City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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(Ed. Note: I wanted to issue a brief apology before this preview, as it’s the first thing we’ve done on the PAISAA brackets outside of the initial bracket release. Been trying to cover as much as we can but a few things have fallen through the cracks. — JV)

The Pennsylvania Independent School (PAISAA) semifinals take place on Friday, Feb. 28, with the championship games to follow on Sunday (March 2) at Hagan Arena. 

Here’s a quick look at each of the boys and girls’ semifinals:

Boys Semifinals
1) Perkiomen School vs. 12) Phelps School (5:00 PM)

This rematch of the 2024 championship game might look like a mis-match from a seeding perspective, but the Phelps School has closed strong, and this should be a powerhouse battle befitting the semifinals.

Quite a few of last year’s standouts from the Perkiomen School moved on — the nature of prep schools who rely at least somewhat on post-graduates — two major pieces that are back are Gabe Tanner (FGCU) and KJ Cochran (Santa Clara), two talented wings who can really score it at a high level, as can guard Julian Sadler, a Perk Valley native. Another wing, 6-5 Hayden Johns (St. Anselm), was also part of last year’s run. 

Phelps School has one of the area’s less-heralded superstars in senior Onyx Nnani, a 6-9 forward and Arkansas State who can do just about everything on the court. He and center Justin Houser, a 7-0 Penn State commit, give them a serious frontcourt along with 6-10 freshman Moon Yue, with senior guard Tommy Vaughn and senior wing Kodi Johnson providing experience and scoring to the perimeter. 

2) Penn Charter vs. 3) Hill School (7:00 PM)

The last time these two met in the PAISAAs was in the 2023 quarterfinals, when Hill beat Penn Charter 68-63. These teams are quite different from then, the Quakers peaking as a program under Brandon Williams, though a major injury in the playoffs has been a significant setback for a group with legitimate state title hopes. Hill, on the other hand, is cruising, beating Haverford School 82-64 in the quarterfinals.

Penn Charter’s nowhere close to full strength as it’s without senior forward Matt Gilhool, the LSU commit breaking his leg earlier in the postseason, ending his high school career a few games prematurely; his younger brother Daniel Gilhool missed time with a concussion. Then, in the quarterfinal win over George School, Jamal Hicks went down late with a leg/ankle injury of his own; all of this after point guard Jake West (Northeastern) missed time at the end of the season, though he returned to play (on a minutes restriction) against George. The Quakers still have Kai Shinholster (Minnesota) and TJ Bryson (Widener), plus stud freshman Carter Smith, with 6-3 sophomore Graham Hamilton stepping up. 

Hill School’s engine has been driven all year by senior point guard Jacob Meachem. The 5-7 guard, a Bucknell commit, has been a mainstay of Seth Eilberg’s rotation for years, and has been playing his best basketball this year. Junior wing Ethan Johnson has been a reliable No. 2 option, with senior Flippo Galli showing big-time scoring ability of his own, especially from beyond the arc. Up front, 6-10 senior Quadri Bashiru (Longwood) is a shot-blocking and rebounding presence, while junior wing Caleb Jameson, a Delco Christian transfer, adds good size and shooting to the frontcourt.

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Girls Semifinals
1) Westtown School vs. 5) Shipley School (6:00 PM)

The three-time defending state champions, the Moose get a familiar foe in the semifinals in the Gators, who upset No. 4 seed Germantown Academy in the quarterfinals. This will be the third time they’ve faced off this season, neither of which went well for Shipley; Westtown won 69-38 at Shipley on Jan. 10, and 68-48 at Westtown in the FSL semifinals on Feb. 4. So Shipley and head coach Ellen Bair know exactly what they’re going up against in Fran Burbidge’s Moose, who haven’t been at full strength all season, though it hasn’t seemed to bother them yet.

If you haven’t heard the names Jordyn Palmer and Jessie Moses by now, you probably haven’t spent much time on this website. The Westtown sophomores are both amongst the best in their class in the country, dozens of high-major Division I offers each, the 6-1 forward and 5-10 guard both with ultra-bright futures in the sport. Another 5-10 guard, junior Atlee Vanesko, is another high-major target, with seniors Olivia Jones (Harvard) and Kennedy Henry (Villanova) rounding out a powerhouse starting five. And they’ve been without senior forward Kennedy Hall (Boston College) all year and Aidan Langley (Towson) for much of it, with senior guard Vianna Kanyamiheto-Watson stepping into a significant role this season.

Shipley’s brightest talents are still young, eighth grader Melody Vaughn already pulling in offers along with her sister, junior wing Gabby Vaughn. Freshman Cidney Stanfield, junior Rikai Williford and seniors Mallory Farr and Anna Pascale round out Bair’s top six, a group that has a number of strong wings in Williford, Stanfield, the Vaughns and Stanfield all somewhere between 5-9 and 6-0 with good length. This is a group that will be here again, and even if they’re not successful Friday, don’t be surprised if these experiences pay off before long.

2) Friends’ Central vs. 3) Notre Dame (4:00 PM)

As if the stakes weren’t high enough, these teams just played each other a month ago, Friends’ Central beating Notre Dame 51-49 at Notre Dame, adding just a dash of revenge and some familiarity between these two programs, both of whom would love their shot at Westtown on Sunday at Saint Joseph’s. Friends’ Central already saw Westtown in the FSL championship game, losing by 31, while Notre Dame hasn’t seen Westtown since a 22-point loss in last year’s state semifinals. Either way, we expect another good one at FCS on Friday afternoon.

Friends’ Central, which also made it to last year’s PAISAA championship game, has a deep and talented squad under head coach Vinny Simpson, with no fewer than six or seven Division I prospects of its own on the roster. The senior class has four of its own in 6-3 Logyn Greer (Colorado), 5-6 Nal’la Bennett (Stony Brook), 5-9 Jordyn Adderly (Coppin State) and 6-0 Kaiya Rain Tucker (Siena); 6-1 sophomore Zya Small is well into the double-digits in offers and 609 freshman Faith Watson is well on track towards being in that realm. Throw in another quality senior in D-II target Saniyah Washington, and it’s a high-level group with depth and size. 

Notre Dame might not have the Division I hoops signees, but Terry Mancini’s got his own deep group with athletes all over the roster. The seniors are guards Catie Kelly and Sophie Hall, Kelly a multi-year starter and Hall a Delaware soccer commit who racks up steals, assists and boards. The juniors include Alex Gillin, a 6-0 wing who brings length and versatility to the starting lineup, and 5-7 guard Emma Anthony, a sharpshooter and quick-footed Rutgers lacrosse commit. The sophomore class is special, led by 6-3 Grace Nasr and 5-10 guard Riley Davis, the Inter-Ac MVP and a standout lacrosse player in her own right, though guards Maddie DeFronzo and Sadie Birdsall see significant minutes as well.