Addie Loeb was an eighth grader two years ago when Wyomissing began its unprecedented run to now three straight District 3 Class 4A championship games.
The Spartans hadn't won a District 3 title in the program's girls basketball history, only appearing in the championship game in 2004 and 1979.
Loeb's older sister—Lexi—was a senior who drilled a team-high 57 3-pointers, second-most in Berks, as Wyomissing finished 28-3 and won the first of its back-to-back district championships.
Now a sophomore, the younger Loeb is making her own mark with two key 3s in the second quarter to shift momentum and lift the No. 3 Spartans to a 43-39 victory over No. 2 Northern Lebanon Tuesday night in the District 3 Class 4A semifinals in Fredericksburg.
"Addie Loeb hitting two 3s in the second quarter really opened it up for us and settled us down," Wyomissing head coach Aaron Anders said. "We played really solid defense. I'm just proud of how gritty they played and how they finished this game."
Loeb has now hit a team-high 42 3-pointers, fifth-most in Berks, with the two in the second quarter giving the Spartans (22-4) juice after they trailed Vikings (21-5) by a score of 8-2 following the first.
Senior and Albany commit Amaya Stewart got going and scored eight of her 12 points in the quarter as Wyomissing outscored Northern Lebanon 17-3 to take an eight-point lead into halftime.
Senior and North Carolina lacrosse commit Audrey Hurleman, who has valiantly returned from an ACL surgery in nine months, scored all eight of her points in the second half. Junior Kacey Maggs hit a 3 each in the third and fourth quarters and senior Lili Marshall went 3-for-4 from the foul line down the stretch to fight off the second-half push from the determined Vikings, who ultimately fall to the Spartans for the second straight year in the district semifinals.
Olivia Shutter had 12 of her game-high 15 points in the second half; Hayley Sheroky scored seven of her 12 in the fourth quarter; and Kasey Weimer had 10 points for Ken Battistelli's Vikings.
"Lili Marshall hit big free throws," Anders said. "Kacey Maggs came up with big plays. Alexis Hardy was steady. Audrey Hurleman was huge. I'm so happy we are going back to Hershey and I'm so proud of these kids."
The Spartans (22-4) advance to face No. 1 Lancaster Catholic (22-4), which defeated No. 4 Delone Catholic 52-31 Tuesday, in the championship Friday at 4:30 in Hershey's Giant Center aiming to complete a threepeat.
Lancaster Catholic is also aiming to complete a threepeat after winning the 3A title the past two seasons. The Crusaders won the 3A state championship last year. They were bumped up to 4A due to the PIAA competition formula and have absorbed the blow of six seniors graduating to get back to the district championship.
The Crusaders were the last 4A school to complete a district threepeat from 2018-20 and have the most District 3 championships all-time with 21.
Lancaster Catholic is led by sophomore guard Navaeh Kennedy, who scores a team-high 13.7 points per game. Kennedy has made 96 foul shots at a 71.1-percent clip this season. She scored 27 points in the Crusaders' win over Delone Tuesday, including 9-for-10 shooting from the stripe.
Senior Carleigh Anderson is the No. 2 scorer at 11.2 ppg and has made a team-high 31 3-pointers. After a flood of injuries, Anderson was the only returning starter in 11th-year head coach Charlie Detz's lineup Tuesday. Detz has won 277 games as Lancaster Catholic's head coach.
Wyomissing and Lancaster Catholic have played two common opponents this season: Northern Lebanon and Berks Catholic. The Crusaders defeated Northern Lebanon 40-38 and 51-29 in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. The Spartans (37-34) and Crusaders (37-31) each beat Berks Catholic.
Two Berks teams saw their seasons end Tuesday.
Biglerville defeated Oley Valley 54-41 Tuesday in the District 3 Class 3A third-place game to eliminate the Lynx from state playoff contention. Senior Izzy Buehler scored 17 points to lead Oley.
Susquehanna Township defeated Berks Catholic 44-42 Tuesday in the District 3 Class 4A consolation semifinals to eliminate the Saints from state playoff contention. Senior Madison Langdon scored 20 points to lead BC.
Only three teams have qualified for the state tournament from Berks: Wyomissing, Wilson, and Conrad Weiser.
The Bulldogs travel to Mechanicsburg in the District 3 Class 6A fifth-place game to determine PIAA playoff seeding Wednesday.
The Scouts host Lower Dauphin in the District 3 Class 5A seventh-place game to determine PIAA playoff seeding Wednesday.
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