Amaya – Berks Sports Report

Stewart picks Albany

Paul Roberts — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 21:30:20 +0000

It’s become trendy to refer to hard-nosed athletes as “dogs.” Wyomissing basketball standout Amaya Stewart is going to be a great dane. The 6’1 rising senior announced on Wednesday that she’s committed to Albany. The Great Danes were (25-7) overall this past season. They finished (13-3) in the America East Conference.

Stewart has been a first team All-State selection in each of the past two years. She’s a two-time Berks County Player of the Year. Stewart will enter her senior season with 1,339 points. She reached 1,000 points against Middletown on January 13. That also happened to be her birthday. Stewart averaged 19.5 points per game last year. She showed her versatility by stepping outside and hitting 21 three-pointers. Stewart has been a dominant low post player for the Spartans.

Wyomissing has won back-to-back Berks League and District 3-4A championships. Stewart led the Spartans to a (31-1) record a season ago. They fell to Blackhawk 47-31 in the PIAA-4A semifinals. Stewart erupted for a career-high 33 points in a 62-52 victory over Neumann-Goretti in the second round of the state playoffs.

Albany reached the semifinals of the America East Tournament this year. The Great Danes came up short versus Vermont 50-46. They were knocked out in the opening round of the WNIT. Colgate defeated Albany 64-50.

All-State Team-Girls Basketball

Paul Roberts — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 14:08:00 +0000

A pair of high school girls basketball players from Berks County were voted to the Pennsylvania Sports Writers’ All-State team. Wyomissing’s Amaya Stewart is a first team selection in Class 4A for the second straight year. Exeter senior Grace Reedy made the third team in Class 5A.

Stewart averaged 19.5 points while leading the Spartans to their second consecutive Berks League and District 3-4A championships. In the second round of the state playoffs, the 6’1 junior poured in a career-high 33 points in a 62-52 victory over Neumann-Goretti. Wyomissing finished (31-1) and reached the PIAA-4A semifinals. Stewart will enter her senior campaign with 1,339 career points. She improved her range last season and made 21 treys. Stewart has averaged a double-double since her freshman year. She’s a two-time Berks County Player of the Year.

Reedy has led the BCIAA in scoring the past two seasons. The 5’9 guard averaged 21 ppg. this year. She connected 35 times from beyond the arc. Reedy dropped 21 points in the opening round of the District 3-5A tournament at Manheim Central. That performance made her Exeter’s all-time leading scorer. She finished her career with 1,403 points. Reedy is a two-time All-County pick.

Amaya Stewart-Wyomissing

Paul Roberts — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 02:15:53 +0000

The 3-pointer has completely changed the game of basketball at the college and professional levels. Many teams are launching more shots from beyond the arc than ever before. Wyomissing, however, is more than happy to pound the ball inside. When you have a talent like Amaya Stewart, give her the ball and let her “go to work” as head coach Aaron Anders often says from the sideline. Stewart erupted for a career-high 33 points and 11 rebounds in a thrilling 62-52 win over Neumann-Goretti on Wednesday at Pottstown. “It’s a blessing. We worked so hard to get here and it’s paying off,” remarked Stewart. The Spartans improved to (30-0) and advanced to the PIAA-4A quarterfinals. They led the (19-7) Saints 9-0 and 18-5 after the first quarter. Their advantage expanded to 24-8 in the second quarter. Neumann-Goretti, a five-time state champion, didn’t go away easily. The Saints ended the first half on a 17-to-4 run to pull within 28-25 at the break. They have five guards in their starting lineup including 5’4 junior Carryn Easley and highly touted 5’8 freshman Regina Baker. “They are really tough. They’re probably the best [guards] in the state,” stated Stewart. Easley finished with 22 points and Baker added 11. They were both first team selections in the Philadelphia Catholic League. Stewart fed Audrey Hurleman for two layups to open the third quarter. Neumann Goretti, the #3 seed from District 12, went on another run. Easley jammed nine points into that period and Wyomissing trailed 41-39 entering the final quarter. Annie McCaffrey hit a triple from the left corner with five minutes remaining. Her ninth trey of the season put the Spartans in front 46-44. The lone senior in their starting lineup provided 13 points. McCaffrey is committed to UMass for soccer. Stewart followed with a three-point play for a 51-47 cushion midway through the fourth quarter. The 6’1 junior grabbed a missed free throw and turned it into another three-point play with three minutes left. The first team All-State pick had a dozen points in the last eight minutes. “Take over, take over. I’m gonna step up. I’m built for that,” replied Stewart when asked about her mentality. Hurleman, a 5’8 junior, made a pair of foul shots with 1:15 to go for a 58-52 edge. The North Carolina lacrosse commit contributed 12 points. McCaffrey went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe with 47 seconds remaining. She gave Wyomissing a 60-52 lead. The Spartans ended up 11-of-19 from the free throw line, while the Saints were 8-of-14. Sophomore Kamora Berry made half of Neumann-Goretti’s six 3-pointers. The Saints fell to the Spartans in the second round for the second straight year. Wyomissing will meet District 7 champ North Catholic at 2pm on Saturday at Bald Eagle High School. Stewart is grateful for the fan support during this undefeated streak. “It’s beautiful. We love our community. We know we have a huge community behind our back,” she said.

Amaya Stewart-Wyomissing

Paul Roberts — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 19:47:00 +0000

The Wyomissing girls basketball team couldn’t wait for this day to arrive. The Spartans got the opportunity to play at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Monday afternoon. “We couldn’t sit still at practice for the past two weeks,” emphasized Amaya Stewart. The All-State forward and Berks County Player of the Year finished with 15 points in a 43-27 victory over ELCO. The Spartans jumped out to an 8-3 lead. The Raiders didn’t go away quietly. They outscored Wyomissing 12-9 in the second quarter to even things at 17-17. Makenna Seifert, a 5’9 senior forward, scored six of her team-high eight points in the second period. Stewart provided the Spartans with eleven points in the middle quarters. Wyomissing was on top 31-27 with eight minutes remaining. The Spartans’ defense stole the show in the final period as ELCO went scoreless. Audrey Hurleman, one of four returning starters for Wyomissing, had a dozen points. “Oh my gosh, MVP of the game. It was great,” said Stewart about Hurleman. The junior forward is an All-County selection in both soccer and lacrosse. Junior guard Alexis Hardy chipped in with six points. The (7-0) Spartans are coming off a historical season. They won their first Berks County and District 3 championships in 2022-23. However, this talented group isn’t taking things lightly. “We come to practice ready to work every single day,” remarked Stewart. ELCO won the boys game 60-47. Sophomores Kaden Shultz-Tillison and Josiah Hayes came off the bench to combine for 31 points. Shultz-Tillison poured in a game-high 20 points for the (4-2) Raiders. He knocked down three NBA treys. Freshman guard Justice Hardy led the (0-2) Spartans with 15 points including eight in the fourth quarter. All of the players were grateful for the opportunity which was organized by ELCO athletic director Tommy Mealy. “It was an amazing experience. It was something like no other. It’s a one time experience. I’ll talk about it forever,” stated Stewart.

Amaya Stewart-Wyomissing

Paul Roberts — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 00:24:00 +0000

Amaya Stewart got to play at Santander Arena for the first time on Tuesday and she made the most of it. The 6’1 sophomore had a game-high 19 points in Wyomissing’s 43-35 victory over Wilson in the Berks League semifinals. Stewart and Annie McCaffrey dominated in the paint all night long. McCaffrey scored eight of her 16 points in the first quarter. “I love that girl. She did her absolute best when they were locking up me. Now that she’s coming out of her shell, it feels great,” said Stewart. McCaffrey, a 5’9 junior, is committed to UMass for soccer. She averages eight points per game. The second-seeded Spartans and third-seeded Bulldogs were even at 12-12 after eight minutes. Stewart came to life in the second period with nine points. Wyomissing began that quarter with a 10-2 run. Wilson trailed 25-18 at halftime. The (15-9) Bulldogs outscored the (22-2) Spartans 11-8 in the third frame. Laila Jones drilled a 3-pointer to get Wilson within 35-32 with five and a-half minutes remaining. She’s one of three freshmen in the starting lineup. The 5’6 point guard hit a shot with 90 seconds left to make it 37-35, but the Bulldogs wouldn’t score again. Maddie Campbell sank a pair of free throws with one minute to go. The 5’4 guard was the only senior who started for Wyomissing. McCaffrey added two more foul shots with 47 seconds to play. A layup by Stewart sealed the deal. The Spartans ended up 11-22 from the free throw line, while Wilson went 3-5. Jones (13) and Violet Houck (12) combined for 25 points. Houck is a promising 5’11 freshman center. She grabbed eight rebounds. Wilson’s 6-game winning streak came to a halt. The Bulldogs, who were limited to six points in the fourth quarter, didn’t qualify for the District 3 playoffs this season. The top twelve teams get in the Class 6A tournament. Wilson was #13 in the power rankings. I asked Stewart how it feels to have the opportunity to compete for a county championship. She replied, “Oh my gosh, a dream come true. To push through now, it feels amazing.” Wyomissing has never won a Berks League title in girls basketball. Reading stands in their way. The fourth-seeded Red Knights upset top-seeded Berks Catholic 39-33 in the semifinals. Reading outscored the Saints 17-5 in the last quarter. Stewart had a message for the (14-10) Red Knights. “I love them to death because I played with every single one of them. But when it comes to Friday, we’re on your necks. No mercy,” she stated.