Aaron Anders-Wyomissing

Committing 22 turnovers and shooting 7-18 from the free throw line usually isn’t the formula to win a District 3 Championship. However, when you play defense like Wyomissing, anything is possible. The Spartans held top-seeded Delone Catholic scoreless for the final two minutes and twenty seconds of a 35-30 victory in the Class 4A Final. It’s the first District title in the history of Wyomissing’s girls basketball program. “I’m just really excited for these kids. They played an unbelievable game against a storied program and they matched the challenge,” said head coach Aaron Anders. The third-seeded Spartans jumped out to an 8-1 advantage after eight minutes. The (24-3) Squirettes battled back as you would expect from a seven-time District 3 champion with a legendary coach. Gerry Eckenrode has 642 career wins. He’s (564-147) over 24 years at Delone Catholic. They outscored Wyomissing 12-4 in the second quarter thanks to ten points from Kaitlyn Schwarz. The 5’11 junior forward finished with a game-high 14. Schwarz had five field goals. The rest of her team had just six. The Squirettes were held 21 points under their season average. Anders was thrilled with his team’s defense. “They just followed the script. They did such a great job of recognizing, communicating and talking on the defensive end,” he replied. The (26-2) Spartans dominated on the glass and limited Delone Catholic to one shot. Wyomissing trailed 22-21 after the third quarter. Annie McCaffrey found Audrey Hurleman for a layup with three minutes remaining. Hurleman, an all-county soccer player and defensive standout, provided ten points. She’s one of three sophomores in the starting lineup. Megan Jacoby answered with a 3-pointer from the left corner to put the Squirettes back on top 30-29 with 2:20 left. They were looking for their third straight Class 4A title. Hurleman sank a pair of foul shots with 1:11 to go for a 34-30 edge. Alexis Hardy went 1-2 from the stripe with 32 seconds to play for the final margin. The 5’5 sophomore chipped in with eight points. Wyomissing prevailed despite going 4-11 from the free line in the final period. Amaya Stewart led the Spartans with twelve points including two buckets in the fourth quarter. “She’s writing her story. She’s just an unbelievable player. She’s an unbelievable kid. She’s an unbelievable teammate. You’re gonna hear a lot more about Amaya Stewart,” emphasized Anders. The 6’1 sophomore was named the Berks County Player of the Year this season. Stewart powered Wyomissing to its first Berks League Championship. The Spartans are hoping to make more history when the state playoffs begin. They’ll host a first round matchup on Saturday.