Four left in championship chase
Raiders, Mustangs advance: Twin Valley’s reserves have some fun; Mifflin’s Serrano takes charge
While on his way to posting his 100th coaching win with Twin Valley’s girls, Mark Morrow was booed by his own bench.
It was playful, of course. Teams can have that sort of fun when they’re winning by 40 points.
The moment came when Morrow called a timeout just before Taylor Zdradzinski made a 15-foot jumper in the fourth quarter. The perfect swish didn’t count.
“I froze her out,” Morrow said with a laugh. “I wanted to get a couple of girls into the game and it didn’t look like they were going to call a foul any time soon.”
It was the only false step the Raiders took when they defeated No. 8 Brandywine Heights 7436 in the BCIAA girls basketball quarterfinals at Exeter Saturday.
Top-seeded Twin Valley (18-5) advanced to face No. 4 Gov. Mifflin (18-5) in Tuesday’s semifinals. It’s the second game of a doubleheader at Santander Arena that starts with Berks Catholic playing Reading High at 6 p.m.
Mifflin defeated fifth-seeded Wilson 54-35 in the other quarterfinal at Exeter Saturday.
Morrow is 100-34 since taking over before the 2015-16 season. It’s the most successful era in program history.
It has obviously helped to have Berks Player of the Year Peyton McDaniel and several other terrific players putting on that green and white uniform in recent years.
McDaniel finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in about 14 minutes Saturday. She raised her career total to 1,930 points. Natali Foster had 16 points and Ava Morrow had 13.
Twin Valley built a 20-4 lead by the end of the first quarter, so much of the day belonged to the team’s reserves.
It belonged to players like Anna Kaplan, who scored a career-high eight points, and Anna Yost, who scored her first two varsity baskets. Senior Rebecca Ressel had six points and captain Deana Gorgone had four.
Eleven players had field goals. “It was really exciting,” Kaplan said. “People who haven’t gotten the chance to play much were scoring. It got everyone excited on the bench. Everyone was really happy.”
Ashlyn Clark and Olivia Daddona each scored 14 points for Brandywine (7-15), which was making its second county playoff appearance in three seasons.
Mifflin’s path to the semifinals was tougher. The Mustangs built an eight-point halftime lead and used an 11-0 run in the third quarter to pull away from Wilson.
Gloria Serrano finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
“This year I’ve really started to expand what I can do,” Mifflin’s senior said. “Start shooting more. Start driving more. Rebounding. I’ve tried doing a little bit of everything so I’m hard to guard.”
Serrano was a part-time player during Mifflin’s run to the county championship last season. She became a starter this season.
During the last few games, she has been one of the best players on the floor. She scored 22 points vs. Abington, 19 against Reading High and 20 vs. Wilson.
Those are the three highest totals of her career.
Mifflin coach Mike Clark knew Serrano had untapped potential.
It has been unlocked.
“She should have started last year,” Clark said. “Gloria is one of those kids that you’ve got to put a fire under her butt. Make her earn it. Don’t give it to her.”
With her senior season nearing the end, Serrano is determined to make the most of the playoffs.
“Now I’m just playing to my full potential,” she said. “I always knew I was capable of this. This year I’ve got to give everything I’ve got. This is my last year. I’ve got to go out with a bang.”
Kaya Burkhart, who scored her 1,000th career point against Mifflin last month, scored 11 points to lead Wilson (12-10).
Business is about to get more serious for Twin Valley, which split two meetings with Mifflin.
Saturday was a moment to exhale, have some fun and give the bench players their chance to shine.
Morrow is always looking to lengthen his bench. This was the perfect opportunity.
“As a coach, that’s actually very fulfilling,” he said. “You understand a lot of these kids don’t get a lot of time during the year. But they’re there for every practice, every film session, every extracurricular thing we do. I told them ... ‘You’ve earned the right to be on this floor.’”