Berks Catholic rides Terrell’s hot hand past Governor Mifflin, 67-54, in Berks quarterfinal

REIFFTON>> Berks Catholic caught the injury bug early, Governor Mifflin caught it late.

It’s the biggest reason why this matchup of No. 2 Mifflin and No. 7 BC felt — and played out — inverted to the seedings.

Dejah Terrell — who missed a chunk of the season with injury — scored a career-high 31 points and snagged 18 rebounds to lead Berks Catholic past Governor Mifflin 67-54 in a BCIAA quarterfinal at Exeter Saturday afternoon. The Saints (12-11) will take on Fleetwood — 43-27 winners over Muhlenberg in the first game at Exeter — on Tuesday night at Santander Arena in the semifinals, where they will attempt to make a third straight league final.

Terrell’s earlier injury was a key reason why coach Bob Birmingham’s club couldn’t snag the Berks 2 regular-season title away from Fleetwood and came into the league tournament as the 7-seed.

Conversely, former high-flying Mifflin (16-7) lost its top two players in Jenn Martin and Tashonna Wright-Gaskins to season-ending injuries just as the regular slate was winding down. As illustration, Saturday’s loss in the Berks tournament was Mifflin’s fourth in the last five games, following a 15-3 start.

“You’ve just got to play it out with the kids you have, and you certainly hope kids don’t get hurt at this level,” Birmingham said. “You want teams to play at their best and then the best team wins. That’s what you want to have happen. And it’s a shame. (Mifflin) has been hit with injuries two out the last three years right at the end of the season, and I feel for ’em. But you’ve got to push through.”

Without Martin and Wright-Gaskins in the lineup, Mifflin was missing 35 points per game from its starters.

That production was sorely missed in Saturday’s second half, as the Saints simply wore the Mustangs down. Head coach Mike Clark’s rotation against BC was nearly non-existent, in an effort just to stay with the Saints. Clark had his starting five play the entire first half, and he did not make a single substitution until the third quarter. Mifflin’s trademark constant press defense was also noticeably absent, simply due to fatigue concerns, until absolutely needed late.

Mustang freshman guard Sydney Payne came out gunning in the first half, attempting to fill the breach. Payne had nine points in the first quarter (she finished with a team-high 17) and was a big reason why Mifflin got to the break dead-even at 28, on the strength of a hot perimeter game. The Mustangs ended up nailing nine 3-balls.

But it wasn’t enough. The tide shifted for good early in the third quarter, when a 6-0 BC run to start gave the Saints a lead they would not relinquish.

“Thirty-five points ain’t playing,” Clark, relentlessly upbeat, said. “But Sydney stepped up. We actually threw her in the lineup and she played big. I was proud of all my young kids, the way they played. They gave them a run for their money.”

For 16 minutes, they did. The Mustangs led, narrowly, at several first-half junctures. But with Terrell’s relentless work at both ends and an over-reliance on the arc from Mifflin, the game invariably slid toward BC’s favor. An 18-10 third quarter supplied the cushion needed to see it out.

Mifflin rallied late in the  game to get it within 59-54 following a Samantha Latshaw 3-ball with 57 seconds left, but ran out of gas and time.

“Defensively, we played better, especially in the third quarter,” Birmingham said. “We got a 10, 12-point lead at that point, and then it was a matter of making foul shots. … We hadn’t played Mifflin this year and we didn’t know what kind of press they’d bring, because they switch it up based on who they have in. I thought we did a pretty good job at it in the first half. We could have done better at it in the fourth quarter. But we’ll keep working at it.”

Clark could feel it slipping away after halftime as well.

“I kind of knew, playing five kids and our freshman; you could see it,” he admitted. “They were doing a great job, but they were wearing down. Eventually, we gave them so many open looks and (BC) was knocking them down.”

Terrell’s game was unable to be stopped by anyone wearing Mifflin colors. The junior big was able to create her shot and sweep glass at th other end.

“(Dejah) did not play outside herself,” Birmingham said. “She knocked down three threes. Gotta tell ya we don’t like her out there, because then we don’t have anybody inside. But when she’s in the flow, she can drain them. She can also do a lot of damage inside, and her free throw shooting has gotten much better.”

Taylor Keys added 10 points for BC, including a layup at the first half buzzer that tied it at 28. Kyra Hartman chipped in with 14 for Mifflin, with Latshaw notching 11.

 

BCIAA quartefinal

at Exeter

 

Berks Catholic 67, Governor Mifflin 54

Berks Catholic – 14  14  18  21 — 67

Governor Mifflin –  15  13  10  16 — 54

Berks Catholic

Dimmerling 1 0-0 3, Leininger 1 4-4 6, Gaffney 3 0-0 6, Duncan 1 2-7 4, Taylor Keys 3 4-4 10, Dejah Terrell 10 8-10 31, Blunt 2 1-2 7, Javier 0-0 0. Totals: 21 19-27 67.

3-point field goals: 6 (Terrell 3, Blunt 2, Dimmerling)

Governor Mifflin

Kyra Hartman 4 4-5 14, H Payne 1 2-4 4, Del Vecchio 3 0-0 6, samantha Latshaw 4 0-0 11, Sydney Payne 6 1-2 17, Serrano 1 0-1 2, Gruber 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 7-12 54.

3-point field goals: 9 (S Payne 4, Latshaw 3, Hartman 2)