. We always find a way to dig ourselves out."
Reading stuck to its usual game plan of getting to the rim, but the congestion in the paint made it hard to get good looks.
The Panthers (15-7) were also doing a good job of breaking Reading's vaunted full-court press and converting it into points for their dynamic duo of senior Elyssa Sellers and junior Hannah West, who combined for 11 of Schuylkill Valley's 14 first-quarter points.
“I was thinking this would be a very, very sad way for me to go out," Ortega said. "It’s my last year, so we had to pick it up immediately.”
Amelia Falsone's putback to start the second quarter pushed the lead to 12 and then the comeback started.
"We knew we were not getting to the rim, so the outside shots would be open, and coach [Suber] wanted that," said Hood-Marshall. "We did what we had to do to get our lead.”
Hood-Marshall drilled a 3, which Sellers answered with her signature hanging-in-the-air mid-range jumper.
JilliAnn Laws then converted an and-one off an assist from Xiani Beatty with 6:10 left in the quarter. Beatty, who took on the role as distributor once she realized she was the focal point of the defense, then found Ortega for a corner 3 at 5:31, again at 4:33, and then Hood-Marshall for another at 4:00.
Suddenly the Red Knights had their first lead of the game at 19-18 and Schuylkill Valley head coach Jason Bagenstose took a timeout to recoup with 2:46 left before halftime.
Beatty, who nearly finished with a triple-double, adapted her game to fit what her team needed to get the win after struggling in the first quarter.
“In the beginning, everything was forced," she said. "In the second half, we talked about what needed to be done, and came out and did what had to be done. I trust my teammates to finish when I give it to them."
“She’s starting to see the game," Suber said of her star sophomore. "There’s going to be ups and downs, but when she’s on the floor, our energy is really high.”
Out of the timeout, key guard Hannah Yobb picked up her fourth foul and sent Hood-Marshall to the stripe, where she knocked down two free throws.
West answered with two free throws before another Reading High flurry ensued.
Beatty found Ortega for another 3 at 1:48, scored two straight buckets herself, then found Hood-Marshall for another 3 with 6.9 seconds remaining.
By halftime, the Red Knights had scored 27 points to Schuylkill Valley's nine and led 31-23.
“When the first one went in, I was like, ‘Okay, I got my rhythm. I can start shooting it,’” Hood-Marshall said. “And then once the other ones started going, I was like, ‘Let’s go.’”
Ortega came out of the halftime break face guarding Sellers, who had 10 first-half points.
West hit two 3s in the third quarter to cut the lead to five and eight, but Hood-Marshall and Ortega each hit their fourth 3s, Beatty added another, and Laws hit one at the buzzer to conclude her 10-point individual quarter and give Reading a 52-37 lead headed to the fourth.
The Berks III champion Panthers kept battling in the fourth but could not overcome the deficit. They finish their season with 15 wins and a division title.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
Reading High | 4 | 27 | 21 | 6 | 58 |
Schuylkill Valley | 14 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 44 |
Red Knights (13-10) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
Laws | 5-9 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 1 | 5 | 13 |
Beatty | 4-12 | 3-5 | 1-3 | 11 | 7 | 12 |
Ortega | 5-10 | 1-2 | 4-6 | 0 | 8 | 15 |
McFarlane | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Gaskins | 1-4 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Blijden | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Velez | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Perez | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Sosa | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Hood-Marshall | 4-6 | 4-4 | 4-6 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
Nunez | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Totals | 19-52 | 10-15 | 10-19 | 14 | 29/32 | 58 |
Panthers (15-7) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
Sellers | 7-14 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 6 | 14 |
West | 5-14 | 3-4 | 4-12 | 2 | 2 | 17 |
Falsone | 1-3 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 0 | 10 | 4 |
Yobb | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
Houser | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Butler | 1-1 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
Leone | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Plesnarski | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sensenig | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Totals | 16-35 | 8-14 | 4-14 | 8 | 21/26 | 44 |
Turnovers: Reading High 19, Schuylkill Valley 24. Team rebounds: Reading High 3, Schuylkill Valley 5.