No doubt about it: Unbeaten Spartans positioned for second straight Berks title
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor
Amaya Stewart starting drawing attention from college coaches her freshman season at Wyomissing. By last season she was Berks’ most dominant player, leading the Spartans to their first county and district titles and earning Berks Player of the Year and All-State honors.
The 6-1 junior has been even better this season as the driving force on an unbeaten team, but that doesn’t mean negative thoughts don’t sometimes creep into her head.
They did Wednesday afternoon when she missed several early shots and went into intermission with just four points against Gov. Mifflin in a BCIAA semifinal at Santander Arena.
“I’ll be honest, I was doubting myself a little bit,” Stewart said. “Shots weren’t falling like I’m used to, but I just kept telling myself: ‘Shots are gonna fall.’ ”
And they did, of course. Stewart put together a huge second half, scoring 18 points, as second-seeded Wyomissing remained unbeaten by holding off a late Gov. Mifflin rally for a 50-42 victory.
The Spartans return to the Berks championship game where they’ll face top-seeded Wilson, a 41-24 winner over Berks Catholic in the other semifinal. The championship game is Friday at 6:00.
That return trip wasn’t in doubt once Stewart got things going in the third period, when she scored 11 points and had the first eight points in a 12-0 run that extended Wyomissing’s lead to 15 points.
Stewart, who finished with a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds, opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, then scored inside for a 41-22 lead with 6:40 remaining.
Stewart ended the first half with six straight misses but was more like herself in the second half, when she converted 7-of-10 shots, including her only 3-point attempt.
“If she stays under control, she’s unstoppable,” Wyomissing coach Aaron Anders said of Stewart. “And if we give her that time and that space to create, that’s what happens.”
Stewart, who scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, was given a little breather early in period, her team leading by 19. Coincidence or not the third-seeded Mustangs (15-9) caught fire at that point.
Mifflin struggled to score through the first three periods; it had 14 points at the half and just 22 after three quarters. The league’s top 3-point shooting team went just 1-for-17 from beyond the arc over the middle two quarters.
That drought ended when freshman Bella Super knocked one down with 3:45 remaining. A minute later Super, wo finished with 16 points, hit another, fueling a 14-2 run that made it 43-36 with 1:55 left.
When Stewart went out the Spartans spread the floor, trying to draw the Mustangs’ zone defense out and create more space. They continued that even after Stewart returned with about five minutes left but six fourth-quarter turnovers spoiled the plan and limited Wyomissing to just one basket over a five-minute stretch.
Stewart scored in the low post to stop the bleeding with 1:42 left and Alexis Hardy followed with three free throws to push the lead back to 12.
Taylor Koenig, who finished with a team-high 17 points, hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute to make it 48-42 with 19 seconds left.
Wyomissing clinched it on Annie McCaffrey’s transition basket off an assist from Stewart. McCaffrey had 14 points and eight rebounds for Wyomissing; Hardy had eight.
Wyomissing is the first Berks girls team to taken an unbeaten record into the championship game in at least 18 years.
“We want to go to the championship just as much as we did last year,” said Stewart, “so the hunger does not stop and we continue to push every single possession.”
Getting to the championship game with a perfect record is nice, Anders assured, but the most important thing is getting a chance to win another title.
“What I’m excited about is that this the third time in four years that we’re in the finals,” he said. “Prior to that it had been 20 years.
“There’s a whole lot of work, a whole lot of sacrifice from these former coaches, to get to where we are right now. I just hope that everyone who’s had their hands in Wyomissing basketball that they’re looking at this and being really proud of what this team is doing right now.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Gov. Mifflin | 9 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 42 |
| Wyomissing | 9 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 50 |
| Mustangs (15-9) | FG | FT | 3s | A | R | Points |
| Estrada | 0-2 | 2-4 | 0-1 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| George | 1-7 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| Martin | 1-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Super | 6-19 | 1-3 | 3-12 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
| Koenig | 6-16 | 1-1 | 4-13 | 0 | 5 | 17 |
| West | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Vazquez | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Totals | 15-56 | 4-8 | 8-33 | 1 | 27/34 | 42 |
| Spartans (24-0) | FG | FT | 3s | A | R | Points |
| Hardy | 2-6 | 3-4 | 1-2 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| Hurleman | 1-3 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 4 | 8 | 3 |
| McCaffrey | 7-10 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 8 | 14 |
| Maggs | 0-7 | 0-0 | 0-5 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Stewart | 9-18 | 3-4 | 1-2 | 1 | 12 | 22 |
| Hyde | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Totals | 20-48 | 7-12 | 2-11 | 10 | 39/40 | 50 |
Turnovers: Gov. Mifflin 9, Wyomissing 12. Team rebounds: Gov. Mifflin 7, Wyomissing 1.
