Top 10 takeaways from the 2023-24 Berks girls basketball season
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
1. Wyomissing’s historic season
The Spartans became the first Berks Girls League team to win its first 31 games and defended their county and District 3 Class 4A championships. They beat Wilson 45-36 for the Berks title and Delone Catholic 45-32 for the district title.
They finished 31-1 and advanced all the way to the state semifinals, just one of 12 girls teams to do so in Berks County history. The Spartans also reached the semis in 1981 and 2004.
Daniel Boone (1990), Holy Name (1993, 2001), Wilson (2008), Gov. Mifflin (2012), Conrad Weiser (2015), and Berks Catholic (2015, 2016, 2018) are the others to make it to the Final Four.
Amaya Stewart boosted her play once again and reached the 1,000-point threshold in January.
She is primed for an electric senior season after she concluded the year with 1,339 points, giving her a shot at 2K.
All-Berks pick Annie McCaffrey is off to the University of Massachusetts to continue her academic and soccer careers but the Spartans and their four returning starters have every intention of finishing atop the county, district, and state next season.
Berks Catholic in 2018 and Holy Name in 1993 are the only Berks girls teams to reach the state final. No Berks Girls League team has won a state championship. The only Berks school to win a title was Boyertown in 2017. The Bears also appeared in the semis in 2011.
2. Wilson takes next step
The Bulldogs capitalized on the experience they gained as freshmen by winning nine more games this season, advancing to the league final and district semifinals, and by qualifying for the state playoffs for the first time in six seasons.
Sophomore guard Laila Jones (16.1 points, 4.7 assists, 4.2 rebounds) was a repeat All-Berks selection and sophomore center Violet Houck (9.8 points, 8.2 rebounds) an all-division pick.
The Bulldogs were 23-1 before losing four of their last five.
They finished the regular season with 21 wins; only seven other Berks girls teams, including Wyomissing this season, have won 20 or more regular season games over the past decade.
Freshmen Kailani Hardy and Ryan Leaman and sophomores Laura Crocona, Janai Tisdale and Emma Williams give the Bulldogs a strong returning nucleus.
3. Grace Reedy leaves her mark
Exeter senior wing Grace Reedy broke the program record for career points and finished as the county’s top scorer for the second consecutive season with a 20.9 average.
Reedy capped her career with 21 points in the District 3 Tournament, pushing her total to 1,403 and breaking Cortney Crockett’s record of 1,389. Reedy lands at No. 37 on the Berks all-time scoring leaderboard, tied with Fleetwood’s Alexis Hess — currently a freshman at Kansas State.
Reedy led the Eagles to back-to-back division titles and to the district playoffs for the first time since 2015.
4. Morgan Snyder ends on high note
Oley Valley’s Morgan Snyder averaged the fourth-highest point total (16.2) in the county and was the third Berks girl to reach 1,000 points, following Reedy and Stewart.
The Penn State field hockey commit became the seventh Oley Valley girl to reach the milestone after scoring 25 points in a victory over Kutztown in February. She finished with 1,059 points, trailing only Brandi Vallely (1,551), Jasmen Clark (1,435), Mitzi Reitnouer (1,261), and Michelle Sola (1,148).
Snyder’s play led the Lynx (17-7) to team success as they captured their first division crown in 10 years, made their first BCIAA playoff appearance since 2019, and their first District 3 appearance since 2021.
(PhilMarPhoto)
5. Mifflin’s youth movement
The Mustangs started three talented freshmen (Bella Super, Brooklyn George, and Bridget Martin) alongside experienced seniors Taylor Koenig and Keira Estrada.
There were some bumps in the early going as Mifflin dropped to 2-3 in Berks I and 6-6 overall after back-to-back losses to Berks Catholic and Wilson in early January.
The Mustangs then won 8-of-10 games to end the regular season to clinch the No. 3 seed in the BCIAA playoffs and qualify for the District 3 playoffs. Mifflin missed out on districts last season for the first time in 14 years.
Mifflin beat Oley Valley 59-54 in the league quarterfinals before falling to Wyomissing 50-42 in the semis and to Manheim Township 70-51 in the district opening round.
The playoff experience should serve Super (12.0 points), George (6.8), and Martin (6.4) moving forward. Mifflin will have to replace Koenig (14.6) and Estrada (6.5).
6. Berks II changes
Two coaches with 100-plus career wins resigned in Division II: Twin Valley’s Doug Myer (361 wins) and Conrad Weiser’s Mark Owens (105 wins).
Myer, who coached 18 seasons at Wilson, stepped down in early January after the Raiders started the year 3-6. Deana Gorgone and Matt Hahn stepped in as co-head coaches and the Raiders finished 4-7 in Berks II and 7-15 overall.
Owens stepped down after 11 seasons leading the Scouts (2-9 Berks II, 6-16), stating a desire to watch his grandchildren play basketball and an increase in responsibilities at his full-time job as a realtor.
The Raiders return one of the top players in the league in sophomore Hailey Kilgore; the Scouts return five of their top six scorers. The new head coaches will have an opportunity for success in their first full seasons, especially with two-time defending division champ Exeter losing its top scorer.
7. Milestone for Jason Bagenstose
Schuylkill Valley head coach Jason Bagenstose won his 100th career game in the Panthers’ 55-42 victory over Hamburg in the regular season finale.
The win placed him among only three active coaches to reach the mark: Berks Catholic’s Bob Birmingham, Gov. Mifflin’s Mike Clark, and Brandywine Heights’ Jason Bieber.
The Panthers qualified for the BCIAA playoffs for the fourth consecutive season and for the District 3 playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons after missing in 2023. There, the Panthers stormed back in the second half overcoming a 13-point halftime deficit before ultimately falling 38-36 on Middletown’s Jayla Koser’s free throws with 4.6 seconds left.
Seniors Juliana Stichter (Bryn Athyn College) and Natane White (Lancaster Bible College) will each continue to play at the Division III level.
8. Bullets miss
The Bullets now know how Berks IV rival Oley Valley felt last year.
Brandywine narrowly beat out Oley Valley for the division title and qualified for both the Berks and District 3 playoffs in 2023. The Lynx turned the tables this season, winning the division and qualifying for both tournaments as the Bullets were left out of both despite finishing with a 14-8 record.
Three-year starter Addison Benner (14.1 points) returns for her senior season needing 20 points to reach 1,000 but the Bullets must replace four senior starters: Avery and Grace Potteiger, Olivia Moyer, and Dana Wartzenluft.
9. Bounce-backs ahead?
Berks Catholic (12-13) finished with a losing record for the first time in program history; it was the first losing season for coach Bob Birmingham since 2011 at Holy Name.
The Saints finished 9-3 in Berks I, second behind Wilson. They won a BCIAA quarterfinal before losing their last three, in the county semifinals, district quarterfinals, and a state qualifier. Berks Catholic has a standard of challenging for championships every season and will be motivated to improve next year with all but one starter returning, including Madison Langdon, who finished third in the league in scoring at 16.5.
The Red Knights (10-13) expected a better finish after making it to the BCIAA championship a year ago. They drew the No. 7 seed, met Wyomissing in the quarterfinals, and saw their season end.
Reading will aim to progress further next season and make the District 3 playoffs for the first time since 2019 with the return of top players Yamilex Rodriguez (10.5) and Tamyia Collier (11.0).
10. Final statistics
Leading scorers: Exeter senior Grace Reedy (20.9), Wyomissing junior Amaya Stewart (19.5), Berks Catholic junior Madison Langdon (16.5), Oley Valley senior Morgan Snyder (16.3), Wilson sophomore Laila Jones (16.1), Gov. Mifflin senior Taylor Koenig (14.6), Twin Valley sophomore Hailey Kilgore (14.4), Brandywine Heights junior Addison Benner (14.1), Schuylkill Valley senior Juliana Stichter (13.8), and Hamburg senior Hailie Edwards (13.5).
3-point leaders: Koenig (66), Jones (54), Langdon (47), Kilgore (47), Edwards (36), Reedy (35), Gov. Mifflin freshman Bella Super (34), Berks Catholic junior Sydney Corado (33), Stichter (29), Conrad Weiser junior Alex Trevena (28).
Active career scorers: Stewart (1,339), Benner (980), Langdon (869), Jones (788), Reading High junior Yamilex Rodriguez (661), Wyomissing junior Alexis Hardy (582), Corado (560), Kilgore (490), Reading High junior Tamyia Collier (442), Daniel Boone sophomore Liv Welker (415).
