City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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PHOENIXVILLE — Last year, as Phoenixville girls basketball came within one win of its first trip to the state playoffs in 35 years, a major issue for the Phantoms was the lack of a go-to scoring threat. 

Five games into the 2023-24 season, it’s clear the Phoenixville offense is much more potent — and it’s no coincidence that’s because of the return of junior Emine Ulcay and emergence of sophomore Kayden Baratta. 

The two combined to get Phoenixville off to a hot start in its Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier Division opener against Upper Perkiomen, each putting in strong games as the Phantoms cruised to a 64-27 win Friday night. 

Ulcay, a versatile 5-foot-10 wing forward, led all scorers with 20 points, rounding out her night with eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. Baratta, a 5-9 combo guard, was right behind with 19 points (four 3s), with five assists, three steals and two rebounds. 

The two were almost flawless in the first quarter, combining for all of Phoenixville’s 23 points in the frame as the Phantoms opened up a 14-point edge. But it wasn’t just that, they continually found each other for a combined seven assists, a back-and-forth partnership that dominated the opening eight minutes.

“We have a really close relationship off the court, so I think that’s where our chemistry comes from,” Ulcay said. “We both have high basketball IQs so we know where the other person’s going to be or what the other person wants.”

The two became friends in middle school, but it’s their first year playing hoops together in a significant way. Ulcay was the second-highest scorer on the varsity team as a freshman but broke her foot before the team’s first preseason scrimmage a year ago, missing her entire sophomore season as Baratta was a valuable reserve piece for a Phantoms squad that went 13-10 and captured the PAC Frontier Division.

Ulcay returned to action in April, just in time for her to play with the K-Low Elite 16U team on the grassroots circuit — and to capture the PAC’s shot put championship with a school-record 38-foot, 2-inch throw in May. Her 20-point outing was her first double-digit effort of the year.

She also serves a key role on a team that doesn’t go deep into its bench, able to play the ‘4’ or ‘5’ if forwards Riley Ford-Bey or Maliyah Warren (12 points vs. Upper Perk) need a breather, though she can also play with the ball in her hands. 

“She always wants to be our point guard, but right now she’s playing our ‘3’ spot, she’s our swing player, in and out,” head coach Tracey Sterling said. “It’s great to have a player that can play the wing, but then when I need to give Mali or Riley Ford-Bey [a rest] she can go inside and there’s not really a dropoff.”

Baratta’s night was her third-highest of the year, the sharpshooting guard averaging 18.4 points through five games, her high-water mark so far a 35-point outburst against Conestoga Valley. That’s come at the same time that her older brother, Phoenixville junior Deacon Baratta, is off to his own hot-shooting start on the boys team.

“It’s nice because we can both be encouraging to each other,” she said. “We play the same way, we can work out together, we can go prepare together. It’s nice to have a built-in workout buddy.”

Ulcay and Baratta alone were too much for Upper Perkiomen (2-4, 0-1), which got a strong effort from Salisbury (Md.) commit Erin States (14 points, 13 rebounds) but otherwise struggled with Phoenixville’s size and athleticism across the court. The Phantoms expanded their lead to 43-17 by halftime, the clock running on a Baratta bucket with five minutes left in the third. 

“I think we’re working together as a team to find the open man, and moving off the ball is really important for us,” Baratta said. “[We’re] running our plays to the best we can, [playing] defense, everything’s going well.”

The favorites in the PAC Frontier, Phoenixville’s going to have a tough time winning a PAC championship, with defending District 1 Class 6A champ Perkiomen Valley bringing every starter back as one of the best teams in the region and Spring-Ford with two Division I commits not far behind. But the Phantoms know a deeper run in the District 1-5A playoffs is possible after losing in the quarterfinals and playbacks last year, states an unexplored territory since 1987.

They have a major test coming up Thursday with a visit from Spring-Ford, then three non-league games to follow before Frontier play resumes in earnest in January.

“I think it comes down to our talking and the small things,” Ulcay said. “It’s execution, talking, the things that we can control are the things that we struggle with. Fixing those small issues, I think we can go really, really far.”

By Quarter

Phoenixville:  23  |  20  |  18  |   3   ||  64

Upper Perk:    9   |   8   |   4   |   6   ||  27

Scoring

Phoenixville: Emine Ulcay 20, Kayden Baratta 19, Maliyah Warren 12, Taylor Schneider 6, Ava Gnias 2, Avah Breisblatt 2, Riley Ford-Bey 1, Julia Chain 1, Allyson Turner 1

Upper Perk: Erin States 14, Carly Heiser 4, Natalie Kearney 2, Elena Fabian 2, Makayla Marshall 2, Hannah Guffey 2, Dana Cahill 1