WESTTOWN SCHOOL 2025 PAISAA CHAMPIONS
(Photo by Kathy Leister for PSD)
Photos/Videos: Kathy Leister, Lennie Malmgren & Turner Vosburgh
By: Jeremy Goode
PHILADELPHIA - At this year’s state championship, Westtown School girls’ basketball head coach Fran Burbidge got soaked by his team as they celebrated their fourth consecutive PAISAA championship.
According to senior guard Olivia Jones, the celebration had to be bigger than last year, which involved only throwing cups but no water.
Mission accomplished.
Westtown continued trend over recent years of winning their last state playoff game, beating Friends' Central School 71-47 at Hagan Arena at St. Joseph’s University on Sun., March 2.
Another year for Westtown, another state championship. Nearly a month earlier, Westtown beat Friends' Central by 31 to capture its fifth straight Friends School League title. So, it is getting hard to differentiate these titles for Westtown and to write different stories.
They just win. Over and over and over again.
It is something that Burbidge things people take for granted. People see all these titles in a row and assume it comes easy.
It doesn’t.
“Yeah, they [Westtown players] are talented, damn, they work, and they compete and come out each time,” Burbidge said. “We don’t run into too much complacency along the course of the year because of them.”
They work; they put in the work. Westtown works hard and often. They do not get complacent. After beating Friends' Central for the FSL title last month, the week after they were back in the gym, back to work. Burbidge and his team invest so much on the court in preparation for games that come game time, the scoreboard speaks for itself.
But it is not easy. Sure, it may appear so after the final buzzer goes off and Westtown has 30, 40, 50, maybe even more points than their opponent. However, it is what went into those performances behind the scenes at practice that allowed them to win their league title and state title this year by 55 points.
How did the work Westtown put in translate? The Moose finished 27-3 overall and went undefeated in conference play at 11-0. They won their conference championship by more than 30 and ripped through state playoffs, beating Penn Charter by 60, Shipley by 41 in the PAISAA semifinals, and now, Friends' Central by 24.
WESTTOWN VS. FRIENDS' CENTRAL IN 2025 PAISAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. (HIGHLIGHTS BY LENNIE MALMGREN FOR PSD)
Westtown vs. FCS - 2025 PAISAA Championship - PSD Gallery by Kathy Leister
As for the game itself, Westtown met with adversity early on. After the first quarter they trailed Friends' Central, 15-12. But not to worry, they adjusted and outscored Friends' Central 25-4 in the second quarter to go up at halftime, 37-19.
“It starts on the defensive end, making winning stops and getting stops that lead to transition points,” Jones said. “We had to turn it up on defense, box out, which leads to the transition points.”
Aside from the several turnovers that Westtown forced in the second quarter that turned into transition points, Friends' Central missed 11 shots due to staunch defense. They also only made two field goals.
Opening Statement from Westtown After PAISAA Championship victory.
It was the perfect mix for Westtown; they scored at a high rate and defended at a high rate. The first quarter was their wake-up call.
“I think we were a little too comfortable on offense, we were not as fast paced as we usually were,” Atlee Vanesko said. “You have to wake up a little bit and step on their throats more.”
Westtown would.
They built off their 18-point halftime lead, extending it to 27 before they went into the final quarter up 60-33. Jordyn Palmer scored 26 total points, 10 in the third quarter alone.
“When I go out into a game, I just go out and play,” Palmer said. “If I don’t get my shot to fall right away, I look for other teammates to get the ball and make their play.”
Westtown's Atlee Vanesko, Olivia Jones, Jordyn Palmer, and HC Fran Burbidge
Jessie Moses, a 5-foot-10 sophomore guard, recorded 16 points. Kennedy Henry (Villanova commit), a 6-foot senior, scored 13 points. Vanesko added seven, while Jones had four and locked down on defense.
Before getting hurt early in the third quarter, Friends' Central’s Logyn Greer (Colorado commit), had nine points. Kaiya Rain Tucker (Sienna commit), finished with 11 points, including perfect shooting from the free throw line (6 for 6) in the second half. Faith Watson scored 11 points off the bench.
Friends' Central Postgame Press Conference: Nal'la Bennett, Kaiya Rain Tucker, Vinny Simpson
Congratulations to Westtown sophomore Jessie Moses, who scored her 1,000th career point in PAISAA semifinal win vs. Shipley - PSD Photo by Turner Vosburgh
This is the third loss against Westtown for Friends Central this season. For head coach Vinny Simpson, he is not sure how to top the school from West Chester but is still determined and confident.
“I don’t know what it is, but they play very well against us,” Simpson said. “There are teams that they lost to that we beat. It’s basketball. They have our number. I have to figure it out now. I’ve been trying to figure it out for the last couple of years, but I’ll figure it out.”
What might differentiate this Westtown team from others is the adversity they had to overcome all season. From the start of the 2024-25 season, they rarely were able to run their starting five because so many players were getting hurt at different points in the season.
But Westtown overcame the season-long injury bug. They lived off the motto of next women up, and every time they needed it someone from Westtown stepped up off the bench.
Jones was hurt in the first game and missed much of the season. Palmer missed the team’s trip to Phoenix in December due to injury. Henry missed some games. Aidan Langley missed the FSL title game as well as all of PAISAAs.
Ultimately, it would not matter. The rest of the starters stepped up. The bench stepped up, like Vianna Kanyamiheto-Watson and Ishana Sundararajan.
“A lot of people on the outside don’t know what we have been through,” Burbidge said. “Two games ago was the first time we had our projecting starting five. A lot of players went out at different times. Next player up. We practice that way; we prepare that way.”
It is a close-knit Westtown team. Their chemistry is strong. Vanesko mentioned that the team is like “sisters.” They’re with each other all the time, they hold each other accountable, and most importantly, they trust each other.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them and what they have handled throughout this year to put themselves in this spot,” Burbidge said. “They did what they needed to do and made their statement.”
