Lady Mounts Eliminated from Districts

The Lancaster-Lebanon League’s last link to the District Three Class 6A girls basketball playoffs has been eliminated.

Section Two co-champ and No. 4 seed Ephrata saw its season come to a screeching halt Thursday night as Berks County heavyweight Governor Mifflin rode into town and shot the lights out.

The Mustangs made 11 3-pointers —seven in the first half, when they bolted to a 15-point lead — and feasted on 19 turnovers on the way to a convincing 57-33 victory over the host Mountaineers in a quarterfinal game in Ephrata.

“It’s been quite the journey,” Mounts coach Brian Cerullo said. “We weren’t even sure how many games we’d get to play this season. But obviously, this wasn’t the way we wanted our season to end.”

Ephrata, which earned a first-round bye into the quarterfinals, finished its season 12-5 overall. Mifflin, the No. 5 seed and the Berks County Section One champ, improved to 17-5, and the Mustangs will play at No. 1 Cumberland Valley in the semifinals March 9.

The other semifinal will pit No. 3 Central York at No. 2 Central Dauphin, with Ephrata, Cedar Crest, Warwick and L-L League champ Hempfield all out in this year’s coronavirus-induced single-elimination tournament.

Mifflin’s winning formula Thursday was pretty simple: Force turnovers at one end and make shots — a lot of them, particularly from the perimeter — at the other.

Jocelyn Grosch (14 points) hit four 3-pointers, Anyah Ortiz knocked down a trio of treys, and Shakyla

Mayo (13 points) and Stella Mollica (10 points) each hit a pair of triples for the Mustangs; Mollica’s step-back trey late in the third quarter put the senior sniper in the 1,000-point club, and stretched Mifflin’s lead to a cozy 45-14.

Earlier in the third, the Mustangs kicked the game wide open with a devastating 15-0 run. Elisa Fiore had three buckets during the spree, and Mollica, who started the run with a 3-pointer to open the second half, capped the blitz with a pull-up jumper and Mifflin had a 42-12 cushion.

“We gave up too many 3’s,” Cerullo said. “Whether we were in man or in a zone, they were making shots. That’s the best anyone shot against us this year. Again, this wasn’t the way we wanted our season to end.”

Ephrata canned seven 3-pointers —four by Brynn Adams, who scored a teamhigh 12 points — and the Mounts were within 11-6 after the first quarter before the Mustangs took off. Mifflin coaxed in four secondquarter treys and used a 13-0 run for a 27-9 lead on Mayo’s bucket. Grosch bottomed out a pair of 3-pointers during that barrage.

Mifflin, which only turned the ball over six times, also out-rebounded Ephrata 30-23. Jasmine Griffin chipped in with 8 points for the Mounts; she finished her sophomore season with 586 career points.

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