Up next for Wyomissing: Pittsburgh North Catholic
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Wyomissing (30-0) vs. North Catholic (19-7)
What: PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals
When: Saturday, 2:00
Where: Bald Eagle High School, Bellefonte
Wyomissing’s schedule & results
North Catholic’s schedule & results
About the Trojanettes
Won their WPIAL-record 23rd district title and defeated (10-4) Conneaut by 18 points and (10-2) Warren by 27 to set up a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal.
Alayna Rocco, then a junior, had 15 first-quarter points with three 3’s on 4-for-4 shooting from the field and 4-for-4 shooting from the foul line in North Catholic’s 60-27 drubbing of Wyomissing on the same court.
“It’s the same team, same game, same venue,” North Catholic head coach Molly Rottman said of the rematch. “But I feel like two totally different teams. I wasn’t sure we would get here.”
The Trojanettes jumped out to a 25-9 lead after the first quarter and a 44-15 lead at halftime. They shot 10-for-19 from 3-point range to move into the semifinals, where they fell to WPIAL rival Blackhawk.
North Catholic had to replace five seniors and has gone 19-7 after finishing 25-4 last year. Wyomissing ended last season 28-3 and is 30-0 this year.
“They’re absolutely the better team,” Rottman said. “(Amaya) Stewart is a beast inside and everyone else has matured and is playing better. Then you get confidence from the type of season they’ve had. We’re running into a really hot team.”
Rocco, an All-State pick and a Harvard commit, is averaging 19.1 points. She had 19 points and 10 rebounds against Warren.
Rottman (formerly Larkin) was a standout at North Catholic who went on to excel at the University of Delaware. She’s in her 25th season as head coach and has been a part of two state championship teams, as coach in 2016 and as a player in 1988.
North Catholic has won eight PIAA championships: 2016, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1988, 1984, 1983, and 1980.
The Trojanettes had to replace three key starters, each of whom went on to play college ball: 5-11 forward Dacia Lewandowski (Akron), 5-7 guard Tori Drevna (Ithaca), and 5-7 guard Anna Waskiewicz (Otterbein).
North Catholic also lost 5-10 senior guard and starter Ava Walker in December after she tore her ACL for a second time.
Lewandowski had 16 points and guarded Wyomissing’s 6-1 Amaya Stewart, who was held to 10 points. Drevna had 16 points and hit four 3’s.
“Dacia did an amazing job last year on Stewart,” Rottman said. “I couldn’t have asked her to play better.”
The season started out rocky for the Trojanettes: Four of their seven losses came before the New Year, against Mt. Lebanon, Lebanon, Seneca Valley, and Bishop Guilfoyle.
The storied program has responded by winning 16 of its last 19. Its other losses have come against Kennedy Catholic, Pine-Richland, and Oakland Catholic.
“I knew we would mature and be better by the end of year,” Rottman said. “How well and how hard they’ve been playing has been awesome and fun. They’ve been locked in.”
Rottman turned to a starting lineup consisting of only two players who were with the program last year in Rocco and junior 5-6 point guard Sarah Loughry, who played sparingly after recovering from an ACL tear and is now getting Division II looks after a strong bounce-back season.
Freshman 6-2 forward Lauren Reitz, freshman 5-6 guard Brady Wehner, and senior 5-8 guard Lauren Mihm, a transfer, are new to the lineup.
Wehner is a good shooter, averages roughly 10 points per game, and had 13 points as the team’s leading scorer in the PIAA opener.
Reitz had a team-high 16 points in the WPIAL semifinals and will have primary defensive duties on Stewart, the junior All-State selection who will likely be on the first team again this year.
“I knew (the freshmen) had potential to be good, but every level you move up is different,” Rottman said. “Girls are bigger, faster, stronger. Through the summer and open gyms I could see they were talented kids and had potential to be impactful. They have certainly exceeded my expectations because we are literally putting a ton on them.”
The Trojanettes average 52.6 points and allow 35.7.
Wyomissing advanced to the quarterfinals with a 62-52 win over Neumann-Goretti. All-Berks forward Annie McCaffrey hit a key 3-pointer to spark a late comeback.
With the win, the Spartans matched the Berks girls record for most consecutive wins to begin a season. Daniel Boone set the record by winning its first 30 games in 1990.
The Spartans have more wins than any team in the state and are the only remaining unbeaten girls team in the state.
The winner advances to a state semifinal Tuesday against either (7-2) Blackhawk or (10-1) Fairview.
— Compiled by —Sean McBryan
