The Burrell girls basketball team was comfortably in contention for a WPIAL playoff spot heading into its Section 1-4A matchup Thursday at Freeport.
All the Bucs needed to officially clinch that postseason berth was a win over the Yellowjackets.
Mission accomplished.
Freshman Chase Coury led Burrell with 19 points, and senior Casey Brancato and junior McKenna Miller added 10 apiece in a 55-39 victory that completed a season sweep of its rival.
Burrell defeated Freeport, 59-30, in the first meeting Jan. 5 at Burrell.
The Bucs improved to 13-6 overall and 6-3 in the section. They will take on District 9’s Redbank Valley on Monday before closing out section play Thursday at Oakland Catholic.
“Both are really good, tough teams, so they will be good tests for us going into the playoffs,” Burrell coach Shaun Reddick said. “We hope to continue to build. Tonight was a good win leading into those games.”
Freeport fell to 10-9 overall, 4-6 in the section. But the Yellowjackets sit in good position to make the playoffs. They will receive a forfeit win from Highlands to put them at 5-6, and they can clinch at least a tie for fourth in the section if Knoch (4-6) loses to North Catholic on Monday.
Freeport caps its section slate Thursday at home against the Knights before closing the regular season Feb. 9 against Deer Lakes at Freeport Middle School
“We’ve had a tough run with Oakland, North Catholic and Burrell all in a row,” Freeport coach Jason Kerr said. “But the girls have grown through each experience. Now, we want to finish strong, and I know the girls are ready for that.”
A free throw from junior Macy Stivenson at 4 minutes, 21 seconds of the first quarter gave Freeport its last lead of the game at 7-6.
Miller came back with a basket 14 seconds later to give Burrell a lead it would not relinquish.
Freeport gave Burrell problems in the first quarter, but despite five turnovers and other missed opportunities on offense, the Bucs led 14-10 after the first eight minutes.
“We absolutely respect Freeport, and they definitely came to play tonight,” Reddick said. “We were coming off playing a top 5A team in Plum (70-62 loss) and a top team in 4A in North Catholic (59-51 loss) on Tuesday, and we left it all out on the floor in both games.
“Now, coming into this game, there’s always a chance for a letdown. For most of the first half, we weren’t really playing our defense. We weren’t really rebounding. Freeport was hanging around, playing well and gaining a lot of confidence.”
Burrell started to assert itself more in the second quarter. An early 3-pointer from freshman Kendall Coury put the Bucs up 20-12.
Senior Mikayla Coury sank 1 of 2 from the free-throw line with 30 seconds until the break to give Burrell its largest lead of the first half at 33-19.
“In years past, when we would give up points, we were scratching to get them back,” Reddick said. “Now, we have people who don’t panic and just answer by making plays and scoring points. That kind of stuff really takes hold. Freeport hits some big shots, but we would come back and hit some big shots of our own.”
Burrell held its biggest lead of the game at 49-30 when Chase Coury drained a 3-pointer with 1 minute left in the third.
Freeport whittled the deficit to 12 twice early in the fourth quarter, but when the Yellowjackets appeared to be on the doorstep of a run, Burrell was there to quell any further uprisings.
“Our defensive rebounding wasn’t where it needed to be to maintain those little mini runs that we had,” Kerr said. “We would make that push, and then we would give up a second or third chance. When you put yourself in a hole, you can’t give up those chances when you are trying to draw back. That was the biggest factor.”
Freshman Sydney Reiser led Freeport with 19 points. Twelve of her 19 came in the third quarter on four 3-pointers. Senior Nia DiSanti scored just two points but had 10 rebounds.
Miller and freshman Peyton Coury recorded nine and eight rebounds, respectively, for Burrell.
“I give the girls a lot of credit for how much they hustled out there,” Kerr said. “That is the way we’ve been playing all year. I think they’ve gone under the radar a little bit with how tough the section is. The girls have been battling. We’ve come a long way with the hustle and discipline.
“With exerting that much energy like they did tonight, after a while, places you need to be and things you need to do can slip a little bit, and I think that is what happened.”