Wyomissing completes first perfect regular season
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Wyomissing’s Abby Zechman started Monday’s Senior Night game for the Spartans even though she has missed the entire the season with a knee injury.
Wyomissing head coach Aaron Anders wanted to get his senior one final bucket, which Zechman converted for the first points of the Spartans’ 56-14 victory over visiting Fleetwood.
She can now say she scored on a team that has accomplished something no other Wyomissing basketball team has ever done: finish the regular season undefeated.
“They have been disciplined to look at the challenge to prepare for each team, not look ahead or take it for granted,” Anders said of the 22-0 Spartans. “What it means is we have a whole lot of growth right now. I’m proud of this group of girls and the commitment they have made to each other.”
The most recent Berks Girls League team to complete a perfect regular season was Oley Valley in 2011-2012 when it went 22-0 before losing to Reading High in the BCIAA semifinals.
Those Lynx narrowly lost 72-69 to Lancaster Catholic in the District 3 Class 3A title game before losing to Archbishop Wood in states.
Brandi Vallely, Jasmine Clark, Breanne Lamey, and Miranda Krott led that team.
You have to go back three more years to find another Berks girls team with a perfect regular season record: Muhlenberg in 2009.
The Muhls went 21-0 before losing to Wilson in the BCIAA semifinals. They advanced to the district semifinals before falling to Lampeter-Strasburg and then lost to Holy Redeemer in states.
Those Muhls were led by Amanda Mikatavage, Liz Hornberger, Tatiana Marseille, and Michele Schrift.
These Spartans are led by returning starters Amaya Stewart, Annie McCaffrey, Alexis Hardy, and Audrey Hurleman.
“We’ve improved from last year as a result of the experience that the four returning starters have,” Anders said. “They have given the young guns the space and grace to grow into the players they are now.”
Zechman was a key contributor on last year’s Berks and District 3 championship team, playing in 30 of the 31 games and scoring about four points per game. She was slotted to start this season after the graduations of guards Lexi Loeb and Maddie Campbell before the knee injury.
Lily Marshall, another key guard reserve, also went down with a season-ending injury without playing any minutes this season.
Missing two key players, the question in the preseason was: Would the Spartans be able to reach the same heights with all of those losses?
That answer appears to be a resounding yes.
Sophomore Kacey Maggs and freshman Karly Hyde have stepped into bigger roles. Each has averaged around four points per game and have played in more than 20 games. Freshman Addison Loeb, Lexi’s younger sister, has played in 16 games and hit 14 3’s, third on the team.
Last season the Spartans’ first loss came against Middletown after a 14-0 start. They then lost by three points to Bishop McDevitt just three games later. They avenged that first loss by beating the Blue Raiders by 13 points in districts.
Wyomissing doubled down on beating Middletown with a 43-36 victory and avenged the Bishop McDevitt loss with a 51-32 triumph this season.
The Spartans have shown they’re hungry for more than just the Berks and District 3 titles they won for the first time last year. They want to show they can be even better, which would mean advancing further than the PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals.
That’s where Wyomissing’s season was ended last season by Pittsburgh North Catholic after state playoff wins over Philly’s Parkway Center City and powerhouse Neumann-Goretti.
Playoff season begins Saturday, when the Spartans will host a BCIAA quarterfinal.
