‘The big kid’ takes over, leads Spartans past Saints and into PIAA quarterfinals
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
COATESVILLE — The last time Wyomissing made the PIAA girls basketball quarterfinals sophomore Amaya Stewart wasn’t born.
That occurred 19 years ago when the Spartans went all the way to the semifinals before falling to Delone Catholic.
Now, Stewart and the Spartans are scripting their own story after defeating Neumann-Goretti 40-33 Wednesday night in a PIAA Class 4A second-round matchup at Coatesville.
“It feels great because we’re moving on to Saturday,” Stewart said. “I have a big smile on my face. I want to say I have a chip on my shoulder, but I am staying humble, cool and collected.”
Wyomissing advances to face North Catholic, a 51-34 winner Wednesday over Harbor Creek. They play a state quarterfinal Saturday, site and time to be announced Thursday.
Stewart scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds despite being the focal point defensively of one of the best basketball programs in the state.
“I just try to stay composed and let the game come to me,” Stewart said of facing multiple defenders. “I can’t force something. I want to get the bucket, of course, but if I have the patience and wait for it to come to me then it will all work out.”
It’s a program-lifting win for Wyomissing considering the opponent and stakes. It’s even more impressive that the Spartans, who won their first district championship March 2, breezed through their first-round opponent Parkway Center City by 45. There was no complacency.
“For the school, it means everything,” Stewart said of reaching the Elite Eight. “Especially to our football team knowing that they got beat by (Neumann-Goretti in the PIAA 3A semifinals). When I was walking the halls, everyone was like: ‘Go get Goretti!’ We came out here and did what we had to do.”
Neumann-Goretti record (11-15) doesn’t tell the whole story: The Saints play in the Philadelphia Catholic League against powerhouse programs such as Lansdale Catholic, Archbishop Wood, Cardinal O’Hara, Archbishop Carroll, West Catholic, and Archbishop Ryan, all of which qualified for the PIAA Tournament.
The Saints also play a grueling out-of-league schedule against some nationally ranked teams.
The District 12 third-place finishers won the PIAA Class 3A title last season and won four straight state titles from 2015-2018. They have now gone 27-4 in the state playoffs since 2013.
“That’s the best 11-15 team I’ve ever seen,” Wyomissing head coach Aaron Anders said. “Let’s be clear.”
While there wasn’t any complacency, one could argue there was rust offensively for Wyomissing. The Spartans (28-2) went 3-for-17 from the field in the first half but only trailed 19-14. That’s because there wasn’t any rust defensively for a team that allows less than 30 points per game.
Neumann-Goretti’s star sophomore backcourt of Amya Scott, who averages 16.1 points, and Carryn Easley, who averages 13.7, only had five and two points, respectively, in the first half. That duo finished with a combined 15 points.
Freshman Kamora Berry led Neumann-Goretti with nine points and Easley had eight points, four assists, and four rebounds.
Wyomissing’s combination of height and athleticism imposed its will in the second half.
“The big kid took over a little bit,” Neumann-Goretti head coach Andrea Peterson said. “She didn’t really get off much in the first half. She kind of took over in the second half.”
The 6-1 Stewart had 17 of her 25 points in the second half and was relentless defensively and on the boards, along with 5-8 forwards Annie McCaffrey and Audrey Hurleman. Neumann-Goretti’s roster lists every player as a guard and the tallest player at 5-8.
McCaffrey had six points and 10 rebounds and Hurleman had three points and six rebounds. The Spartans outrebounded the Saints by 17.
The size advantage also got the Saints in foul trouble in both halves, which the Spartans capitalized on. Two Saints had three fouls in the first half and the Spartans entered the bonus in both halves while shooting 21 free throws to the Saints’ five.
“Being in that foul trouble changed the way we had to defend the rest of the game,” Peterson said.
Stewart had 10 points in the third quarter as the Spartans cut the deficit to 27-26 heading to the fourth.
Her offensive rebound and putback for the first points of the fourth quarter gave Wyomissing its first lead since 3:29 in the second quarter.
The Spartans ended the game on a 12-6 run.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Wyomissing | 4 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 40 |
| Neumann-Goretti | 7 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 33 |
| Saints (11-15) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Scott | 2-9 | 3-3 | 0-4 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| Easley | 3-11 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Hackney | 3-10 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| Berry | 3-7 | 1-2 | 2-6 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Tyler | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| Coston | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 12-41 | 4-5 | 5-18 | 9 | 19-21 | 33 |
| Spartans (28-2) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Stewart | 9-15 | 7-8 | 0-0 | 1 | 11 | 25 |
| Campbell | 0-0 | 4-5 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| McCaffrey | 2-12 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 3 | 10 | 6 |
| Hurleman | 1-2 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| Hardy | 1-4 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Loeb | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Zechman | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Totals | 13-37 | 14-21 | 0-6 | 9 | 35-38 | 40 |
Turnovers: Wyomissing 15, Neumann-Goretti 12.
