Morgan Snyder, Lynx, gain some early Berks IV payback by shooting down Bullets
2023 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Morgan Snyder and her Oley Valley teammates have had a chip on their shoulders since the disappointing end of last season, when they narrowly missed out on a division title to Brandywine Heights.
The undefeated Lynx entered the Bullets’ home court in Mertztown Monday night with something to prove and made a statement with a 43-32 Berks Girls League Division IV victory.
“We’ve had this game on our calendar since last year,” said Snyder, who scored a game-high 19 points. “Especially with them essentially ending our season last year with the way the division rankings fell. This game was the first step in us making it to counties and we just wanted to come out and show up.”
The Lynx finished tied for first with a 9-3 record in Division IV and with a 15-7 overall record yet missed out on both the BCIAA and district playoffs.
Brandywine Heights won the tiebreaker for the division title and then clinched the sixth and final District 3 Class 3A playoff spot with a power ranking just .02 points higher than Oley Valley.
The teams split last year’s meetings, with the Bullets winning the first matchup on Oley’s home floor; Snyder missed that game with an injury. Needless to say Monday’s matchup had been stewing in Snyder and the Lynx’s minds for months, adding more meaning to a game than most typically hold in mid-December.
“Obviously home-court advantage is a very big thing,” Snyder said. “They always have such good fans and it’s always a great energy coming in here. That was a little bit of motivation coming into the game, for sure.”
Snyder and Dana Messner each scored six points in the fourth quarter as the Lynx (2-0, 6-0) outscored the Bullets 16-6 to pull away. The senior duo makes up two of four returning starters for Oley head coach Kerry Snyder, Morgan’s dad.
“He’s coached Dana and I since third grade,” Snyder said. “It’s really just something special. It has its ups and downs; sometimes the car rides home aren’t always fun, but it’s a great experience. We all just want to go out there and make him a proud coach. I also want to make him a proud dad.”
The elder Snyder is a sixth grade teacher in the Oley Valley school district and taught many of his players when they were younger. The team closeness gives the Lynx a sort of sixth sense in playing off each other. Add that to the athleticism and experience and it equals a dangerous team.
“We kind of just picked up right where we left off from last year,” Morgan Snyder said. “We just jumped into the season in stride. We have such good chemistry. Sometimes we just click and know where the other person is going to be before they even know where they’re going.”
Snyder attributes her success on the court to her prowess in field hockey, a sport she is committed to play at Penn State. She says the sports complement each other in the aspect of field/court vision, which was clear in her game when she found teammates for open shots on passes from halfcourt or kicked a ball out when surrounded by pressure in the paint.
All of the returning starters earned all-league honors last season and also excel in other sports. In basketball, Snyder was All-Berks, Messner and Ryanne Wheeler were all-division, and junior Izzy Buehler was honorable mention.
Messner will play softball at Wilkes University. Wheeler will play basketball and run track at Marywood University. Junior Izzy Buehler will likely be playing a sport at the next level; she’s an All-State field hockey player.
Their physical conditioning translates to suffocating defense on the court, which Brandywine Heights head coach Jason Bieber thought led to his team’s troubles.
“Coach Snyder did a great job of having his girls prepared,” Bieber said. “They came out in man and struggled to cover us early and then switched into a zone, which caused us some problems. We played really well early, but we knew it was going to be a game of runs.”
The Bullets (1-1, 4-3) scored the first seven points; Snyder’s 3-pointer with 1:25 left in the first quarter gave the Lynx their first lead at 8-7. Brandywine led 11-8 at the end of the quarter.
Oley regained the lead 12-11 early in the second and held the advantage until 1:02 left in the third quarter when Dana Wartzenluft converted two free throws to put Brandywine up 24-23.
Julia Wagner hit a crucial 3 as time expired in the third quarter to give the Lynx a 27-26 lead.
Oley opened the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run and led by at least five the rest of the way.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Oley Valley | 8 | 12 | 7 | 16 | 43 |
| Brandywine Heights | 11 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 32 |
| Lynx (6-0) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Snyder | 4-11 | 8-8 | 3-8 | 2 | 4 | 19 |
| Messner | 3-10 | 3-5 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Buehler | 4-9 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| Wheeler | 0-4 | 1-2 | 0-3 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Hare | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Wagner | 2-6 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Myers | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Magee | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 13-44 | 13-17 | 4-17 | 7 | 26/31 | 43 |
| Bullets (4-3) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Benner | 3-12 | 2-4 | 0-4 | 3 | 8 | 8 |
| Moyer | 2-10 | 2-2 | 0-5 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Wartzenluft | 3-8 | 2-2 | 2-6 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| G. Potteiger | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Crist | 1-2 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Daubert | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Stoudt | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Totals | 11-39 | 8-10 | 2-16 | 7 | 25/29 | 32 |
Turnovers: Brandywine Heights 14, Oley Valley 10. Team Rebounds: Brandywine Heights 4, Oley Valley 5.
