Hoop Notes: Lynx take key girls crossover, growing pains for Spartans, and more

By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent

A result that didn’t receive much attention last week could alter the Berks girls basketball playoff picture.

Oley Valley knocked off Fleetwood 55-53 in a Berks III-IV crossover at Fleetwood Friday night. Those teams are both in second place in their divisions and this score will be the tiebreaker if both finish second.

The Lynx are loaded with young talent and have a team to watch in the future. Starters Ryanne Wheeler, Morgan Snyder and Dana Messner are sophomores. Wheeler is averaging 12.6 points and Snyder is at 11.9. That group complements seniors Kelsey Biehn and Kristina Kauffman.

The victory over Fleetwood gives Oley Valley a second path to the county playoffs, which it hasn’t reached since 2019. The Lynx weren’t going to qualify on power rating. 

Oley (4-1, 6-8) could still chase down first-place Brandywine Heights (6-0, 10-1) for the division title. Otherwise, that win over Fleetwood will loom large.

Firing away

Gov. Mifflin remains the biggest threat to Berks Catholic’s hopes of repeating as county champ. The Mustangs appear to be getting stronger since they fell to the Saints 65-48 on Dec. 21.

It’s a familiar formula that’s guiding Mifflin. A balanced scoring attack with lots of 3-pointers. The Mustangs have made 29 more 3s than any other team in the league.

Taylor Koenig’s 26 3-pointers are second only to Boyertown’s Carlie Schweizer in Berks. The 5-8 sophomore is having a breakout season. She has made 20 3-pointers in her last eight games and is averaging 11.4 points.

Mifflin is the only team with four players averaging double figures. Shakyla Mayo (12.2 points), Elisa Fiore (10.4) and Anyah Ortiz (10.4) join Koenig and make the Mustangs difficult to defend.

Although Mifflin hasn’t been tested in league play since the BC loss, it defeated Gettysburg, ranked No. 1 in District 3 Class 5A power ratings, on Dec. 28. The Mustangs lost by four points to District 1 power Abington last weekend.

Injury bug

Twin Valley lost its leading scorer heading into a challenging week on the schedule. Natali Foster is out approximately 10 days due to a wrist injury, according to coach Doug Myer.

The Raiders (4-1, 9-4), who are the frontrunners in Berks II, will face Reading High, Wilson and Lampeter-Strasburg this week. Myer, the longtime Wilson coach, will return to his old gym Friday night.

Foster was injured during a loss against Berks Catholic Thursday and didn’t play against Oley Valley Saturday. She’s averaging 16.1 points, third-most in the league.

A new rivalry

Brandywine Heights’ visit to Schuylkill Valley (5-0, 12-1) wasn’t a matchup circled on the calendar in December. Maybe it should have been. Those two are a combined 22-2 heading into Tuesday’s showdown. The Bullets are in first place in Berks III; the Panthers lead Berks IV.

Freshman Addison Benner, who leads Brandywine at 14.1 points, should receive All-Berks consideration. So should Schuylkill Valley senior Madison Ziska at 14.2 points.

Keep an eye on the Bullets in the district playoffs. They’re ranked No. 1 in a Class 3A field that only features one other team, Trinity, with a winning record.

Growing pains

Wyomissing’s streak of division titles will likely end at seven. The Spartans are three games behind Schuylkill Valley in Berks III. They’ve finished at least tied for first every season since 2014-15.

This was always going to be a transition year for Wyomissing. Coach Aaron Anders starts freshmen Amaya Stewart, Alexis Hardy, Audrey Hurleman and sophomore Annie McCaffrey, who didn’t play last season due to injury. It’s hard to win with four starters who had no varsity experience on opening night.

This is a supremely talented group and it will make its presence felt in the league before long. Wyomissing already has one-possession losses to division leaders Twin Valley and Schuylkill Valley. 

Free throw shooting has been the Spartans’ kryptonite. They’re at 42.2% at the line as a team and went 2-for-12 in the fourth quarter of a 34-32 loss to the Panthers Saturday.