GIRLS BASKETBALL: Career Milestones, Standout Performances and Bounce-Back Wins Highlight this Week's Friends School League Round-Up

By Marc Narducci Photos: James Quinn, Kathy Leister & Lennie Malmgren, 01/20/22, 4:30PM EST

Westtown's Kaylene Smikle Rewarded for Her Long Association with Basketball

Photos/Videos: James Quinn, Kathy Leister & Lennie Malmgren

By: Marc Narducci

FRIENDS LEAGUE : Westtown senior Kaylene Smikle has been playing a long time.

“I started playing when I was in the stroller,” she said laughing. “I have always had a ball in my hand.”

She has seen plenty of those balls go through the basket.

Last week Smikle achieved a milestone when she scored her 1,000th career points in a 74-42 win over New Jersey’s Immaculate Conception.

That gave her 1,033 career points, half of which will be spent at Westtown.

A 6-1 wing player, Smikle is from Long Island. She spent her first two seasons playing for Long Island Lutheran, another quality program.

Yet Smikle felt for her development on and off the court, that the best move would be to transfer to Westtown, a boarding school.

“I thought Westtown would prepare me for college,” she said. “Academic wise and knowing how to balance time, I thought this was the best move.”

The situation was admittedly difficult last year, transferring to a new school, especially in these COVID times.

“It was definitely an adjustment, especially with the strict rules for COVID,” she said. “This year has been way better, especially since I have a roommate.”

Her roommate is fellow Westtown senior basketball player Mara Donnelly.

Smikle has also been playing some lights-out basketball for Westtown.

Through her first 15 games, Smikle was averaging 21.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals.

Westtown senior Kaylene Smikle scored her 1000th career point in game vs. Immaculate Conception (photo/Smikle Family)

Keep in mind that there are many games where she hasn’t played in the fourth quarter due to the fact that Westtown was winning by a considerable margin.

What makes Smikle so dangerous is that she has great range on her jumper but can also clean up inside.

In the game she scored her 1,000th point, she hit three, three-pointers. For the season she is shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc.

The best part of her game?

“I think it is how aggressive I am,” she said.

That aggressive play really shows on offense. If teams give her room, she can drill a three, but she also can take it to the basket with authority.

Westtown vs. Academy of the New Church (PSD photos by James Quinn)

And according to Westtown coach Fran Burbridge, the best for Smikle is yet to come.

“Kaylene is a very talented and competitive tough player who is starting to understand the other parts of the game that is going to make her that much better of a player,” Burbridge said.

On Nov. 7, Smikle’s senior season got a little less hectic because she made her college commitment, heading to Rutgers.

“I really liked the school, the coaches, the culture and the family environment were very important to me,” said Smikle, who plans to major in journalism and communications.

While being a high-level recruit can be stressful, Smikle said she thoroughly enjoyed the ride during recruiting.

“The recruiting process was good for me,” she said. “I met a lot of great people.”

A byproduct of attending to Rutgers is that Smikle will see top-flight competition every day in practice and in games in the Big 10.

“I always loved the competition,” said Smikle, who played on a high-powered AAU program the New York City Exodus. “I don’t like playing the easy teams.”

Smikle also looks forward to playing for Rutgers Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer.

This season Stringer took a year of absence but is expected to return next season.

“I know that she (Stringer) can get me to the next level and that is my goal,” Smikle said.

For now, her immediate goal is to finish the season strong for a Westtown team that is the Friends League favorite.

Academy of the New Church Keeps Rolling:

Academy of the New Church continued its solid Friend League start with a 47-29 win over Abington Friends. Sophomore Xola Wade had 13 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Junior Oniya Osborne contributed a double-double, 11 points and 11 rebounds, along with four steals and four assists and sophomore Arianna Frank contributed eight points, 12 rebounds, three steals and three assists.

On Tuesday, ANC scored a 65-20 win over Friends Select. Wade had 16 points, three assists, four rebounds and eight steals. Frank contributed 11 points, seven rebounds and one blocked shot and sophomore guard Te’a Richards added 15 points, three assists, five rebounds and five steals.

Academy of The New Church vs. Westtown (PSD photos by James Quinn)

Friends Select guard coming up big:

One of the bright spots in Friends Select’s 65-20 loss to ANC was senior guard Margot Schneider, who scored 12 of the Falcons points.

The game before, she scored 37 points in a 50-47 loss to Cristo Rey.

“She has really been playing well,” coach Bill Klose said of Schneider.

This is the continuation of a strong senior year for Schneider, who is averaging 14.4 points per game.

Huge game for George School Freshman:

Freshman forward Priyanka Ponnam had a monster game in a 62-56 win over Moorestown Friends. She totaled 31 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Paiyton Penn contributed 17 points and 17 rebounds. Sophomore Sophia Martinez had nine points, while freshman Ava Gregorio had 10 rebounds.

Despite the loss, Moorestown Friends senior Roni Kennedy set season highs in both points (17) and rebounds (12).

In a 68-28 non-league win over Morrisville, Ponnam recorded yet another double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Martinez had a game-high 25 points and Penn scored 18 points.

George School freshman forward Priyanka Ponnam in game vs. Friends Central on 1/11.(PSD-photo by Kathy Leister)

Underrated performance

Kaylene Smikle deservedly got the credit for her performance that put her over 1,000 career points in Westtown’s 32-point win over Immaculate Heart, but 5-10 sophomore Zahra King quietly scored 17 points, hitting 2 of 4 three-pointers.

Bouncing back:

After a 48-19 loss to Westtown, Germantown Friends bounced back with three straight wins.

First up was a 58-18 win over Friends Select with senior guard Martina Kiewek and 6-3 senior Clare Meyer each scoring 14 points and 5-11 senior Cadence Kelly totaling six points and eight rebounds.

Then in a 43-33 win over Conwell-Egan Meyer was dominant with 25 points, 12 rebounds, four steals and four blocked shots. Kiewek added 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and five steals and freshman Katie day added five points and five rebounds.

Then came a 42-30 win over Audenried at the Wells Fargo Center with Meyer recording a double-double – 12 points and 12 rebounds and Kelly adding 13 points and eight rebounds.

Germantown Friends vs. Audenried Wells Fargo Center 1/16. (PSD photos by Kathy Leister)

Strong showing by Moorestown Friends sophomore:

Moorestown Friends sophomore guard Sophia Rutherford continues to impress. During a 72-36 loss to powerful Westtown, she stood out, with 15 points. This season she is averaging 15.1 points, 4.29 rebounds and 2.59 assists.

Friends Central Senior on Path for Career High:

Friends Central got another big game from Madison Smith, who had 18 points in a 48-33 win over Shipley on Tuesday. A 5-8 senior, Smith is now seven points away from 1,000 in her career. Jordyn Adderly and Amani Savage added eight points for Friends Central.