She scored in court — and then on the court!

New Jersey seventh-grader Sydney Phillips, who won a bruising legal battle to play for her school’s boys basketball team, hit the hardwood for her first game Sunday.
She made two baskets, sending the crowd in Kenilworth into a frenzy.

“In the beginning of the game, I was kind of nervous, but as the game went on, I kind of got used to it,’’ the 13-year-old St. Theresa’s hoopster said afterward. “It was really intense.”

Sydney turned out to be the most aggressive player on the floor during her Catholic school’s match-up against St. Genevieve of Elizabeth, said some of the opposing team’s players.

“I was like, ‘What?’ She’s better than me!” said Ryciere Scott, a 12-year-old point guard for St. Genevieve.

“For a girl on a boy’s basketball team, she did good,” he added. “To see her playing better than me, I was mad a little bit, like, ‘I’ve got to watch out.’ ”
Sydney didn’t start but was quickly put in to help her underdog team during the first quarter.

St. Theresa’s tiny gym, which was packed with about 100 people, went wild in the second quarter when Sydney scored her first hoop.

The capacity crowd became unglued again in the fourth period when Sydney scored a second time, with cheers of “You go, Sydney!” and “Yeah, Sydney!” ringing out.

“I started laughing when they started cheering my name. So funny,” she said later, playfully chastising a gaggle of her fans nearby. “You guys are really distracting.”

Sydney ended up playing 16 minutes, scoring the four points to go along with two rebounds and an assist.

“It’s a big relief to get the first one under our belt. It’s been a long haul, and we’re just glad it’s over,” said her dad, retired Kenilworth police Capt. Scott Phillips.

“I was very proud of her. That’s a lot of pressure on a 13-year-old, and she handled it like a professional,” he said.

Before the game, “We said, ‘Syd, go have fun.’ … And she said, ‘I’ll do my best.’”

Despite her and the team’s best efforts, St. Genevieve won 31-18.

It was St. Theresa’s last game of the regular season. The team ended with two wins and 10 losses.

St. Theresa’s has a playoff game next weekend, when Sydney will get another chance to show her stuff.

Her quest to play on the boys team started when her school disbanded its girls basketball squad.

When her school said no to letting her play on its boys team, Sydney’s parents went to court, leading the archdiocese to retaliate against the family, kicking both her and her sister out of St. Theresa.

The courts then ordered St. Theresa’s to take the sisters back and put Sydney on to the boys team.

“I finally get to play basketball. I wish I could have played earlier in the season, but at least I got to play two games,” Sydney said.

Additional reporting by David K. Li

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