“Roberts Rankings”-Girls Basketball

Can Wyomissing pull off a three-peat? That’s one of the big questions in the Berks County Girls Basketball League this winter. The season is just underway and it should be an exciting one. A handful of teams are legitimate contenders for the county title. Parity could be a word that is used often over the next three months. Seven squads from the Berks League qualified for the District 3 playoffs a season ago, but just two advanced to the state tournament. There are several new head coaches and emerging stars this year.

The Spartans sit atop my poll which shouldn’t come as a surprise. They’re coming off a (31-1) campaign and have claimed back-to-back Berks County and District 3 crowns. Yes, their loss at Hazleton over the weekend was ugly. Keep in mind, however, that seniors Alexis Hardy and Audrey Hurleman didn’t play against the defending District 2-6A champs. Hurleman, a North Carolina lacrosse commit, is expected back in January after recovering from a knee injury. Wyomissing still has the top player in the county in Amaya Stewart. The 6’1 Albany commit is a two-time All-State selection who averaged 19.5 points per game as a junior.

Laila Jones will be sorely missed in West Lawn. The two-time All-County pick is out with a torn ACL. The flashy point guard led the Bulldogs to a (24-5) mark last season. New head coach Matt Raquet still has some tremendous all-around athletes to work with in juniors Laura Crocona and 5’11 Violet Houck. You will be hearing a lot about 5’9 sophomore Kailani Hardy. She dropped 25 points in Wilson’s season opening loss to Emmaus. Hardy can score at all three levels.

Berks Catholic returns four starters who should be motivated after finishing with a (12-13) record. Congratulations to Bob Birmingham who picked up career victory #650 on Saturday. This is his 36th year as a head coach. Madison Langdon, Sydney Corado, and Molly McFadden have been household names at Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium for the past three seasons. Langdon earned All-County status as a junior when she averaged 16.5 ppg. The 5’4 point guard knocked down 49 treys and is closing in on 1,000 points. Daniel Boone transfer Liv Welker will provide a boost for the Saints. The 5’10 junior scored 10 ppg. for the Blazers.

Reading and Gov. Mifflin are two dangerous teams that shouldn’t be overlooked. The Red Knights return a pair of double digit scorers in seniors Tamyia Collier and Yamilex Rodriguez. Freshman guard Xiani Beatty will be an impact player at the Geigle Complex. The Mustangs have plenty of young talent as well. Bella Super, Brooklyn George, and Bridget Martin return for their sophomore seasons. Super provided a dozen points a night last year and connected 34 times from beyond the arc. Freshman forward Saray Renninger has a bright future in Shillington. Mike Clark is one win shy of 300. He’s entering his 17th season overall and 13th at Gov. Mifflin. If the 3-pointers are falling, you can never count out the Mustangs. They’ve piled up 14 Berks League titles.

Exeter begins a new chapter with the graduation of Grace Reedy, the school’s all-time leading scorer at 1,403 points. Reedy poured in 21 ppg. last winter and was named to the Class 5A All-State team. The Eagles have an athletic group that includes Meredith Fylypowycz, Maggie Kopanski, Chayse Flood, and Lillie Keperling. Coaches around the league don’t expect Exeter to fall off the map because Reedy is gone.

Brandywine Heights and Schuylkill Valley round out my initial rankings. Rob Benner takes over for Jason Bieber as the Bullets’ head coach. Bieber is the new skipper of the Fleetwood boys basketball program. Meanwhile, Benner will be relying on some familiar faces. His daughters, Addison and Sophia, hope to get Brandywine Heights back to the postseason. Addison Benner, a skilled 5’11 senior, needs just twenty points to join the 1,000 club. Her sister Sophia, a talented freshman guard, will be part of an uptempo offense. Junior guard Elyssa Sellers could have a big season in Leesport. The southpaw averaged nearly eight points last year for the Panthers. Sellers and senior guard CC Reali are joined by Gov. Mifflin transfer Hannah West.

Twin Valley and Conrad Weiser are a couple of other teams to watch. They easily could have slid into my rankings. Hailey Kilgore should be the focal point of the Raiders’ offense after averaging 14 ppg. as a sophomore. She drilled 47 three-pointers. Syracuse lacrosse commit Ellie Kaplan is part of a solid junior class that includes Olivia Schmittinger. Matt Hahn begins his first full season as head coach in Elverson. The Scouts also have a new man in charge. Athletic director Chris Kline has an experienced group of players in Robesonia. Five of them were part of the starting lineup at different times last winter. Seniors Alex Trevena, Gisselle Feliciano, and Lauren Grabosky look to improve on a (6-16) campaign. Trevena averaged a team-high 7 ppg. with 28 triples. Speaking of triples, she’s headed to Kent State for softball. Grabosky, a 6’ center, will help in the rebounding department. She had 16 boards in their season opener. Sophomore Geniva Paul is another underclassmen to keep an eye on. It will be difficult for Oley Valley to reach 17 victories again this year. Morgan Snyder ended her career with more than 1,000 points. The All-County selection is now playing field hockey at Penn State.

Without further ado, here is my poll for the Berks Girls Basketball League. Ranking the top eight teams wasn’t easy. I consider many of the spots to be interchangeable this year. The records that you see below are from last season. Remember that no matter where your favorite school is ranked, the sun will come out tomorrow!

“The Great 8”

1.Wyomissing (31-1)

2.Wilson (24-5)

3.Berks Catholic (12-13)

4.Reading (10-13)

5.Gov. Mifflin (15-10)

6.Exeter (14-10)

7.Brandywine Heights (14-8)

8.Schuylkill Valley (15-9)