WESTTOWN SCHOOL 2021-22 FRIENDS SCHOOL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
Westtown Girls Basketball - 21-22 Friends League Champions - PSD Photo by James Quinn
Photos/Videos: James Quinn, Ryan Nix & Cole Nowak
By: Cole Nowak
PHILADELPHIA- Coming into Friday’s contest, Westtown School entered as the overwhelming favorite to take home the Friends School League (FSL) championship title. The Moose did just that, cruising past Germantown Friends School by 35 points to lift the FSL hardware inside the TruMark Financial Center at La Salle University.
Westtown’s offense was backed by senior stud and Rutgers commit Kaylene Smikle, who led the way dropping 29 points in the Tom Gola Arena.
The play that basically sealed the championship victory happened right as time expired in the first half. Smikle had a favorable one-on-one matchup. She went deep into her bag of shot making abilities and raised over her defender releasing the ball with just over two seconds to play. The ball would find nothing but net on the way down, sending Smikle and the Moose into the half with a 32-17 advantage.
“It definitely gave me more energy than I had in the first half, and I kept it rolling into the second half,” said Smikle.
The Moose would not look back and would only further separate themselves from the Tigers. Westtown exploded for 24 points in the third quarter, which was the most the Moose scored in a singular quarter all night. Smikle again led the way for Westtown, dropping nine points in the quarter. As impressive as her shot was before the conclusion of the first half, her shot at the end of the third may have it beat. As the shot clock was running down, Smikle would pull up from the parking lot and drain a three from about 10 feet outside of the 3-point line.
PSD Reporter Cole Nowak catches up with Westtown Head Coach Fran Burbidge and senior Kaylene Smikle after FSL championship victory:
Westtown senior Kaylene Smikle was named PSD Player of the Game after scoring 29 points for the Moose - PSD Photo by Cole Nowak
“We try to approach the second, third, fifth, eighth, tenth game - the entire season - as if it were a championship game. That is why they have done a really good job at getting better and have had success in the league. They are respecting the game and their opponents. No matter what the situation is,” said Westtown head coach Fran Burbidge.
Westtown vs. Germantown Friends - FSL CHampionship Highlights by Cole Nowak:
Westtown senior Kaylene Smikle says her team's chemistry has grown throughout the season:
Westtown stepped up its full-court press in the third quarter, which flustered GFS to an extent and led to some easy buckets for the Moose. They made GFS uncomfortable and did not let up, really putting the separator between the two sides.
“We kind of caught our breath. We thought about what we were trying to accomplish, what we need to takeaway and if we can take away the one thing they are really trying to do, we would be able to get active and be successful,” mentioned Burbidge when addressing the team’s halftime adjustments.
At the conclusion of the third, the score stood at 56-21 with eight final minutes to play. GFS would play their best quarter of basketball, putting up 10 points while holding Westtown to only 10 points of their own. In the end, it would not be enough for GFS to make a dent, but one needs to admire their effort and perseverance throughout the game when facing an extremely deep and talented roster to the magnitude of Westtown’s team.
Outside of Smikle’s performance, Westtown received valuable contributions from senior Meliah Van-Otoo who notched 12 points and did an outstanding job controlling the pace and tempo of the game from the point guard position. Sophomore Zahra King added 10 points, while junior guard Grace Sundback chipped in eight points with two three-pointers.
Westtown vs. Germantown Friends Championship Game (photos/ James Quinn for PSD)
GFS standout performer came from Dartmouth commit Clare Meyer, who scored 13 points while receiving the bulk of the defensive attention from the Moose.
The Westtown School is a perfect example of what can happen when an extremely talented roster works hard and does not depend on talent alone. The ability to perfectly mesh the two together will lead one to nothing but success, and that is what this Westtown team did.
“Coach Doug West has (the team) on a program where they get up 150 shots at game speed before they even start stretching. After the semifinal win against Shipley, we were right back in the gym the next day practicing full speed and refused to take it lightly,” said Burbidge.
No doubt, this work ethic proved to be effective.
Congratulations to The Westtown School - the 2021-2022 Friends School League champions.
