BY JEREMY GOODE

(PHOTOS BY KATHY LEISTER FOR PSD)

PHILA., PA--The machine carries on. 

Basketball is a business at Westtown for the girl’s basketball program. 

It’s a good thing. 

They have not lost a league game in the Friends School League for years. They have won five straight league championships. The last four PAISAA titles belong to Westtown. 

It is simply a strong, recurring culture that head coach Fran Burbidge has established in West Chester, Pa. Burbidge has continuously pumped out loaded rosters that dominate local competition, collected hardware, and sent off players to the top colleges for the next stage of their basketball careers. 

That is the equation Westtown has worked from for years. Gather talent, coach the team up, win at every stage, many of the players go on to play college hoops, run it back with new talent… 

Repeat. 

For the 2025-26 season, same old same old. 

On Thur., Jan. 29, Westtown School beat Friends' Central School on the road, 77-50, improving to 6-0 in the Friends League. The highly anticipated game featured the two undefeated teams in the league, both highly regarded in the country at large. 

For the month of January, SportsCenter Next ranked Friends' Central as the 17th best team in the country. Westtown, 13th. To have two top 15 teams in the country in the same league has been a testament of the top end talent in the Friends League over the past few seasons. 

While Westtown has continued their league winning trend, this year has been different in one regard -- their roster. Much of the team is different this season after losing several seniors from last year. Olivia Jones is playing at Harvard. Kennedy Henry is at Villanova. Aidan Langley is at Towson. Jesse Morgan, class of 2027, transferred to IMG Academy for her junior and senior years of high school. 

They have three new starters this season. Ashley Kreiger is a 6’3 junior with offers from Cal and Georgia Tech, and she allows Westtown to play with a bigger lineup than they did last year. Jada Lynch, the daughter of Kim Clijsters, is another junior who transferred to Westtown to provide shooting. And Lara Csaplar-Nagy is a 6’2 power forward transfer from Hungary. 

Of course, Westtown’s two returning starters from last year are well established. Senior Atlee Vanesko is committed to Ohio State, while Jordyn Palmer is the no. six player in the entire national class of 2027 according to 247sports.com.  

Westtown did not lose a step from last year.

They opened up on the road with a 7-0 lead within minutes, forcing coach Vinny Simpson to call an early timeout for Friends' Central. Palmer led the way for Westtown, scoring consistently throughout each quarter, and scoring the first seven points of the game. 

Palmer finished with a game high 25 points, while letting the game come to her, never forcing shots and often distributing the ball to teammates. 

“That’s always how I play,” Palmer said. “I don’t need to rush things; definitely the type of player that will look for a better shot… That’s just how we go at Westtown… we’re not just trying to get yourself points but also get others involved.”

It’s the culture at Westtown. Team basketball. 

And it showed at Friends' Central. Eight players on Westtown scored the basketball, including Ishana Sundararajan, who finished second to Palmer in points with 13 off the bench while scoring seven in the second quarter, helping to give Westtown an 18-point lead at halftime. 

While Friends' Central’s Ryan Carter and Faith Watson finished with 17 points, Watson’s lone three pointer was the only one Friends Central hit all game. They made one three-pointer on 12 attempts. 

Westtown had four players connect from beyond the arc, hitting on nine. Vanesko made one, Palmer and Lynch finished with two, and Sundararajan had a game high three. 

“I think we just want to see each other succeed,” Vanesko said. “We like when we swing the ball and the ball goes in the hoop. Rewarding each other… pointing at each other (after a make), we just like seeing each other have fun.”

Again, culture.

Westtown sure had fun. They outscored Friends' Central in every quarter. Lynch drilled two three-pointers in the third quarter, while Sundararajan did the same in the fourth. 

Burbidge has his team play as one unit, a hard task with as much talent that he has with his many scorers. 

It’s noticed. 

“They’re a really well-rounded team,” Watson said. “They pass; they move. And when someone turns the ball over or someone makes a bad play, they take accountability. That’s what a lot of teams struggle with… they’re a lot more together than most teams.”

Westtown wraps up their league schedule next week at home against Barrack Hebrew Academy and Abington Friends. As many assume, both Westtown and Friends' Central will get a shot at each other at least one more time. 

For now, Westtown holds the upper hand. 

“It’s just another win in the books,” Palmer said. “We wanted to win this game just to set the tone for the rest of the season.”

When asked if she learned anything about this team from the win, Palmer was nonchalant. 

“No. We’ve always been there for each other; energy was there. Kind of the same old.”