Wyomissing and Neumann-Goretti will face off for the third straight season in the second round of PIAA Class 4A girls basketball playoffs Wednesday at 7:30 inside Spring-Ford High School.
The Spartans won the past two meetings with a 62-52 victory last season and a 40-33 victory the year before.
The Saints finished 11-15 two years ago and 19-7 last year. N-G's steady progression led by 5-5 senior guards Carryn Easley, a Fordham commit, and Amya Scott, a Delaware State commit, has hit a crescendo this season with the Saints going undefeated in the Philadelphia Catholic League during the regular season, winning the PCL title over Archbishop Carroll, and sitting at 22-4 on the season.
Goretti routed Northwestern Lehigh 76-27 in the first round of the PIAA tournament on Saturday. The Spartans topped N-G's PCL mate Nazareth Academy 59-43 Saturday.
After the Saints won the PCL championship, they were defeated by Audenried and Penn State commit Shayla Smith 77-66 in the District 12 championship.
Neumann-Goretti 11th-year head coach Andrea Peterson has won five state titles and was named USA Today's National Coach of the Year in 2015. Peterson's top three scorers all average around 14 points per game.
Easley, who is AAU teammates with Wyomissing's Amaya Stewart (Albany commit), averages a team-high 14.6 ppg along with 3.8 rebounds per game, 5.0 assists per game, and 1.8 steals per game.
Sophomore 5-6 guard Regina Baker averages 14.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, and 1.9 apg. Junior 5-8 guard Kamora Berry averages 14.2 ppg.
Scott averages 12.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.8 apg, and 1.6 spg.
Freshman 5-10 center Chrisette King has entered the mix this season, averaging 3.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in her debut varsity season.
Junior 5-7 guard Zion Coston (3.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg) rounds out Peterson's top six.
The key for the Saints in overcoming the Wyomissing barrier in the state playoffs will be finding a way to stop, or at least contain, the 6-1 Stewart. Wyomissing's senior had a 33-point, 11-rebound double-double last season and a 25-point, 11-rebound double-double two seasons ago against the Saints.
Neumann-Goretti's four losses have come against the aforementioned Audenried, Bullis School (Potomac, Md.), Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.), and Westtown.
Wyomissing's four losses have come against Hazleton, Middletown, Westtown, and Reading High.
Westtown beat the Saints 86-63 on Jan. 11 and the Spartans 69-30 on Jan. 18. The other common opponent is Nazareth Academy, which Goretti also defeated by a score of 60-48 on Jan. 23.
The winner between Neumann-Goretti and Wyomissing will face 2-1 Scranton Prep or 11-1 Allentown Central Catholic in the quarterfinals Saturday.
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