It’s a grand 17th birthday celebration for Wyomissing’s Amaya Stewart
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
January 13 has always been a special day for Amaya Stewart.
It’s the day she was born and now the day she scored her 1,000th point.
“It was a special day when I opened my eyes this morning,” said the Wyomissing junior. “This is something I’ll never forget.”
Stewart reached the mark on a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 4:21 left in the second quarter, and the crowd erupted in cheers. Play stopped for her to celebrate with the medley of family and friends who came to witness the milestone.
“It’s really breathtaking,” Stewart said as she wiped away tears following the Spartans’ 43-36 victory over visiting Middletown. “Because you never know how much support is really out there, but there are so many people rooting for you. That’s why you should keep going every day.”
The Spartans (15-0) beat the team that handed them their first loss last season after 14 straight wins. Wyomissing eventually avenged that loss in the district quarterfinals but memories of that loss added some extra motivation.
“It feels great to get a win,” said Stewart, who led her team with 14 points. “Especially knowing the circumstances of last year when Middletown beat us. We’re going to keep pushing.”
Wyomissing has handled the pressure of having a target on its back and has started this season even better than last year, when it won the first Berks and District 3 titles in program history. The Spartans have overcome out-of-league tests with wins over York Catholic, Downingtown West, West York, and now Middletown.
The Blue Raiders (9-6) led 12-9 at the end of the first quarter as sophomore Jayla Koser scored seven of her game-high 21 points.
Stewart scored the first bucket of the second quarter to put her at 997 points. Alexis Hardy hit a 3-pointer and Audrey Hurleman had a steal-and-score to give Wyomissing the lead at 16-14 with 4:53 left.
Stewart then hit the 3 that put her in an exclusive club at Wyomissing that includes Rachel Hoffman (1,886), Adrian Budischak (1,638), Caitlin Moser (1,491), Lily Seyfert (1,297), Kirsten Richter (1,275), Myra Owens (1,187), Leah McAvoy (1,149), and Carolanne Costenbader (1,049).
“Everything went silent for a second,” Stewart said. “Then I realized all the love around me. It was just so special. I realized how many people were here not just for me, but for the whole team.”
It’s fitting that Stewart reached the milestone on a 3-pointer. She started her high school career as a traditional post player and has dedicatedly morphed her game to become more versatile, preparing for the transition to college.
Stewart introduced that on a wider level when she hit a game-winning 3 to beat Berks Catholic in the district semifinals last year, although she only made six last season. She made zero as a freshman. She hit two 3’s Saturday, upping her total on the season to 15.
“She constantly works on her craft,” Wyomissing head coach Aaron Anders said. “She works and wants to get better and that’s who she is. She’s getting better every single game, every single day. She does not take any day off, any play off. It’s just a beautiful, beautiful thing. The sky’s the limit.”
The Spartans went to halftime with a 26-17 lead but the Blue Raiders weren’t ready to concede.
Koser, who also finished with a game-high 11 rebounds, scored and assisted on buckets to cut Wyomissing’s lead to five. The Spartans led 32-27 heading to the fourth. JaLiyah Stover’s bucket to begin the final quarter cut the lead to three.
Hardy came up huge for the Spartans with back-to-back 3’s to push the lead back to nine with 5:12 left. It proved enough to hold off pesky Koser and the Blue Raiders and give the Spartans a 2-1 series lead over the past two seasons in the burgeoning rivalry between the District 3 Class 4A counterparts.
“It’s frustrating when you’re not making shots in the beginning,” Hardy said. “Amaya, and my team in general, are all very supportive. When they keep telling you that they have confidence in you, when the shot’s there you’re going to take it.
“I love playing with Amaya. She’s the most humble and positive player I’ve ever played with. She looks for her teammates and also works on herself every day. I don’t think anyone else deserved (to score 1,000) more than she did.”
Soon Stewart’s name will added to the 1,000-point scorers banner in her home gym. It will reside with the banner honoring the Berks and District 3 championships Stewart helped claim last season.
“Freshman year I wasn’t really thinking about (scoring 1,000),” Stewart said. “But once I started seeing the other 1,000-point scorers names on that banner and I started to get my own name out there, I thought: ‘They’re going to know who Amaya Stewart is.’ ”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Wyomissing | 9 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 43 |
| Middletown | 12 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 36 |
| Spartans (15-0) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Stewart | 4-11 | 4-5 | 2-5 | 1 | 6 | 14 |
| McCaffrey | 1-7 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
| Hardy | 4-12 | 1-4 | 3-9 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| Hurleman | 2-7 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 10 | 4 |
| Maggs | 3-7 | 0-0 | 2-6 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Hyde | 1-4 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Totals | 15-48 | 5-9 | 8-22 | 11 | 34/38 | 43 |
| Blue Raiders (9-6) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Koser | 8-18 | 4-8 | 1-6 | 2 | 11 | 21 |
| Jo. Stover | 2-7 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Ja. Stover | 1-12 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Cleland | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
| Gassert | 2-8 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Rossum | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cavrich | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 14-49 | 6-10 | 2-11 | 4 | 33/37 | 36 |
Turnovers: Middletown 9, Wyomissing 14. Team Rebounds: Middletown 4, Wyomissing 4.
