Top players to watch in Berks III girls basketball this season
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Hailie Edwards
Hamburg
The 5-8 senior returns for her senior season after averaging 10.0 points and earning division honorable mention honors. The guard successfully returned from a knee injury and played in all 22 games last year.
Head coach Amanda McBreen expects Edwards to be the top scorer and best shooter again this season. Edwards scored in double figures 11 times last season with a season-high of 22 in a win over Tulpehocken.
Edwards will also have the opportunity to handle the ball more with the graduation of point guard Anabel Kennedy. Edwards and junior running mate Mia Gassert — each a multi-sport athlete — will be the main components on a team hoping to make a run at the Berks playoffs, something the program hasn’t achieved since 2012.
Alexis Hardy
Wyomissing
(PhilMarPhoto)
It’s pretty easy to formulate one word to describe Hardy: fast. What the gold-medal winning sprinter may lack in height she more than makes up for in speed.
Hardy won the 100 and 200 at the District 3 Class 2A championships as a sophomore and that speed fully translates to the hardwood.
Hardy, a junior all-division guard, scored 7.2 points per game last season, the third-highest average on a Spartans team that won its first Berks and District 3 championships.
She scored a career-high 22 points against Conrad Weiser in the season-opener, scored in double digits in nine games, and played in all 31 games last year. She sits at 394 career points.
The next step for Hardy will be developing a consistent outside shot and continued improvement handling the ball, especially with the graduation of point guard Maddie Campbell and outside sniper Lexi Loeb and season-ending injuries to Abby Zechman and Lily Marshall.
Audrey Hurleman
Wyomissing
(PhilMarPhoto)
The 5-8 junior committed to play lacrosse at the University of North Carolina in September.
She’ll play defense for the Tar Heels, her specialty with the Spartans
The all-division selection might not light up the stat sheet offensively — she averaged 4.7 points last season — but she completely disrupts the game defensively.
She plays the top of head coach Aaron Anders’ zone defense and sets the tone for the league’s stingiest defense.
Hurleman imposes her will on and tires out the opposing team’s guards, resulting in steals, tipped passes, and turnovers.
She also crashes the boards with tenacity and provides toughness that inspires teammates.
Hurleman was an All-Berks pick in soccer this fall and an All-Berks pick in lacrosse in the spring, as a sophomore.
Annie McCaffrey
Wyomissing
(PhilMarPhoto)
The Spartans might be dominating the Players to Watch list here in Berks III but that’s what happens when you go 28-3, reach a state quarterfinal, and return the majority of your team’s best players.
McCaffrey was second on the team with a 7.6 scoring average last year. She’ll be the top senior returnee for the Spartans as they aim to defend both their county and district crowns.
The 5-9 lefty forward does a great job finding her spots offensively without crowding the paint; her effective mid-range game is key for the flow of Wyomissing’s offense.
Defensively, McCaffrey is elite athlete who disrupts the opposing offense with blocked shots at the rim, quickness to intercept passes, and physicality to secure the ball.
She put those skills on display in soccer season, when she earned All-State honors.
Amaya Stewart
Wyomissing
(PhilMarPhoto)
The reigning Berks Player of the Year and All-State first-team pick returns to continue the historic run she set in motion last season.
Only a junior, the 6-1 forward averaged 15.3 points last season and 16.2 points and 10.9 rebounds over nine county, district, and state playoff games.
Stewart had 25 points and 11 rebounds in a 40-33 victory over perennial Philly powerhouse Neumann-Goretti in the PIAA quarterfinals.
Stewart worked to expand her game — nothing more evident than her game-winning 3 against Berks Catholic in the district semifinals — with natural raw talent and height that made her an imposing, physical post presence from the start.
She further crafted her game this offseason with Philly Rise’s 17U National team — she played up — and now has offers from Temple, Bethune-Cookman, USC Upstate, Tampa, and Maine.
Now she’ll continue improving away from the basket while chasing the 1,000-point mark, which is obtainable this season as she sits at 716 career points.
The biggest challenge will be the fact Stewart and the Spartans won’t sneak up on anyone this year.
Juliana Stichter
Schuylkill Valley
(PhilMarPhoto)
The 5-7 senior guard took a step forward last season boosting her scoring total from 4.0 points as sophomore to 11.7 as a junior. Stichter’s play resulted in all-division honors and a commitment to play at Division III Bryn Athyn College.
Stichter can light it up from 3, hitting 17 during her sophomore season and 31 last season, tied for seventh in the league.
Stichter played on Schuylkill Valley’s 20-4 team that went to the PIAA Tournament as a sophomore and now has the experience of being a reliable, full-time starter. The Panthers started 1-7 last season before going 10-5 to finish the season, which ended after a 17-point loss to Berks Catholic in the Berks playoff quarterfinals.
The Panthers hope to advance deeper into the Berks and District 3 playoffs after returning all of their starters.
Natane White
Schuylkill Valley
(PhilMarPhoto)
White, a 5-3 all-division point guard, led the Panthers in scoring and assists last season and will be the de facto leader this year, even if she will be relegated to the bench for the first few games while recovering from an offseason ACL tear.
She’s been a contributor for Schuylkill Valley since her freshman season, playing in all but one game during those three seasons. White has accumulated 561 career points and has a shot to reach 1,000 points mark this season; she scored 300 on the dot last year.
White has boosted her scoring average from 4.8 as a freshman to 7.2 as a sophomore to 13.0 as a junior. She hit 46 3’s last season, third in the league, and has 82 total for her career.
Most important, as head coach Jason Bagenstose likely agrees, is that White is a winner. She’s gone 42-25 in her career and 24-8 in Berks III play. Schuylkill Valley has been to the Berks playoffs every season, District 3 playoffs twice, and state playoffs once during her tenure.
Other key players to watch in Berks III:
- Ella Anders, 5-3 sophomore, Wyomissing
- Sophia Barrell-Kobryn, 5-5 junior, Fleetwood
- Mia Gassert, 5-8 junior, Hamburg
- Kalika Kauffman, 5-6 senior, Schuylkill Valley
- Morgan Koehler, 5-5 junior, Fleetwood
- Julia Lassandro, 6-0 sophomore, Schuylkill Valley
- Kacey Maggs, 5-5 sophomore, Wyomissing
- Emily Miller, 5-6 junior, Fleetwood
- Abby Noey, 5-6 junior, Wyomissing
- CC Reali, 5-6 junior, Schuylkill Valley
- Emily Zimmerman, 5-10 senior, Hamburg
