An early swing at projecting top teams in Berks Girls League for ’23-24 season
The Berks Girls League basketball season wrapped up when Wyomissing fell to North Catholic in the PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals.
Let’s take a way-too-early swing at the Top 10 teams heading into next season. Hey, it’s only eight months away.
1. Wyomissing (28-3)
The Spartans return top scorer and rebounder Amaya Stewart, second-leading scorer and rebounder Annie McCaffrey, top defender Audrey Hurleman, and third-leading scorer Alexis Hardy to a team that won county and district titles, made it to the state quarterfinals, and had the best offense and defense in the Berks Girls League last season.
Key bench player Abby Zechman will likely slide into the starting lineup after averaging 4.1 points per game. She provides another athletic wing defender for the Spartans’ vaunted 3-2 zone.
The graduations of 3-point specialist Lexi Loeb and floor general Maddie Campbell will need to be addressed if the Spartans want a repeat performance.
Rising junior guard Lili Marshall, forward Bailey Loeb, Lexi’s younger sister, and forward Abby Noey will have increased responsibility, as will rising sophomores Mary Anders and Kacey Maggs.
All of these players saw court time — even in the state playoffs — because Wyomissing built large leads throughout the season. That should prove beneficial in getting the younger players ready for larger roles.
2. Berks Catholic (20-8)
Berks basketball fans finally got the matchup they had been waiting for between rivals Berks Catholic and Wyomissing, but not in the girls basketball county championship as many expected.
(Tim Macrina photo)
The Spartans topped the Saints 24-23 on Amaya Stewart’s late 3-pointer in a District 3 Class 4A semifinal at a jam-packed Wolf Gymnasium.
The Saints ended up third in the district before falling to Audenreid in the first round of states in a game in which they led by 10 heading to the fourth quarter.
Berks Catholic’s loss to Reading High in the BCIAA semifinals, a game in which it led by six heading to the fourth quarter, put a bit of a damper on an otherwise successful season.
The Saints went 12-0 in Berks I and finished with 20 wins or more for the second season in a row.
Needless to say the Saints will be chomping at the bit to get back on the court.
The graduation of 1,000-point scorer Caraline Herb will hurt; rising junior Madison Langdon (10.9 points per game) will take the lead, replacing her in the ballhandling, defensive, and scoring departments.
Fellow rising juniors Molly McFadden (8.2) and Sydney Corado (8.1) will also need to boost production. Rising senior guard Gianna Roberts showed flashes this season and will be crucial in the backcourt.
Others who will likely see increased roles include Mackenzie Langdon, Kylee Evans, Gianna Mirenda, Samantha Unger, and Emma Linderman.
3. Wilson (15-9)
The Bulldogs returned zero starters after 6-3 All-Berks center Isis Dojan did not return after practicing with the team all offseason.
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Head coach Chris Gallo took a leap of faith and handed the keys to a group of freshmen. It paid off as Wilson reached the BCIAA semifinals, losing to eventual champ Wyomissing by eight points. The Bulldogs narrowly missed out on the District 3 Class 6A playoffs, too.
Now those freshmen have gained valuable experience and shown their potential.
Guard Laila Jones was fifth in the league in scoring and was named All-Berks. Violet Houck, a 5-10 post, was injured in December but averaged 9.9 points in 12 games and showed a promising pick-and-roll, inside-out game with Jones once she returned for Wilson’s playoff run.
Laura Crocona, Janai Tisdale-Aviles, and Emma Williams are additional rising sophomores who played in 23 or more games.
Rising senior and third-leading scorer Jasilyn Moncada returns to provide leadership, ball handling, defense, and poise for a Wilson team that’s trending upward.
4. Reading High (14-11)
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The Red Knights’ gutsy comeback victory over Berks Catholic in the county semifinals and championship appearance gives them something to build on.
Reading High appeared to be a lock for the District 3 playoffs after its fifth straight win improved its record to 11-4 in late January. A six-game losing streak to tough opponents — Cedar Cliff, Gov. Mifflin, Harrisburg, Berks Catholic, Wilson and Lebanon — ensued, knocking them out of the playoff chase.
All-Berks selection and leader Ashanti Chapman is graduating but Reading returns a strong nucleus in rising juniors Yamilex Rodriguez and Tamyia Collier.
The goal will be to get back to the county final and clinch a spot in districts. That starts with improving in division as the Red Knights went 7-5 for a fourth-place finish behind Berks Catholic (12-0), Wilson (9-3), and Gov. Mifflin (8-4) in 2022-23.
5. Gov. Mifflin (10-13)
The Mustangs faced an uphill battle with sharpshooting junior Taylor Koenig out until Jan. 17 due to a knee injury.
(Susan L. Angstadt photo)
Gov. Mifflin, the county champions in 2022, went 5-8 without Koenig before a 5-2 spurt had them at .500. A three-game losing streak consisting of double-digit losses to Berks Catholic and twice to Wilson ended the Mustangs’ volatile season.
Guards Shakyla Mayo (11.8 points per game) and Anyah Ortiz (10.7) graduate, meaning Mifflin must replace 49-percent of its offensive production.
Frontcourt contributors Payton Witman, Jayla Richardson, and Kim Eustache also need to be replaced.
Koenig, rising senior guard Keira Estrada, rising junior post Mia Vazquez — who showed promise last season — and rising senior guard Jayliana Miley (16 3’s) will have their work cut out for them to get Mifflin back atop the county standings.
6. Oley Valley (15-7)
The Lynx are reloading with All-Berks and leading scorer Morgan Snyder (15.9 points per game), all-division Ryanne Wheeler (11.0), and all-division Dana Messner (8.0) all returning for their senior seasons.
(Tim Macrina photo)
Rising junior Isabella Buehler (7.2) also returns to give Oley Valley its top four scorers back.
The Lynx missed out on county playoff action even though they went 9-3 in Berks IV and 15-7 overall.
They split their games with Brandywine Heights, which also went 9-3 but ended up winning Berks IV because it had a higher power ranking.
Oley could’ve also qualified in the Berks III-IV runner-up spot, but Schuylkill Valley claimed it because it defeated the Lynx in head-to-head league play.
The Lynx will have a chip on their shoulders entering next season.
7. Exeter (11-12)
Rising senior Grace Reedy needs 98 points to become the fourth Exeter girl to score 1,000 points, following Cortney Crocket (1,389 in 2006), Donna Luft (1,146 in 1987), and Jen Eck (1,099 in 2015).
(Tim Macrina photo)
Reedy will be one of the top scorers in the county again next season; she needs 488 points to become Exeter’s all-time leading scorer.
She scored 513 points and averaged 22.3 points, the most in Berks since Twin Valley’s Peyton McDaniel averaged 23.0 in 2019-20.
Reedy spearheaded the Eagles’ turnaround season from 2-19 to 11-12 and a Berks II title. The move from Berks I certainly helped.
Exeter had one of the best offenses in the county last season but will likely need increased production from rising senior guard Aaliyah Ware, junior forward Meredith Fylypowycz, and/or junior Maggie Kopanski to replace graduating two-year starter Rosie Laverty.
The defense as a whole will need improvement — the Eagles allowed a Berks-high 48.1 points per game — if they hope to continue the program’s upward swing and defend the Berks II crown.
(Susan L. Angstadt photo)
8. Brandywine Heights (15-9)
It remains to be seen if/when rising senior guard Olivia Moyer, who led the team with a 13.3 scoring average, will return from a torn ACL suffered on Jan. 14.
Still, the defending Berks IV champion Bullets should be a contender in the division with rising junior 5-11 guard Addison Benner (13.2 points per game) and rising seniors in forward Dana Wartzenluft (5.9) and center Avery Potteiger (5.7) returning.
It’ll be Year 2 under head coach Jason Bieber, who led Boyertown to the PIAA Class 6A title in 2017. That team remains the only Berks school to win a state title in girls basketball.
9. Schuylkill Valley (11-12)
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The season was a resounding success for the Panthers, who overcame a graduation hit that included four starters, including All-Berks pick Madison Ziska, from a team that went 20-4.
That team also went 11-0 in Berks III. The Panthers dipped to 7-4 in this season but again qualified for the BCIAA playoffs.
Even more impressive, Schuylkill Valley began the season 3-8 before finishing winning eight of its final 12.
Two-year starter Natane White returns for her senior season. She averaged a team-high 13 points. Fellow rising senior Juliana Stichter, who boosted her scoring average from 4.0 to 11.7, also returns.
The Panthers will also get back key contributors in CC Reali, Kalika Kauffman, Meghan Wickersham, Taryn Rittenhouse, and Julia Lassandro.
10. Twin Valley (4-18)
This final spot came down to the Raiders, division opponent Conrad Weiser, Berks I’s Muhlenberg, and Berks III’s Fleetwood and Hamburg.
Twin Valley should have the best chance of reaching the county playoffs next season as it finished ahead of the Scouts in division during a rebuilding year last season. The Muhls have the burden of being in division with Berks powers Berks Catholic, Gov. Mifflin, Reading High, and Wilson.
The Tigers lose Kansas State commit Alexis Hess; and Hamburg graduates two starters, Katie Behler and Anabel Kennedy, and a key bench piece in Hannah Gravish.
The Raiders had a big drop-off, going from 16-11 to 4-18. All four wins cam
e vs. Berks II foes, Weiser and Daniel Boone, which went a combined 8-35.
Twin Valley returns it’s top three scorers in Hailey Kilgore (10.5), Olivia Schmittinger (4.4), and Collette Lennon (4.1) and an experienced head coach in Doug Myer as it tries to upend Exeter as the Berks II champ.