City of Basketball Love

Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)

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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 aim continues to go higher and higher each year for the Chester girls’ basketball team. Two years ago, the Clippers made the District 1 Class 6A playoffs for the first time since 2010. Last season, the Clippers repeated as Del-Val League champions and won their first district playoff game since 2009.

This season, Chester has aims for higher aspirations, making—and winning—a state playoff game for the first time since 2001, when current Chester assistant coach Charlene Thomas was a senior, before heading off to Seton Hall.

Clippers’ coach Marvin Dukes, who is entering his fifth season as head coach and 22nd year overall with the Chester girls’ program, feels this team is ready to break through that decades-old threshold and reach the state playoffs.

Chester carries a 10-game Del-Val League winning streak into this season, after finishing 19-6 overall last season, equaling the most wins in a season since the 19-8 2006-07 team, and was 8-0 in the Del-Val last season and a combined 15-1 over the last two years in the league.

The Clippers have four starters back from a 19-win team, beginning with 5-foot-4 senior point guard Imani Dorsey, 5-6 senior guard Jordan Dennis, 6-foot senior center Zayana Vann and 5-7 senior forward Zay’Yonna Clark. This will be a far deeper team than in the last few years, adding a potential star in 5-4 freshman guard Ahmyah Naylor, who will be joined by fellow freshmen 5-7 forward Nia Butler and 5-5 guard Cayla Gaines.

Kelly Naylor, a 5-7 senior guard, could be the best athlete on the team, 5-7 senior forward Amari Stewart give Dukes a deep bench, enabling him to sustain the Clippers’ vice-grip press.

The Clippers were knocked out of the district playoffs in the playback round against Spring-Ford, 51-43, after losing in the second round of the district playoffs to a very good Downingtown East team.

Chester is looking to threepeat as Del-Val League champions, and beyond.

With a year of postseason experience, which learned and grew from its success, the Clippers possess the pieces to make a serious District 1 Class 6A playoff run.

There is a bigger picture here.

This will not be a season in which Chester is content on just winning the Del-Val again, or just making the district playoffs, or just winning a district playoff game. It’s a team that collectively, Dukes says, has the confidence to win a district title.

The Clippers will need to make up for the leadership and scoring of graduated Ja’Mya Muhammad (Cecil College). But Dukes feels with Dorsey, Dennis, Vann and Clark back, the Clippers will have more than enough to fill that void.

“I like the experience we have back, and losing Ja’Mya, who carried a big load for us, will be big, but I have two senior guards in Dorsey and Dennis who carried us last year back,” Dukes said. “Having Dorsey and Dennis is a big help for us, because we are a guard-heavy program, and Vann gives us a fighting chance in the front court and the backcourt.

“That’s our goal, reaching the state playoffs. We have a good schedule, and because of our league, we will have to play on the road a lot. We’ll play in a tournament in Delaware against Padua Academy, and Freire Charter, which we play every year, and we’ll play in a tournament at Imhotep Charter. We’ll play Coatesville and some other good teams. We want to be ready going into our January run. We want to push the envelope to be ready.”

Dorsey, a four-year starter, is a high-energy player who can score in spurts, and on any given night, she can take over games. She plays bigger than her size, and possesses great poise. In the offseason, she played flag football, adding more speed and strength to her game. Dorsey averaged 17 points a game last season, and Dennis scored 15 points a game.

With the trio of Ahmyah Naylor, Dennis and Dorsey, Chester could have one of the best area’s backcourt combinations.

“We can go further than we did last year, and Zayana has progressed a lot, we have total trust in her offensively and defensively,” Dorsey said. “We can’t win a state championship without getting to the state playoffs, and we can do it. Ahmyah makes us better every day in practice, and I think we learned from our playoff experience. We were overwhelmed when we went to Downingtown East and we didn’t relax until the second half. We know how to handle it now. We’ll be ready for it. We need to hold ourselves accountable.

“We talk about making this year our best.”

Dennis has added to her spot-up game, working on her ballhandling this summer. She plays with passion and is a very streaky shooter. She wants to shorten those gaps between her hot and cold shooting spells. Dukes has worked with her on improving her shot selection. She is also set on her college destination, heading to Benedict College (S.C.).

Chester will play fast—the Clippers could be the fastest team in District 1—creating offense off turnovers. The Clippers have outgrown the Del-Val League and see two district playoff wins in their future.

“We were nervous (in the second-round playoff loss to) Downingtown East, and that won’t happen because we come back with more experience,” said Dennis, a three-year starter. “We won’t be intimidated by the moment. We’re ready for it now. Our confidence is even higher than last year. If we lock in more on defense and are more disciplined with our sets, we’re going to be okay. We need to play our game against every team.”

Vann could be the key. She played AAU this summer and has locked into her abilities, blocking shots and causing driving players to alter their shots. The aim is to improve her offensive game, working on her post work and mid-range work. She can hit mid-range shots and Dukes is looking for her to score around 10 points and grab 10 rebounds a game.

“This is my senior year and I want to play in college and I have to step up,” said Vann, who is getting attention from Penn State Brandywine. “I’m stronger. I could be more aggressive. I do feel more confident. I feel more confident with the ball. I work out against Coach Thomas about three times a week. She roughs me up (laughs). She is not easy on me. I’ve become a better player because of it. She’s helped my defense and rebounding.

“I have confidence we can win the districts. We have the leaders and players to do it.”

Chester is going to be a problem in District 1 Class 6A.        

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Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on BlueSky here.