With Lexi Loeb, Spartans have a great shot
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Consistent outside shooting becomes even more lethal when complemented with strong post and penetration games.
Senior Lexi Loeb provides the outside shooting for Wyomissing. Amaya Stewart and Annie McCaffrey supply the inside presence. Alexis Hardy and Maddie Campbell complete the package with their drive-and-kick skills.
“My dad was a shooter in college,” Loeb said. “He just kind of passed that down to me.”
Loeb’s father, Brad, played at Hamburg and Susquehanna University and gives tips to his daughter, who has been sharpening the art of 3-point shooting since she started playing basketball.
The four-year varsity player made three 3’s as a freshman on a team that went undefeated in Division III of the Berks Girls League and finished sixth in District 3. She boosted her 3-point total to 21 as a sophomore on a Wyomissing team that went to the county final. She doubled that total as a junior, drilling 42, third in the league.
Loeb tied her career-high with five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 15 points Saturday as the Spartans throttled Parkway Center City 69-24 in a PIAA Class 4A first-round game at Wyomissing.
The District 3 champion Spartans (27-2) move on to face District 12 third-place finisher Neumann-Goretti in the second round Wednesday.
Goretti defeated North Schuylkill 66-63 Saturday.
The outing increased Loeb’s season total to 57 3’s — second in Berks — and her career total to 123.
She understands her role is perimeter shooting and she plays it well. She has only made 20 two-point field goals in her career.
Needless to say Loeb is comfortable living behind the 3-point line.
Loeb’s teams have been successful whether she was teaming up with Lily Seyfert and Abby Doyle as an underclassman or Stewart, McCaffrey, and Hardy as an upperclassman.
Wyomissing went a combined 43-25 in her first three seasons but has taken it to another level this year.
The Spartans won their first PIAA Tournament game since 2004 and the first county and district titles in program history. Saturday they set a program record for victories.
“It’s just so amazing to be able to do these things with this team and to share all of these experiences with my best friends,” Loeb said.
It’s not only Loeb’s shooting but her experience and leadership that are invaluable to the Spartans. She and Campbell are the only seniors who receive significant minutes. The team’s top two scorers, Stewart and Hardy, are sophomores.
The talented youth sometimes cause the senior to come off the bench, which isn’t a problem for the unselfish Loeb, and gives Wyomissing head coach Aaron Anders multiple options with which to tinker the lineup.
“It’s really important to me to be a positive leader because our team is so young,” Loeb said. “(Coming off the bench) doesn’t bother me. Everyone has a role on the team. I know mine and everybody knows theirs.”
The chemistry these Spartans have built on and off the court is on full display whenever they suit up. High fives, cheering from the bench, genuine smiles when a teammate makes a big play are all common occurrences.
“I think basketball is the biggest part of it,” Loeb said. “Our chemistry is so insane. I can’t even talk about it enough. We just all get along so well. We hang out a lot, do team dinners all the time and things like that.”
It’s something Parkway Center City first-year head coach Anthony Holloway noticed even before the teams met Saturday. It’s something he’s trying to build with the District 12 fifth-place Bulldogs (9-6), who hadn’t won a game in four seasons before this year.
“I love the culture of their team,” Holloway said. “When the coach subs, everyone (on the bench) stands up while the person is coming out and is giving support. It’s really amazing.”
Parkway Center City was no match for Wyomissing.
The Spartans scored the first 13 points, led 25-3 after one quarter, 47-13 at halftime, and 62-20 at the end of the third.
Stewart scored all of her 14 points in the first half, with 10 rebounds and three blocks. McCaffrey finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Wyomissing | 25 | 22 | 15 | 7 | 69 |
| Parkway CC | 3 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 24 |
| Bulldogs (9-6) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Canty | 2-11 | 3-4 | 0-5 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| Wilson | 3-10 | 0-1 | 1-4 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Weaver | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Barnes | 1-5 | 2-4 | 1-1 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Wusan | 1-4 | 1-1 | 0-3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Brown | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hall | 0-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Asper | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 8-41 | 6-11 | 2-14 | 1 | 20-32 | 24 |
| Spartans (27-2) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Stewart | 6-10 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 1 | 10 | 14 |
| Campbell | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| McCaffrey | 7-15 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 12 | 14 |
| Hurleman | 3-7 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Hardy | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Loeb | 5-12 | 0-0 | 5-12 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| Zechman | 2-8 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
| Marshall | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Brunner | 1-5 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Maggs | 2-6 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| B. Loeb | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Noey | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Anders | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 30-76 | 2-8 | 7-23 | 21 | 47-53 | 69 |
Turnovers: Wyomissing 7, Parkway CC 23.