Governor Mifflin prevails over Pottsville 65-51; Mustangs win 20th of season

SHILLINGTON>> The only team to come within an arm’s length of Governor Mifflin this season got ’em; that was Mid-Penn Conference foe Central Dauphin back on Dec. 14. The Rams beat the Mustangs by seven points that night.

Pottsville ultimately failed on Saturday afternoon in its attempt, but the Crimson Tide kept it interesting for a half.

Governor Mifflin used a seven-point run coming out of the break as a springboard to seize the lead for good — and never let off the gas pedal — to corral a 65-51 non-league win that was closer than the final margin suggests.

The victory was Mifflin’s 20th in 21 games this season; it may allow the Mustangs to hang onto its razor-thin margin over Cumberland Valley for the second spot in the District 3 Class AAAA power rankings, for the moment, with the postseason on the horizon.

But it wasn’t an easy get.

The Crimson Tide (16-3) were hot early and held leads as large as five points twice during the opening 16 minutes. Behind junior forward Kyra Schenk’s production, Pottsville stayed with Mifflin for a half — leading 34-33 at intermission — until a 7-0 run to open the second half by Mifflin firmly established control of the contest for the hosts.

Mifflin adjusted its defense in the second half to double-team Schenk in the post; she scored just six points in the second half after depositing 15 in the first. Sadie Cresswell supplied perimeter offense with nine points on a trio of 3-pointers, and several other Tide players contributed from beyond the arc.

But Mifflin’s relentless running game was something Pottsville couldn’t match for  32 minutes.

“We didn’t know much about 41 (Schenk) and she scored the first six points on us,” Mifflin head coach Mike Clark said. “We knew about Cresswell and we tried to stop her and go from there.”

Facing pressure flashes with the game still close, the Tide committed several costly turnovers down the stretch in which the Mustangs cashed the chips. As a result, a 50-42 Mifflin lead after three periods mushroomed during the final four minutes.

Clark moved his press D back a bit after the break and was rewarded, with several turnovers leading to easy buckets.

“We overplayed a bit in the press, but we wanted to tire them out and keep ’em running,” Clark said. “In the second half, we moved the press back because we knew they were trying to throw over the top of it (to break it). We said ‘let  them try to throw over it, but jump it (the passes).

“I knew once we got the lead they couldn’t cover us, so we ran a nice, wide-open motion offense.”

Mifflin got a balanced scoring effort with three of its five starters reaching double-digits, paced by Madison Koehler’s team-high 16 on the back of four 3-pointers. The Mustangs also engaged an emerging talent in freshman TaShonna Wright-Gaskins, who came off the bench in the first quarter, with the offense flailing, and immediately injected life with six points. She finished with 11 for the game.

“I think she’s gonna be something special, as long as she sticks to it,” Clark said of Wright-Gaskins. “She’s still a freshman and makes mistakes. Fortunately, she coming to a team that won counties last  year and we have everybody back. She’s gonna be the talk of the town in the next two or three years.”

With the Berks League playoffs looming next weekend and districts beyond that, Clark is determined to keep the 20-1 Mustangs focused on the prize.

“Oh, that keeps me up,” he said, laughing. “I don’t sleep. That’s a work in itself, to keep ’em at practice going against each other hard. What really helps is that loss to Central Dauphin. I go back to that all the time. Every time I think they’re not listening or their heads are big, I make ’em go in there and watch that tape.

“I want to make them know it can happen again.”

 

Governor Mifflin 65, Pottsville 51

Pottsville –  18  16  8  9  — 51

Governor Mifflin — 15  18  17  15  — 65

 

Pottsville

Sherakos 1 0-0 3, Skosnick 0 0-0 0, Burnhauser 3 0-0 7, Plachko 2 0-0 5, Cresswell 3 0-0 9, Comfort 2 0-0 5, Kondvach 0 1-2 1, Kyra Schenk10 1-1 21. Totals 21 2-3 51.

3-pointers: 7 (Cresswell 3, Sherakos, Burnhauser, Plachko, Comfort)

Governor Mifflin

TaShonna Wright-Gaskins 5 1-2 11, Melissa Martin 3 6-10 12, Madison Koehler 5 2-2 16, Kylie Herman 7 0-0 15, J Martin 2 2-4 6, Hartman 2 0-05. Totals: 24 11-18 65.

3-pointers: 6 (Koehler 4, Herman, Hartman)