City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The area’s first high school postseason tournament begins on Thursday, as the Friends’ Schools League’s playoffs get underway just a couple days after its regular season wrapped up.

The Westtown girls and George School boys both went undefeated in the nine-team league, capturing the top seeds in their respective brackets, giving them a bye into next week’s semifinals. 

The top five teams in the FSL make the playoffs, with the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds facing off in an opening-round game. All of the semifinal games are next Tuesday (Feb. 4) at 4 PM, with the championships on Feb. 7 at La Salle University’s John Glaser Arena. 

The Moose’s girls are the four-time defending champions, winning in 2020 and 2022-24 with no championship held in 2021. They’ll be the favorites yet again with a powerhouse group led by sophomores Jordyn Palmer and Jessie Moses, sophomore Atlee Vanesko and seniors Kennedy Henry (Villanova), Aidan Langley (Towson), Olivia Jones (Harvard) and more. Their main competition will be the No. 2 seed, as Friends’ Central boasts four Division I-bound seniors in Logyn Greer (Friends’ Central), Kaiya Rain Tucker (Siena), Jordyn Adderly (Coppin State) and Nal’la Bennett (Stony Brook). 

The boys’ side had more parity, but the George School took it anyways thanks to the strong play of seniors Luke Melniczak (and his freshman brother, Ryan) and Reeve Sysko, juniors Kasey Fleming and Peyton Miller, and more. The Cougars last won it two years ago, ANC beating Friends’ Central last year, after Westtown won eight straight (2014-20, 2022). All five of the boys’ teams have had quality wins this year, so while George might be the favorite, don’t be surprised if there’s a couple upsets along the way.

Westtown’s squad this year is led by seniors Jayden Forsythe (Xavier), Jahmare Memphis (La Salle), Cam Wallace (Temple) and Jayden Kelsey (Lafayette), with 6-11 junior Adam Walker in the middle. ANC boats a junior-heavy group led by forwards Dior Carter, Cameron Smith and Ryan Warren, with a high-major recruit in sophomore wing Marques Newson. 

Here’s the complete FSL playoff schedule:

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Girls
Opening Round
4) Shipley vs. 5) Germantown Friends (Jan. 31, 5 PM)

Semifinals
1) Westtown School vs. TBD (Feb. 4, 4 PM)
2) Friends’ Central vs. 3) George School (Feb. 4, 4 PM)

Championship
La Salle University, Feb. 7, 6:30 PM

Boys
Opening Round
4) Friends’ Select vs. 5) Friends’ Central (Jan. 30, 6 PM)

Semifinals
1) George School vs. TBD (Feb. 4, 4 PM)
2) Westtown School vs. 3) Academy New Church (Feb. 4, 4 PM)

Championship
La Salle University, Feb. 7, 8:00 PM

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