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Girls Basketball Season in Review: Memorable Season, From Start to Finish

Posted on: Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 09:00 CST

By Matt Malinowski, Reading Eagle, Pa.

Mar. 22--More milestones. More championships. More standout individual performances. More thrilling finishes. More teams exceeding expectations. Another Berks Girls League basketball season is in the books, and there are more highlights than this allotted space can accommodate. Here's some of the most notable items from the 2005-06 season: Another title in the Cards Central Catholic returned plenty of talent this season, but it did lose a couple of key contributors in Erin Schneider and Ashley Duffy. Schneider transferred to Holy Name; Duffy transferred to Muhlenberg. Still, behind the leadership of Kelly Wrobel, the team's lone senior, the Cardinals won the Berks IV title, advanced to the Berks semifinals and retained their District 3-A championship. It was the first time in school history the Cardinals won back-toback district titles. Wrobel was the team's leading scorer, but sophomore center Krissy Wrobel, sophomore point guard Casey Hoffmann, sophomore forward Rachel Schleicher and junior guard Sarah Kriebel all were vital in Central's special season. Bulldogs break through Minutes after their final loss, Wilson coach Doug Myer confessed he wasn't sure how good his team was going to be entering the season. Let's just say Myer was very satisfied. After losing in the Berks title game three of the previous four seasons, Wilson defeated Schuylkill Valley for its first league championship since 2000. The Bulldogs didn't lose two straight games until the district playoffs. They reached the PIAA-AAAA Tournament for the first time since 2000. Sophomore point guard Vanessa Rivera, one of the most explosive talents in the county; seniors Katelyn O'Brien and Carissa Philips; junior Steph Binder; and sophomore Sam Simcox were the starters on a balanced team. The milestones For the fifth time in league history, five girls eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in the same season. Exeter senior Cortney Crockett (1,389), Central Catholic senior Kelly Wrobel (1,111), Reading High senior Ashley Giddens (1,060), Muhlenberg junior Rachel Graeff (1,041) and Brandywine Heights senior Mallory Olsheski (1,062) all reached the milestone. Graeff is 99 points shy of the school record of 1,041, set by Sarra Hager in 2000. The best games As always, there were plenty of nail-biters and frantic finishes this season. Here are a few that stood out: Central Catholic 28, Schuylkill Valley 27 : The Cardinals won despite finishing with 31 turnovers.

Wilson 42, Cedar Crest 41 : Steph Binder scored with less than two seconds left, lifting the Bulldogs. Exeter 65, Reading High 58 (OT) : Noel Demko scored seven points in OT for the Eagles. Daniel Boone 23, Hamburg 22 : Holly Dinella hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Blazers the win. Conrad Weiser 54, Wilson 48 : Tiffany Ramos scored 19 points as the Scouts pulled off perhaps the biggest surprise of the season. Fleetwood 42, Wyomissing 41 : Freshman Tori Kinek made a free throw with four seconds left to give the Tigers the upset. Wyomissing 60, Holy Name 59 : Katherine Restrepo's hoop with three seconds left beat Holy Name. York Suburban 39, Muhlenberg 38 : York Suburban took its first lead with eight seconds left and ended the Muhls' season. Surprising Panthers Schuylkill Valley finished 22-6, won the Berks III title, advanced to the county final and reached the second round of the District 3-AA playoffs. Not bad for a team that graduated two 1,000-point scorers. Sophomore Corielle Yarde led the way, averaging a countyhigh 20 points per game. Eagles soar Behind the stellar play of seniors Cortney Crockett and Amanda Giannotti, Exeter advanced to the Berks playoffs for the first time since 1978. The Eagles finished 12-10, their first winning record since finishing 13-9 in 1991. Monster year for Muhls Muhlenberg finished 21-5, its most wins since going 27-6 in 1991. Its five losses were the fewest in a season since finishing 24-4 in 1978. The Muhls reached the Berks playoffs for the first time since 2000. A job well done Terry Sitler has stepped down as head coach at Brandywine Heights, where he helped turn a struggling program into a perennial playoff qualifier. Sitler took over the Bullets in 1995; they finished 0-23 his first season. By the way, they finished 0-20 the previous season. The Bullets won 11 games and qualified for the Berks and District 3-AA playoffs in 1998. Brandywine has qualified for the Berks and district playoffs every season since 2001. The Bullets won division titles in 2001 and 2002. And thanks to Sitler's patience, the Bullets also have won respect.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Reading Eagle, Pa.

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Source: Reading Eagle

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