City of Basketball Love

Jared Leveson (@jared_leveson)
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BENSALEM — Boxing has changed Mikayla Donahue's attitude on and off the floor.

In years past, while playing basketball, she knew she wasn't the fastest on the team. So she wouldn't try to beat anybody during sprints. She'd give up before ever trying.

When she didn't get the minutes she thought she deserved, Donahue would stew on the bench, mulling her negative thoughts repeatedly. 

But once she stepped into boxing trainer Tiger Allen's gym with her step-father and the grueling workouts began, when the repeated jabs and hooks to the face and body kept coming, a flip switched in her head.

"I know I'm a tough kid," she said. "But I definitely had my moments where I could've been better." 

Donahue has taken that to heart this year and applied it to the court because she should've been better as a player and a teammate, and Bensalem girls' basketball should've been better. 

"(My attitude) never helped in the years before and our record goes to show that," she added. "This year that slight little change is making a big impact." 

This season, the Owls are better, and it's because of the selfless attitude instilled by Donahue and the other seniors who bought into head coach Steve Johnson's "We Not Me" mantra. A true mark of their turnaround was defeating archrival and SOL Patriot opponent Pennsbury 44-40 on Tuesday night. 

The Owls hadn't beaten the Falcons in 15 games, dating back to 2016. The win pushed Bensalem to a 13-5 (8-4 SOL) mark and into second place in the Patriot Division, moving a half-game ahead of Council Rock South; they’re also ninth in the district rankings, on the edge of a potential first-round bye in the 6A field. 

They are having their best season since the 2019-2020 campaign, when they went 12-10 but lost in the opening round of the SOL playoffs.

"It's such a big win," Donahue said. "We haven't beaten Pennsbury in my four years. They are well coached and just a good team and we've gotten so much better over the years. We really came together this year… and trusted each other on and off the court." 

"I don't think we win the game without everyone's performance, especially Mikayla," the fourth-year head coach added. "I don't know how many minutes she averages, maybe 12 a game. She's a senior [but] juniors and sophomores start over her, but she never complained.

"Today, she had the hot hand, and we went with it." 

This year's been different because of the senior leadership from players like Peyton Miller, who brings the team together off the floor, and Amber Howard, who's unselfish during the game. 

Donahue makes everyone laugh, too, with her jokes and dancing. Still, her most significant impact has come from her mental toughness. 

She used to be one to shut down when things were going her way or the team's way. But sparring at Tiger Allen's gym and shooting hoops with Johnson over the years has shown her the light.

Now, she's not letting her teammates do the same as she did. Donahue will pick their chins up when they are down and encourage her teammates when the game appears out of hand, even when she isn't playing as much as she'd like to or expected. 

"It did get to me a little bit," the future Temple University student admitted. "But at the same time, I have to be a good teammate and be there for them. It's not about me. It's we, not me." 

She always tries to affect the game in any way she can, either through defending, rebounding, or shooting. 

Against Pennsbury, it was all about shooting. 

Although Donahue needed the first two quarters and the halftime break to heat up, she boiled over in the third. 

The senior guard got 13 points in the second half on 5-of-6 shooting. She didn't miss a three.

Knotted up at 13 after the half, the Owls went on a six-point spurt to start the second half behind seniors Howard (North Carolina A&T) and Miller, who asserted themselves over a smaller Pennsbury squad. 

The Falcons and senior Layla Matthias (4 steals) swung back and started a 9-0 run that put Pennsbury up 22-19 with under two minutes left in the third frame. 

Donahue found herself open in the corner and netted the three-ball to tie the game at 22. 

Pennsbury's Sofia Vitucci (23 points) followed that up by knocking one down from the elbow. 

The Owls' Grace McShane responded by pushing the pace and found Donahue open again in the corner, who splashed home the three, putting Bensalem back up one. 

Pennsbury turned the ball over on the next possession. Talia DiMichele followed McShane's lead and found Donahue alone on the wing in transition. Splash. 

"She was hot," Howard said. "It gave us a good run. The crowd energy was there. The bench energy was there. [It] just energized the whole team." 

"She was ready when her time was called," Johnson added. 

Howard capped off Bensalem's 8-0 run to close the third frame with a Eurostep lay-in before the buzzer, giving the Owls a 30-24 lead heading into the fourth. 

Vitucci wasn't done and continued her scoring tear. She knotted the game again at 34 each with under four minutes remaining and then got the Falcons within one point with under two minutes to go. 

Up 39-38, Johnson called a timeout. Composure has been a theme for his team since taking over Bensalem four years ago. The moment may have consumed the Owls in past years, but Donahue and the other seniors wouldn't let that happen again. 

Donahue took it on herself and drove from the wing across the paint, kissing the ball off the backboard to put the Owls up 41-38 with a minute to go. She finished another bunny with 18 seconds remaining to extend their lead by four. 

Their four-point lead held untill the final buzzer. 

"Not just this season but all four years we have taken our lumps against Pennsbury, Council Rock South, Neshaminy," Johnson said. "Not just losing, but we've got blown out these games, so this has kinda been building since their freshman year."

"It's great to have people think that we're not just Bensalem anymore," Donahue added. "It was our last shot at (Pennsbury), unless we face them in the playoffs, and it just feels good to finally get one against them, especially at home on our senior night."

It'll be critical for the Owls to maintain their unselfish play and mental toughness down the stretch as they embark on the uncharted waters of postseason play. 

By Quarter:
Bensalem: 5 | 8 | 17 | 14 || 44
Pennsbury: 8 | 5 |11 | 16 || 40

Scoring:
Bensalem: Mikayla Donahue 13, Amber Howard 11, Peyton Miller 10, Talia DiMichele 9, Devon Bell 1

Pennsbury: Sofia Vitucci 23, Matthias 5, Joley Holman 3, Maggie Burns 3, Emily Panaro 2, Danielle Sherman 1