Koenig, Ortiz combine for 46 to help revitalized Gov. Mifflin defeat Reading High for its fourth win in five games
With junior Taylor Koenig on the bench due to injury, Gov. Mifflin’s playoff hopes looked grim after a 5-8 start.
However, with the return of their leading scorer from a season ago, the defending county champions have salvaged what could have been a lost season.
Koenig and the revitalized Mustangs scored their fourth victory in their last five games on Thursday night, defeating Reading High 69-57 in a Berks Girls Basketball League Division I game at Shillington.
“I knew with Taylor back, I thought we’d be something,” Gov. Mifflin coach Mike Clark said. “If you can shoot a deep 3, it opens up everything else for you. Taylor gives that dimension.”
The Mustangs (7-2 Berks I, 9-9) hit six 3-pointers, three of which were courtesy of Koenig, to post their second-highest scoring output of the season. Gov. Mifflin has scored 50 or more points in six of its last seven games.
“This is huge,” Koenig said about the victory. “We always have this energy going in against Reading. It’s all the girls we played against growing up.”
Koenig’s injury stemmed from complications related to OsgoodSchlatter disease, as a piece of bone broke off her leg and was lodged in the patellar tendon in her knee. The piece of bone was surgically removed, forcing Koenig to miss the final two games of the Mustangs’ girls soccer season in late October, as well as the first 12 games of basketball season.
“It changed my mindset,” Koenig said. “I come out here with a different mindset than I used to. I’m more grateful to be able to play.”
Koenig appeared true to form on Thursday night with an impressive 22-point performance, marking the fourth time she has scored in double figures in her five games this season. Koenig leads the team with a 15.2 points per game scoring average.
“I expect that out of Taylor,”
Clark said. “When Taylor’s knee got hurt, she never missed a practice.”
Gov. Mifflin started the game on a 7-0 and led 16-11 after one quarter. Senior Anyah Ortiz scored six points for the Mustangs in the opening quarter and finished with a game-high 24.
The Red Knights (6-3 Berks I, 11-6) responded in the second quarter with a 7-1 run, and the game remained within one possession for the rest of the half. Gov. Mifflin led 30-29 at the break.
Led by Ortiz and Koenig, the Mustangs began to take control in the third with an 18-10 run that consumed most of the quarter and gave Gov. Mifflin a 52-40 lead heading into the fourth.
“When she starts to get everybody else involved, it makes us a much better team,” Clark said about Ortiz. “She can see the floor very well.”
Reading High hung around in the fourth, which was full of fouls from both sides. The Red Knights committed 10 fouls in the second half, while Mustangs had nine.
Reading High senior Heavenly Franklin was 3-for-3 from the line and hit a trio of field goals in the final eight minutes to account for nine of the Red Knights’ 17 fourth-quarter points. She finished with a team-high 21.
Despite Franklin’s efforts, the Mustangs lead hovered around 10 points for the majority of the fourth quarter thanks in large part to a 12-for-14 effort at the free throw line. Ortiz was 6-for-6 from the line in the fourth quarter and 10-for-12 overall.
“This year, Anyah matured,” Clark said. “She wants the ball now, she wants the free throws.”
With Ortiz, Koenig and senior Shakyla Mayo — who scored 15 points — on the floor together, Gov. Mifflin now has the confidence that was not present during the first half of the season. With four games to play, the Mustangs have clawed their way back into contention in the county and district playoff races.
“The energy at practice has completely shifted,” Koenig said.
“There’s more of a good vibe to it.”
While Gov. Mifflin is happy to have its leading scorer back, nobody is more thrilled than Koenig herself.
“I’m so happy,” Koenig said. “When you get stripped of something you love, it hurts.”