Miller sure was right, as the Magic coasted to their third District 1 title in the last five years with a 45-23 rout of top-seeded Council Rock North on Friday night at Villanova.
In their five District 1 playoff games, the second-seeded Magic (26-3) dominated their opponents, with an average winning margin of 25 points.
"The way we've been winning has been totally unexpected and we'd like to keep it going as we enter into [the PIAA state tournament]," said Miller, who recorded his 601st career coaching win with the victory.
The Magic were led by do-everything senior Mary Jo Horgan, who was all over the court in the team's highly active motion offense. She said she came into the game overly focused and let it slip for only a brief period - about three seconds, to be exact.
With 1 minute, 33 seconds left in the third quarter, Horgan was transitioning back on offense down the right wing when her eyes met a gray band that had fallen off the head of a Council Rock North player.
The Mount senior quickly picked up the hair accessory, threw it to the sideline, and in one motion found her place on the low block. She then caught a pass from senior Steph Smith and scored on a turnaround for two of her 14 points.
"I just wanted to get [the hairband] off the court and keep going," Horgan said. "Steph found me."
The Magic's trademark man-to-man defense held Council Rock North (25-2) to four points over the first two quarters and scoreless for the first 6:30 of the third.
With 4 minutes, 13 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Horgan highlighted the team's intensity as she jumped the route on an Indians pass at halfcourt and raced the rest of the way for an easy layup to give the team a 15-point lead.
"We knew they were a great team, and we applied good defensive pressure," said Horgan, who forced seven turnovers.
Council Rock North's Lauren Gold watched the game from the bench after she had torn two ligaments in her right knee during Wednesday's semifinal victory over Lower Merion.
Coach Lou Palkovics said the loss of Gold was "important, but not an excuse." The injury caused the Indians to not be able to put as much pressure on the Magic frontcourt as they had hoped.
"We came out scared and shell-shocked," Palkovics said. "It's not like we haven't played in front of crowds like this."
Mount St. Joseph 12 9 14 10 - 45
Council Rock North 2 2 10 9 - 23
MSJ: Bridget Higgins 16, Mary Jo Horgan 14, Maddie Kohler 5, Alex Louin 4, Steph Smith 6.
CRN: Megan Cunningham 7, Alyssa Dumont 10, Devin Gold 3, Emily Grundman 3.
Contact staff writer Matt Breenat 215-854-4550
or mbreen@phillynews.com.
