Over the last four seasons, William Penn Charter has won three of four Inter-Ac league girls’ basketball championships.

They won the league outright in 2022, and in 2023 they shared the title with Academy of Notre Dame de Namur and Germantown Academy. Last season in 2024, Penn Charter  finished the league with a 6-6 record, good enough for fourth place. As it turned out, Notre Dame was a perfect 12-0.

So, the 2025-26 basketball season is a bounce back for Penn Charter, an attempt to return as champions after a year’s pause.

“We did not accomplish our goal last year,” Penn Charter head coach Erin Martin said. “I’m not going to say it was a failure, but we definitely did not accomplish our goals. This year, all of our sights are back on the Inter-Ac.”

On Sat., Jan. 3, Penn Charter started off their mission of getting back to being league champs. They opened up conference play hosting Baldwin, and they beat the Bears 48-30, with a strong defensive effort.

In their 12 non-conference games to prep for league play, Penn Charter finished 7-5, earning wins against schools like the Hill School, the Perkiomen School, and Lawrenceville.

Currently, injuries present a slight obstacle for Penn Charter. The Quakers have three players out, two of them starters. Mia DiBenedetto broke her nose against Shipley on Dec. 18. Marleigh Jackson got a concussion during the Nazareth game on Dec. 22.

Both DiBenedetto and Jackson are starters for Penn Charter when healthy.

In their places, Martin has twice called for the next player up to counter DiBenedetto and Jackson’s absence. For Penn Charter, that is Cay O’Brien and Katie Shoup, two upperclassmen guards.

“It just has to be next man up,” Martin said. “If somebody is out, the next person steps up and we go on a run. I have faith in every single person on this team.”

Martin also mentioned that while they have a short rotation, there is not much of a drop-off after the starters. Everyone conditions hard, knows all the plays, is familiar with playing every position, and is ready to go when her number is called.

Penn Charter went with their next-man-up rotation against Baldwin and it worked, earning Penn Charter their first win in the Inter-Ac in as many games.

Penn Charter ended the first quarter on a 5-0 run to lead 11-6. It would be smooth sailing for the final three quarters. After Baldwin’s Sophia Papatheoharis scored four points in the first eight minutes, Penn Charter held her to five points in the final three quarters.

Penn Charter’s Molly Dougherty and Laila Sharp helped build Penn Charter’s led to 10 at halftime, as they combined for 16 of the team’s 23 points.

“We’re a fast team, and I think capitalizing on that is huge, because once we start swinging the ball, hitting  the paint, we are unstoppable,” Dougherty said.

In the third quarter Penn Charter turned to press defense, making it hard for Baldwin even to cross halfcourt, let alone to score. As a result, they held Baldwin to four points in the third quarter and were able to extend their lead to 24 going into the final eight minutes of play.

Much of the defensive success Penn Charter found was due to O’Brien stepping up off the bench as a starter. She recorded five steals against Baldwin and combined for 12 with Aubrei Smith. Dougherty and Smith led the team in scoring, combining for 25 points.

“Our press really rushed their offense to get easy buckets and turnovers,” Smith said. “I feel like breaking their 2-3 (zone defense), and getting open shots was our goal.”

Penn Charter moved and spaced themselves well on the court, often shooting without a defender in front of them. They were also physical around the rim, shooting 19 free throws and converting on 15 of them.

For a team that was entering their Inter-Ac schedule missing a few players, Penn Charter was certainly able to exhibit the breadth of its roster against Baldwin. In the fourth quarter Penn Charter turned to their bench, and everyone was able to get on the court due to the strong lead they established in the first three quarters.

“At the end of the day, they [Penn Charter's bench] should be playing as well as us,” Smith said.

While Penn Charter starts off the league at 1-0, they will be tested right away, as they host defending champion Notre Dame on Thur., Jan. 8. While their league schedule is hard early on, they checked off their first challenge against Baldwin in convincing fashion.

“First win of 2026, 1-0 in the Inter-Ac,” Dougherty said. “I think that’s great going into Inter-Ac play and should give us some momentum.”