Alexis Hardy-Wyomissing

You couldn’t tell in the first quarter which team was (11-0) and which had lost three in a row. Fleetwood scored the first six points at Wyomissing. The Tigers led 9-2 when Kansas State commit Alexis Hess drained a deep 3-pointer from the left wing. Sophomore guard Alexis Hardy was the spark that the unbeaten Spartans needed after a sluggish start. Hardy provided nine of Wyomissing’s 18 points in the first half. Amaya Stewart, one of nine sophomores on the roster, took over after halftime. The 6’1 forward finished with a game-high 17 points in a 55-22 rout. “She played amazing. She was looking for her teammates. She had a lot of assists, and she also had a lot of nice takes to the basket,” said Hardy. After managing just four points in the first half, Stewart dominated on both ends of the floor. She blocked shots, dished out some sweet assists, crashed the glass, and even handled the ball. The (5-6, 1-3) Tigers were held to 13 points after the opening quarter. Hess, who came into the night averaging 21 points, was limited to six. The 6’1 guard has 1,251 points in her career. The Spartans used a trapping defense to force 21 turnovers. They went on an 18-2 run to begin the third period and take a 36-16 advantage. Eight of Annie McCaffrey’s eleven points came in the fourth quarter. The 5’9 junior is committed to UMass for soccer. She’s averaging nearly nine points off the bench this season. “Having Annie come in right away is really a boost to our defense. She’s very aggressive. She hustles for every ball, and I feel like she really pushes our team,” noted Hardy. The (12-0, 4-0) Spartans outscored Fleetwood 17-3 over the last eight minutes. Hardy was part of Wyomissing’s Berks County and District 3-2A championship soccer team in the fall. She and her teammates are well aware that girls basketball is one of the few sports that doesn’t have a championship banner in Wyomissing’s gym. “That is a topic that’s brought up very often. It’s a very big goal for us to be the first of something,” emphasized Hardy. She had a dozen points in Monday’s victory. Audrey Hurleman, yet another sophomore, chipped in with eight points. Sophomore guard Morgan Koehler had a team-high eight points for the Tigers. They were 6-of-15 from the free throw line, while the Spartans went 8-17. Wyomissing is allowing the fewest points in the league this year. They’re giving up just 27 ppg. Hardy mentioned that this is a tight-knit group. She replied, “We’re all very close. We like to hang out outside of basketball all the time so I feel like that really helps us.”