Wyomissing Senior Ella Anders' Late Free Throws Stun Schuylkill Valley, Keep Berks III Race Alive

Facing its largest deficit of nine with less than 3:00 to play, Wyomissing showed no signs of panic.

For a program shaped by deep state playoff runs the past three seasons, high-pressure moments have become second nature.

While these Spartans have a new look, the traits—calmness, positivity, heart—reinforced the past few seasons have remained. Now there is a new group of upperclassmen showing the younger players the ropes.

Senior Ella Anders hit two free throws with 0.3 seconds left as Wyomissing closed the game on an 8-0 run and stunned Schuylkill Valley 42-41 Tuesday night in Leesport in a Berks III showdown.

Watch Wyomissing's final possession Tuesday. (Sean McBryan video)

The Panthers (7-1 Berks III, 10-4) would have clinched their first division title since the 2021-22 season with a win. Instead, the Spartans (5-2, 6-11) kept the Berks III race alive and continued a turnaround after a difficult start to the season.

Anders was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds remaining. After missing the first free throw, it would've been easy to let the nerves kick in.

Wyomissing senior Ella Anders. (Caden Moyer photo)

“I just took a deep breath,” Anders said. “I hadn’t been very consistent throughout the game, but I told myself to do it for my team. We practice foul shots every day, so I just imagined I was back in my gym, practicing.”

Once the second attempt swooshed through to tie the game, No. 3 was automatic.

“It definitely took some pressure off once I made the second one and knew it was tied,” Anders said. “Then to hit the next one with only 0.3 seconds left felt really good.”

The finish was symbolic of Wyomissing’s growth since early January. The Spartans opened Berks III play 0-2 and were 1-8 overall, including a 39-23 loss to Schuylkill Valley on Dec. 9. They've gone 5-0 in league play and 5-3 overall since.

"Although our record doesn't show all the progress we've made, we've been all working as a team,” Anders said. “If you watch the first game we played against [Schuylkill Valley], compared to now, we've grown so much as a team, and just our chemistry has gotten so much better.”

Wyomissing celebrating the comeback victory over Schuylkill Valley Tuesday. (Caden Moyer photo)

An entirely new starting lineup took some time to gel and find consistency after graduating a senior class that reached the PIAA quarterfinals, semifinals, and second round the past three seasons while winning three consecutive District 3 championships.

Players like Anders and juniors Lily Paolini and Addie Loeb, who each played in 21 or more games last season, were now being counted on to lead, like Amaya Stewart, Audrey Hurleman, Alexis Hardy, and Lilli Marshall did for them.

“It definitely gave us experience and understanding more of the game,” said Paolini, who finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, and six steals Tuesday. “Knowing, like, you make a mistake, you just come back from it, rather than getting down. That was one of Amaya's big things. She was never negative and always brought everyone back up.”

Anders, Paolini, and Loeb have grown into their roles and now find themselves passing those lessons along to younger teammates — including leading scorer and freshman guard Mayleen Armistead — as the Spartans continue to grow together.

Wyomissing freshman Mayleen Armistead. (Caden Moyer photo)

“It definitely feels cool understanding that she has never played [on the varsity level],” Paolini said of her talented freshman teammate. “Knowing that learning from Amaya, learning from all the other girls that making a mistake is okay, you just need to keep picking people back up.”

With key players from last year in senior Kacey Maggs and junior Karly Hyde both sidelined for the season with injuries, that leadership has extended beyond the floor. Both remained active on the bench Tuesday night, supporting their teammates throughout the comeback.

“We literally had to learn to trust each other again,” Paolini said of the new-look Spartans this season. “Because a lot of us didn't get a lot of playing time together. That's the difference we've made from our first game against [Schuylkill Valley] to now.”

With two division games remaining against Hamburg and one each against Brandywine Heights and Fleetwood, the Spartans now find themselves in a position to contend for another Berks III title. Schuylkill Valley finishes its Berks III slate against Fleetwood, Oley Valley, and Hamburg.

The Panthers controlled much of the night Tuesday and appeared poised to clinch the Berks III title. The Spartans jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first quarter before Hannah West buried a 3-pointer and Amelia Falsone added a free throw to cut it to 10-7 after one.

Schuylkill Valley junior Hannah West. (Caden Moyer photo)

West stayed hot in the second quarter, knocking down two more 3-pointers despite double teams being sent her way, as the Panthers took an 18-16 lead into halftime.

The Panthers extended their advantage in the third as senior Elyssa Sellers got going after a scoreless first half. Operating in the paint against Wyomissing’s zone, Sellers scored 10 of her team-high 15 points in the quarter as Schuylkill Valley went up 31-27 heading into the fourth.

Sellers added five more points early in the fourth as the Panthers built their largest lead of the game at 39-30 with 2:49 remaining. Then the comeback started.

Schuylkill Valley senior Elyssa Sellers. (Caden Moyer photo)

Armistead made two free throws at 2:24. After a Hannah Yobb free throw at 2:07, Paolini converted a driving layup at 1:45. West then made one of two free throws at 1:22 to give the Panthers a 41-34 lead, their final points of the night.

Anders drilled a 3-pointer off an assist from Loeb with 50 seconds left, forcing a Schuylkill Valley timeout. After forcing a stop, Loeb buried a 3 of her own set up by Anders and the Spartans followed by forcing a Panthers turnover, trailing 41-40.

With 5.9 seconds left, Armistead went the length of the floor and found Anders on the right wing, setting the stage for the game-winning trip to the line.

	1	2	3	4	Final
Wyomissing	10	6	11	15	42
Schuylkill Valley	7	11	13	10	41

Spartans (5-2, 6-11)	FG	FT	3’s	A	R	Points
E. Anders	1-7	4-7	1-1	4	3	7
I. Campbell	2-5	0-0	1-3	0	1	5
Loeb	2-11	0-0	2-9	2	0	6
Schippers	1-3	0-0	0-0	0	0	2
Armistead	2-4	3-6	0-0	2	3	7
Paolini	6-10	3-4	0-0	2	9	15
Hurleman	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	4	0
Totals	14-41	10-17	4-13	10	20/21	42

Panthers (7-1, 10-4)	FG	FT	3’s	A	R	Points
Sellers	4-6	7-10	0-1	2	11	15
West	3-6	5-7	3-5	1	2	14
Falsone	2-4	1-2	0-0	0	6	5
Yobb	1-5	2-4	0-2	2	1	4
Houser	0-2	0-0	0-1	1	1	0
Butler	1-4	1-3	0-3	1	4	3
Totals	11-27	16-26	3-12	7	25/28	41

Turnovers: Wyomissing 11, Schuylkill Valley 19. Team rebounds: Wyomissing 1, Schuylkill Valley 3.