Wilson Clinches Third Straight Division Title with Sweep of Gov. Mifflin

Wilson put together a balanced effort to defeat Gov. Mifflin 66-50 Tuesday night in West Lawn and clinch its third straight Berks I title.

Kailani Hardy had a team-high 16 points, Laura Crocona had 15, and Ryan Leaman had 13 for the Bulldogs (10-0, 17-2), who won their ninth straight game.

Wilson's Kailani Hardy lines up a 3. (PhilMarPhoto)

Wilson clinched the division with the win since it beat Gov. Mifflin 54-35 on Dec. 15. The best the Mustangs (8-2, 12-5) can now do is tie the Bulldogs, who would get the tiebreaker based on head-to-head record.

Every other Berks I team already has three league losses or more.

Berks I Standings	League	Overall
Wilson	10-0	17-2
Gov. Mifflin	8-2	12-5
Reading High	6-3	11-8
Berks Catholic	3-6	6-11
Muhlenberg	0-9	0-16

The Mustangs kept it close early with Saray Renninger's putback making it 8-7 midway through the first.

The Bulldogs closed the quarter on a 16-5 run behind Hardy's eight points, including two 3s. Wilson answered every response the Mustangs had the rest of the way.

Mifflin's Brooklyn George hit a 3 late in the third quarter to cut the lead to single digits at 49-40, but Hardy responded with a 3 of her own. The Bulldogs extended their lead in the fourth.

Hardy also had seven assists, six rebounds, and three steals. Leaman added nine rebounds and four assists. Violet Houck had six points, nine rebounds, two steals, and three blocks. Laila Jones had nine points, six rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block. Jade Lee had seven points and 10 rebounds.

Wilson's Ryan Leaman. (PhilMarPhoto)

Bella Super had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead Gov. Mifflin. Berks' top scorer briefly left the game for the last 2:58 of the second quarter after an apparent ankle injury before returning in the second half.

Bridget Martin had 17 points for the Mustangs.

It's the third consecutive Berks I title for Wilson and also likely clinches the top overall seed in the BCIAA tournament since its power ranking is significantly higher than the next seed.

And the Bulldogs will be bloodthirsty for some hardware.

Last season they finished 10-2 in league play and 20-10 overall. The Bulldogs fell 60-56 to Gov. Mifflin in the BCIAA semifinals and 40-29 to Dallastown in the district quarterfinals before winning their first state playoff game in 11 years with a 51-46 victory over Upper Dublin. They were then upended by Philly Catholic League powerhouse Archbishop Carroll 60-41 in the second round.

Two years ago, Wilson finished a perfect 12-0 in league play and 24-5 overall. Four of those losses came in February and March. Wyomissing defeated the Bulldogs in the BCIAA championship. Central Dauphin defeated them in the district semifinals. Lebanon defeated them in the district third-place game. Conestoga defeated them in the first round of states. Their only other loss came to Dallastown in the regular season.

This season, Wilson hasn't lost since a 49-38 defeat to Dallastown three days before Christmas. Dallastown is one of three teams ahead of the Bulldogs in the District 3 Class 6A power rankings with Red Lion and Central Dauphin.

The Bulldogs' only other loss on the season is to Philly Catholic League powerhouse Cardinal O'Hara, which beat them 61-49 on Dec. 11.

	1	2	3	4	Final
Wilson	24	11	17	14	66
Gov. Mifflin	12	9	19	10	50

Bulldogs (10-0, 17-2)	FG	FT	3’s	A	R	Points
V. Houck	3-6	0-0	0-0	1	9	6
Jones	4-11	0-0	1-3	4	6	9
Leaman	5-11	0-0	3-6	4	9	13
Crocona	6-17	0-0	3-11	2	1	15
Hardy	6-15	0-0	4-10	7	6	16
Tisdale	0-2	0-0	0-0	0	1	0
Lee	3-6	1-3	0-0	0	10	7
Totals	27-68	1-3	11-30	18	42/46	66

Mustangs (8-2, 12-5)	FG	FT	3’s	A	R	Points
Super	7-20	3-5	2-7	1	9	19
George	2-12	1-3	1-6	0	8	6
Martin	6-17	4-6	1-4	2	4	17
Renninger	3-7	1-1	0-1	0	7	7
Case	0-5	1-2	0-2	2	4	1
Tobin	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	2	0
Totals	18-62	10-17	4-20	5	34/40	50

Turnovers: Wilson 9, Gov. Mifflin 9. Team rebounds: Wilson 4, Gov. Mifflin 6.