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PIAA 3A: Young Neumann-Goretti falls short against powerhouse Wyomissing

03/16/2023, 12:30am EDT
By Sean McBryan

Sean McBryan (@SeanMcBryan)

The expectation for Neumann-Goretti girls basketball has been sky-high ever since 2015.

That’s what happens when you go 33-0, win a PIAA Class 2A championship, and are recognized as national champions by multiple media outlets.


Amya Scott (above, in January) is one of a young core of Saints set to return. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

“The 2015 national championship team set the winning tradition here at N-G,” said Saints head coach Andrea Peterson, who won the Naismith Girls High School Basketball Coach of the Year and the USA Today Coach of the Year awards following that season.

The Saints proceeded to win three additional state championships, winning the 2A title in 2016 and 3A titles in 2017 and 2018.

Neumann-Goretti lost in the 3A quarterfinals in 2019 before there was no tournament in 2020 and the COVID-affected tournament in 2021 only saw district champions qualify.

The Saints responded by winning the 3A championship last season and will have to follow a similar template after falling 40-33 to District 3 champion Wyomissing in a PIAA Class 4A second-round matchup Wednesday at Coatesville High School.

Wyomissing advances to face 7-1 North Catholic, which defeated 10-2 Harbor Creek 51-34 Wednesday, in the quarterfinals Saturday.

The District 12 third-place Saints (11-15) finish the season with a losing record, which doesn’t tell the full story of a talented team that took the Spartans (28-2) to the brink.

“That’s the best 11-15 team I’ve ever seen,” Wyomissing head coach Aaron Anders said. “Let’s be clear.”

But the Saints want titles.

“There are things we need to do to get better and I think that goes for the majority of the team,” Peterson said. “We’re young.”

The inexperience that comes with youth may be troublesome now; it also means there’s still untapped potential on a team that was a few plays away from heading to the state quarterfinals.

The talented backcourt duo of Amya Scott (16.1 points per game) and Carryn Easely (13.7) is a great foundation to build upon as Neumann-Goretti begins the offseason grind to meet its championship expectations next season.

“Their poise is unreal as underclassmen,” Peterson said. “They’re going to be special in the future. In the locker room we all just talked about how we grow and get better. I know they’re already anxious to get after it next year. I think I’m going to see two different kids next year. They’re already hungry to come back.”

Freshmen Kamora Berry and Zion Coston and junior Ke’Lari Murphy also return while a few impact incoming freshmen will likely make their presence known too. 

The Saints were in control the entire first half against Wyomissing. They led 7-4 after the first quarter and 19-14 at halftime while holding the Spartans’ leading scorer Amaya Stewart to only eight points.

Momentum shifted in the third as Stewart’s 6-1 frame started to overwhelm the undersized Saints. Wyomissing’s sophomore had 10 points in the third quarter as the Spartans cut the deficit to 27-26 heading to the fourth.

Neumann-Goretti got into foul trouble and Wyomissing entered the bonus in each half. The difference was the Spartans fed Stewart in the paint for high-percentage shots and a few Saints had to be less aggressive in the second half.

“We prepared for it,” Peterson said of Wyomissing’s size advantage. “Being in that foul trouble changed the way we had to defend the rest of the game.”

Stewart’s putback to start the fourth quarter gave Wyomissing its first lead since 3:29 remained in the second quarter.

“The big kid took over a little bit,” Peterson said. “She didn’t really get off much in the first half. She kind of took over in the second half.”

Stewart, who holds an offer from Temple, scored 17 of her game-high 25 points in the second half and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Easley hit a 3 with 4:32 left in the game to make it 31-30 and another with 1:57 remaining to make it 34-33, but the Spartans finished the game on a 6-0 including four straight made free throws to close out the game.

Berry finished with a team-high nine points; Easley had eight points, four rebounds, and four assists; Scott had seven points and four assists; and senior Amirah Hackney had seven points and four rebounds.

“They’ll head off to AAU and come back in September,” Peterson said. “But we’ll remember this moment.”

By Quarter
Neumann-Goretti: 7  |  12  |  8  |  6  ||  33
Wyomissing: 4  |   10   |   12   |  14  ||  40

Shooting
Neumann-Goretti: 12-41 FG (5-18 3PT), 4-5 FT
Wyomissing: 13-37 FG (0-6 3PT), 14-21 FT

Scoring
Neumann-Goretti: Berry 9, Easley 8, Scott 7, Hackney 7, Tyler 2.

Wyomissing: Stewart 25, McCaffrey 6, Campbell 4, Hurleman 3, Hardy 2

Rebounds
Neumann-Goretti: Tyler 6, Easley 4, Hackney 4, Berry 3, Scott 1, Coston 1. Total: 19.
Wyomissing: Stewart 11, McCaffrey 10, Hurleman 6, Zechman 3, Campbell 3, Loeb 1, Hardy 1. Total: 35. 

Assists
Neumann-Goretti: Scott 4, Easley 4, Berry 1. Total: 9.
Cedar Cliff: McCaffrey 3, Zechman 2, Campbell 2, Hardy 1, Stewart 1. Total: 9.

Turnovers
Neumann-Goretti 12.
Wyomissing 15.

~~~

Wed., March 15
Boys 6A
(11-1) Parkland vs. (1-7) Garnet Valley (6 PM)
(1-2) Spring-Ford 43, (3-3) Hempfield 39
(12-1) Roman Catholic 60, (1-3) Lower Merion 56 (OT)
(7-2) New Castle 65, (1-4) Downingtown West 56
(3-1) Reading 86, (1-6) Upper Darby 58
(1-9) Coatesville 61, (1-8) North Penn 55
(12-3) Archbishop Wood 72, (3-6) Chambersburg 45

Girls 5A
(1-1) West Chester Rustin 49, (2-2) Abington Heights 46
(12-1) Archbishop Wood 42, (1-2) Villa Maria 29
(1-3) Bishop Shanahan 43, (2-1) Pittston Area 35.
(11-1) Bethlehem Catholic 34, (1-4) Gwynedd Mercy 24

Boys 4A
(1-1) Bishop Shanahan 69, (2-1) Scranton Prep 57

Girls 4A
(12-1) Lansdale Catholic 79, (4-2) Jersey Shore 42
(3-5) Trinity 67, (12-2) Audenried 50
(2-1) Scranton Prep 51, (1-1) Nazareth Acad.47 (OT)
(3-1) Wyomissing 40, (12-3) Neumann-Goretti 33

Boys 3A
(12-3) Devon Prep 82, (2-2) Mid Valley 52
(12-1) West Catholic 56, (2-1) Holy Redeemer 47
(3-1) Trinity 91, Math, Civics & Sciences 84 Girls 3A
(2-1) Dunmore 52, (12-1) Imhotep Charter 34

Boys 2A
(11-1) Mahanoy Area 58, (12-1) Constitution 40
(1-1) Dock Mennonite 60, (12-2) Sankofa Freedom 44

Girls 1A
(4-2) St. John Neumann 40, (1-1) The Christian Acad. 37


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