City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue
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(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2025-26 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

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The Audenried girls became one of the area’s must see attractions over the last four years.

Led by current Penn State Nittany Lion Shayla Smith, the Rockets won 86 games, captured three Philadelphia Public League championships and two District 12 titles, and made four state playoff trips, including two semifinal runs.

Gone are Smith, Senaya Parker (Harcum College) and Reynah Rattliff (Wilmington). This Rockets’ group wants it known they’re not going anywhere, however.

“We’ve gotta step up and show them it wasn’t just her,” junior forward Nasiaah Russell said. “It was us, too.”

Russell, a Division I and potential high major prospect in her own right, is one of two starters returning for the three-time defending Public League champions along with senior guard/wing Heaven Reese.

Russell averaged 8.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 2.1 ppg as a sophomore last season.  The 6-foot-3 forward who is a force on the defensive end and can at times take over the game on the offensive end. 

“We just have to get her to mature,” Audenried coach Kevin Slaughter said. “I don’t think she understands yet that Shayla’s not here, Senaya’s not here. You’re no longer the little kid. You’re no longer the puppy as they used to call her. Now you gotta graduate.”

Smith averaged 27.5 ppg last season and finished with 2,691 points in her career, which is the most in Philadelphia basketball history. That’s a lot of scoring production to replace, but Slaughter isn’t too concerned.

He’s consistently had big-time scorers during his 13-year tenure at Audenried like Denijsha Wilson (27.5 ppg in 2017-18), who played at South Carolina Upstate and Delaware State.

Up next is Reese. 

She averaged 20.1 ppg during her freshman season at Prep Charter before averaging 7.1 ppg and 8.2 rpg as a sophomore at Audenried and 4.2 ppg and 3.0 rpg as a junior. But the big outings have piled up this offseason.

“I’m real comfortable,” Reese said. “I already knew I was going to have to step up when Shayla, Senaya and all the other seniors left. I already knew I had to step up, so I’m in the gym, trying to get better for my teammates.”

As Audenried evolved into a true power during the last two seasons, when they made their two state semifinal runs, the difference wasn’t just the stars, however. It was the depth.

“It’s not just for her,” Russell said. “It’s for everybody. Because we want to win. We want to go to the championship. We want to go to states. If we want to do all that, we’ve gotta put the work in.”

Russell and Reese talked about defense, communication, and a positive mindset as some of the keys the team is working on this offseason.

Slaughter is excited about newcomers to the program like senior forward Ciani Scott (West Catholic) and sophomore guard Chloe Kham (Neumann-Goretti).

Sophomore guard Iyonna Ellison has taken a leap forward from her freshman campaign as one of the team’s primary ball handlers.

Slaughter points to the growths of the likes of seniors Aniyah Cheesboro and Raven Robinson, the only Rockets who have been around for all of the last four seasons, as a major reason his program has continued to rise the ranks of the area’s elite.

“They both have evolved, and they got better,” Slaughter said. “They’re not as talented as some of our best players, but they have gotten better, and that’s always good to see kids get better.”

Audenried has its eyes on three championships in 2025-26. It is familiar with the path that it takes to get there.

The Rockets have matched up with Imhotep in the Philadelphia Public League championship game in each of the last three seasons. Last season, Audenried lost the regular season meeting with the Panthers, but came out on top for a third straight PPL title.

If they can capture a fourth straight PPL crown, the Rockets can likely anticipate a matchup with Neumann-Goretti. Audenried took down the Saints in the District 12 title game last season before N-G got revenge in the state semifinals.

“We’re just trying to get the kids prepared,” Slaughter said. “Our goal is to win a state championship. I’ve done some research on it. No Philadelphia Public school has ever won a state championship."