There were plenty of outcome-altering plays by both sides Tuesday night in an epic Berks I matchup between Reading High and Gov. Mifflin at the Gov. Mifflin Athletic Community Center (GMACC) in Shillington.
Reading High senior guard Yamilex Rodriguez made the paramount play stealing the ball, immediately attacking the rim, and drawing a shooting foul with 1.6 seconds left in a tie game.
"I knew I had to be cautious to not foul," Rodriguez, who had six total steals, said of the timely one. "But I knew that when I went for the ball, I was 100-percent going to get it. I knew it was my chance and I trusted my teammates had me if I didn't get it."
She was right, but she still had to make a free throw. That was the easy part.
"Because of the amount of work I put in the gym on my free throws, I was confident going up to the line," said Rodriguez, who works on her game year-round during AAU with K-Low Elite and training with New Age Hoops. "I knew once I got that steal we were going to be good."
Rodriguez smoothly knocked down both free throws and the Red Knights defeated Gov. Mifflin 50-48 to move into a first-place tie with the Mustangs in Berks I.
The Mustangs (4-1, 7-4) led 10-7 after the first quarter as the Red Knights (4-1, 9-4) and Rodriguez (1-for-5 from the field) struggled to make baskets.
Rodriguez made two free throws to give Reading a 13-12 lead with 5:29 left in the second quarter. Those were her only points in the quarter as she finished with four first-half points.
Reading's top scorer at 14.3 points per game didn't force anything; she didn't attempt a field goal in the quarter and trusted her teammates, who had the Red Knights up 23-22 at halftime.
That's symbolic of Rodriguez's gradual maturation on the basketball court into the player she is today. A key four-year varsity contributor, she's learned to balance scoring with trusting her teammates.
"It's been sweet to watch," Reading High head coach Rashida Suber said of her point guard's development. "She has so much to her game, but it took time for her to learn how to be the leader. As a freshmen, she had to learn the ropes.
"She's in a different mental space now. She's a different player. She's just trying to be there for her teammates the right way, leading by her words and actions. She's the one that brings us together."
A big realization occurred for Rodriguez when she was a junior last season and an injury kept her out of the Red Knights' final game, a 10-point BCIAA quarterfinal loss to Wyomissing.
"There have been physical changes like my jump shot and getting to the basket," Rodriguez said. "But the biggest change has really been my mental. If I'm good mentally, I'm going to be good for my teammates, set an example, and be a leader."
She scored seven of her team-high 16 points in the third quarter Tuesday, which Reading began on a 9-0 run to go up by 10. She converted an and-one with 2:20 left in the quarter to give the Red Knights their largest lead of the game at 14.
"We were really working as a team in the third quarter as far as sharing the ball," Rodriguez said. "A lot of our points were just fast breaks and being able to run transition like we practice. It was a major part, just playing the way we play instead of playing their game."
The Red Knights led 38-27 headed to the final quarter.
Rodriguez converted another and-one with 7:09 left in the game to push the lead back to double-digits at 41-29.
Then all hell broke loose as Mifflin's defense created turnovers and the Mustangs caught fire.
Brooklyn George made a free throw and a 3. Bella Super made two straight quick buckets and a foul shot. Reading turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds pass. Super drilled a stepback 3 with 4:45 left.
Suddenly it was 41-41.
George then hit a baseline jumper and drew a charge on Reading's next possession. A wild scramble for the ball ended up in Super's hands for an easy layup and Mifflin led by four with less than 3:00 remaining.
Zanaiya Bradley made a nice move in the post for two and Tamyia Collier made two foul shots to tie it for Reading, but Bridget Martin drilled a 3 with 51 seconds left to give the lead back to Mifflin.
After a missed shot on the Red Knights' next possession, Jill Laws made a clutch play grabbing the rebound and finishing the and-one putback to again tie the game with 46.1 seconds left.
Both teams jossled possessions while trying to position themselves for the last shot before Rodriguez made the one play that mattered most. She led.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
Reading High | 7 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 50 |
Gov. Mifflin | 10 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 48 |
Red Knights (4-1, 9-4) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
Rodriguez | 5-13 | 6-6 | 0-2 | 3 | 2 | 16 |
Collier | 3-8 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 1 | 6 | 9 |
Beatty | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
Ortega | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Laws | 4-7 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 7 | 9 |
Ocasio | 2-11 | 0-0 | 2-9 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
Spring | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Bradley | 2-5 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Blidjen | 0-2 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Velez | 1-3 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Totals | 17-55 | 12-17 | 4-17 | 6 | 34/39 | 50 |
Mustangs (4-1, 7-4) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
Super | 10-22 | 2-5 | 1-9 | 3 | 1 | 23 |
George | 4-11 | 1-2 | 1-5 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
Martin | 2-4 | 3-5 | 1-2 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
Vazquez | 0-2 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
Renninger | 2-8 | 1-2 | 0-3 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
Armstrong | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Totals | 18-49 | 9-18 | 3-21 | 4 | 23/30 | 48 |
Turnovers: Gov. Mifflin 19, Reading High 22. Team rebounds: Gov. Mifflin 7, Reading High 5.
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