It’s business as usual as Wyomissing breezes past Exeter in playoff opener
It’s telling that the Wyomissing Spartans made few defensive adjustments as they prepared to face Berks’ leading scorer in the opening round of the Berks Girls League tournament Saturday afternoon.
Aaron Anders is confident enough in his players and their ability to execute their base defense that he didn’t even think about drawing up something special to throw at Exeter’s Grace Reedy, who was averaging 22.6 points per game.
“We were just doing our regular thing,” said Wyomissing junior Annie McCaffrey. “It worked for us in the regular season, so we wanted to continue it and work together as a team and obviously it paid off.”
The second-seeded Spartans had little trouble with the seventh-seeded Eagles, building a double-digit lead in the first quarter on the way to a 59-26 quarterfinal victory.
The Berks III champs have been a defense-first team all season and that didn’t change Saturday. They played a 1-2-2 zone, trapped at halfcourt and took Reedy out of the game in the first half, holding her to four shots and five points.
“That’s what we do,” said Anders, whose team came in allowing a league-low 27.9 points per game.
Reedy finished with 17 points; 10 of those came in the final 10 minutes, after the Spartans (21-2) had put the game away. They led 44-16 late in the third quarter.
“It’s just working for us right now,” Anders said of the zone defense. “It keeps us fresh, and it keeps us out of foul trouble, and they’re doing a nice job rebounding out of it.”
Wyomissing forced 16 first-half turnovers, many coming at midcourt out of the trap. The Berks II champion Eagles (11-12) turned it over 26 times overall and were held under 30 points for the first time this season. Alexis Hardy had six steals and center Amaya Stewart blocked five shots.
Reedy produced seven of their 10 field goals; only three Exeter players scored.
Anders said the key to slowing down Reedy was to know where she was at all times, push her off her spots and to communicate.
The Spartans checked all of those boxes.
“We’re looking to disrupt as much as possible on the defensive end and make them work,” Anders said. “The more that we make them work the more it’s going to get them out of their offensive set. When you have Annie and Amaya down low, and you have Audrey Hurleman up there (at the top of the zone), it’s a nightmare for people just to get the ball up the court.”
Stewart, a 6-foot sophomore, was a nightmare on both ends. The Division I recruit showed off her improved footwork and post moves in the opening quarter when she scored nine points – two more than the Eagles.
She finished with 17 points on just 13 shots and had a game-high 11 rebounds. Her presence in the lane is a key to Wyomissing’s defense; even if she’s not blocking or altering shots players are in no hurry to take the ball to the rack against her.
“With Amaya inside, and the guards up top, it was hard to get in the middle,” said Reedy.
Lexy Loeb scored 12 points for Wyomissing, hitting four 3-pointers. She’s second in the league with 49 3’s. McCaffrey had nine points and nine rebounds. Hardy also had nine points.
The game could be the last of the season for the Eagles. They’re currently No. 15 in the District 3 Class 5A power ratings; the top 14 qualify. League playoff games do not factor into power rating. The brackets will be officially announced Thursday.
Wyomissing advances to the league semifinals Tuesday at Santander Arena. They face either third-seeded Wilson or sixth-seeded Gov. Mifflin, who meet Saturday night.
No matter who they face the Spartans will be excited to be there for the second time in three seasons.
“That atmosphere is so insane,” McCaffrey said of Santander. “We’re glad to experience it together.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Exeter | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 26 |
| Wyomissing | 18 | 10 | 20 | 11 | 59 |
| Eagles (10-11) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Laverty | 3-8 | 0-2 | 1-3 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Ware | 0-6 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Fylypowcz | 0-6 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Reedy | 7-15 | 1-2 | 2-5 | 0 | 9 | 17 |
| Kopanski | 0-5 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Flood | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Noecker | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 10-41 | 3-8 | 3-11 | 0 | 25-32 | 26 |
| Spartans (21-2) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Hardy | 4-8 | 1-6 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Hurleman | 2-5 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 0 | 8 | 5 |
| L.Loeb | 4-9 | 0-0 | 4-8 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
| Stewart | 7-13 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 11 | 17 |
| McCaffrey | 4-12 | 1-4 | 0-1 | 1 | 9 | 9 |
| Campbell | 2-8 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Marshall | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| B.Loeb | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Maggs | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Noey | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anders | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 24-58 | 7-21 | 4-9 | 7 | 38-42 | 59 |
Turnovers: Exeter 26, Wyomissing 12.
