Westtown girls’ and boys’ basketball teams secure a Friends Schools League title
For the first time since 2022, both programs earned a championship. The boys topped Academy of the New Church, while the girls beat Friends’ Central.
After the Westtown boys’ basketball team claimed its first Friends Schools League title since 2022 with a 64-54 win over Academy of the New Church on Friday night, the girls’ team joined the medal ceremony at the center court.
The Westtown girls had their own hardware to show off for a championship photo op. The Moose hung on for a 53-46 win over Friends’ Central hours earlier in the FSL’s championship doubleheader at La Salle’s Glaser Arena.
It was the sixth consecutive FSL title for the Westtown girls and the first time the teams had shared the court as champions since 2022.
“I think the girls and the boys teams have a great bond at Westtown,” said guard Rowan Phillips. “It was good to see us win a championship because [the girls] have been doing this for a minute. So we’re just trying to catch up to them.”
Westtown girls outlast Friends’ Central
While the final score was closer than the Westtown coaching staff would have liked, the Moose scraped by No. 2 seed Friends’ Central behind Jordyn Palmer’s 19 points.
“I don’t think there was a lot going well for us,” coach Fran Burbidge said. “But I thought we defended and made some really good things [happen] in the second half. … We kept battling.”
The Phoenix held a 16-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Moose outscored them, 19-6, in the second to take a five-point halftime lead.
Friends’ Central whittled Westtown’s advantage to one in the fourth, but the Phoenix could not retake the lead.
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While Palmer’s performance did not match her 34-point output from last year’s title game, the 6-foot-2 forward took command in the final minutes.
Palmer, a nationally ranked recruit in the class of 2027, scored four of the game’s final five points, including a layup to put the Moose up, 50-46, with less than a minute remaining.
“I think it was at the three-minute mark, I talked with Jordan,” Burbidge said. “I said, ‘All right, things haven’t gone real well up to this point, but now’s your time. … You up for that?’ She said, ‘Yeah, I got it.’”
Westtown’s Jada Lynch scored 12 and Atlee Vanesko, a senior guard who is the No. 74 prospect in ESPN’s rankings and is committed to Ohio State, added nine.
Ryan Carter led Friends’ Central with 16 points, while Zya Small had 15. Like Palmer (No. 6), Carter (No. 12) and Small (No. 47) are in ESPN’s top 60 prospects for 2027.
Westtown, which is ranked eighth nationally by Sports Illustrated, is the top seed in the PAISAA state tournament. The Moose will host the winner between Agnes Irwin and Episcopal Academy in the quarterfinals.
Second-seeded Friends’ Central will play the winner of a first-round matchup between Germantown Academy and Penn Charter in the quarterfinals.
Westtown boys beat Academy of the New Church
Phillips’ 20-point performance led Westtown boys to be crowned FSL champions.
The 6-6 sophomore guard transferred to Westtown after spending his freshman year at Archbishop Wood. The FSL title was the first high school championship of any kind for Phillips, who is a four-star prospect ranked 21st nationally in the class of 2028.
“It feels great,” Phillips said. “It feels good to get one for the coaching staff and to see all the smiles on the guys’ faces for the first ’ship.”
Marshall Bailey added 15 points for the Moose. Academy of the New Church’s Ryan Warren led all scorers with 22 points, but his outburst was not enough for the Lions to beat Westtown.
Friday night’s title was far from the first for coach Seth Berger, who led Westtown to eight consecutive FSL titles from 2014 to 2022. But he noted that this season’s FSL championship was the first title for every player on his team and three of his assistant coaches.
“I can’t tell you how ecstatic I am for them to experience what it is to be a Friends League champion,” Berger said. “This is such an incredibly tough league, and ANC is a fantastic, tough, and well-coached team. I’m super happy for everybody, and mostly for the first time champs.”
Westtown is the top seed in the PAISAA state tournament and will host No. 16 seed Kiski School in the tournament’s opening round.
Seventh-seeded Academy of the New Church will host No. 10 seed Penn Charter in the first round.