Philly Girls High School Live offers a platform to showcase girls’ basketball as the women’s game grows
Philly Live, the high school recruiting period event where college coaches evaluate players, has expanded with a girls' event at a time when women's basketball is getting bigger.
Rachel Thatcher is ready to make a name for herself this summer.
The incoming junior guard at Paul VI, who competes on the Philly Rise 16U team, received her first two basketball scholarship offers, from Rider and the University of Pittsburgh, in early June.
It felt like a weight lifted from her shoulders, she said, but there’s more work to do.
“It feels good getting some recognition,” said Thatcher, who’s from Haddon Township. “But I’m going to keep working hard no matter what. Basketball is so much fun to me, I love it. Each day I prioritize it and get the work in. Even though college offers might be rolling in, I still want get to the next level and elevate my game.”
That’s why when Thatcher stepped onto the court Thursday evening at the Philly Girls High School Live showcase at Jefferson University, she wasn’t holding back. Though it was the first time this offseason she was playing alongside her high school teammates, it was an opportunity to show off her skills in front of college coaches, including those from Temple, Lafayette, and Fairleigh Dickinson.
This year marks the first time a Philly Live event is held for the girls. It will feature 30 games over three days (Thursday to Saturday) and includes local teams as well as some schools from the New Jersey and Delaware area.
West Catholic athletic director Jazz Williams and Ruth Onyekwelu, a physical education teacher at Lincoln High School, got the event off the ground and running.
For the last four years, the PIAA has offered a Philly Live event for boys’ basketball during the recruiting period, so Onyekwelu, who also officiates high school games, wondered why the girls didn’t have a platform.
“As a female and former player, we deal with a lot of obstacles,” Onyekwelu said. “To have this opportunity, even if it’s not for me, I’m doing it for the other girls, I’m doing it for my daughter — I’m doing it for all the girls out there to get the exposure that they need. WNBA is getting bigger and bigger. The women’s game is getting bigger and bigger. It starts from the ground roots first.”
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The first step was getting approval from PIAA board director Michael Hawkins, who’s the chairman for District 12. Afterward, Williams and Onyekwelu worked extensively to get the word out. It was a handful of emails and phone calls, first to the area high schools, seeing if they wanted to participate, then reaching out to college coaches.
The challenge, Onyekwelu said, was being a new showcase that nobody had heard of before.
“They were like, ‘Is this legit?’” she added. “They wanted to know who’s going to be here, is it going to be competitive, which college coaches would show up. It was a lot of questions that I could not answer — all I could do was reach out, and if they are interested, then they would come.”
About 26 high school teams showed interest and more than 25 Division I coaches signed up to attend the event.
When Paul VI head coach Orlando Hidalgo, father of Notre Dame star Hannah, heard about the showcase, he was ecstatic.
Last year, his team competed in Jersey Live, which was the first year it offered the platform to girls. To have an opportunity to do it in Philly, he said, meant more exposure for his players.
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“It gives the girls a chance to be seen by college coaches,” Orlando said. “In AAU some of these girls don’t get the same playing time, they are bound for minutes. When they are allowed to play for their high school teams, they get to play in a system where they are comfortable and they get to play a whole lot.
“As a high school coach, we’re just looking to showcase the girls. We’re not really looking to win the game necessarily, but with AAU you’re trying to win the tournament, so we were happy to be part of this.”
Taking a first glance at his team, Orlando liked what he saw from the group, which had six players depart the program from last season. He believes this team is filled with experience, with most of the roster getting varsity time in freshman year — namely Thatcher, who had the chance to learn alongside Hannah as a senior.
“Rachel’s a hard worker,” Orlando said. “She spends countless hours in the gym and develops her body well. She usually played the two guard, but Philly Rise said that they had her at the point and she was doing well. She did a great job playing the point [Thursday].”
In the first game, Thatcher was assigned to guard Universal Audenried Charter School standout Shayla Smith, who’s committed to Penn State, in Paul VI’s 77-57 win. Then in the Eagles’ second victory, 67-52 over Council Rock South, Thatcher contributed 11 points.
“It’s so great coming into Philly, I know ball is a big thing here,” Thatcher said. “We’re just trying to play, we’re all just trying to have fun and to have college coaches here and play with my team, it’s just an amazing experience. We’re all clicking and having fun.”
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Williams hopes to see the Philly Girls Live showcase grow nationally. But in its first year, he’s glad there’s a stage for female athletes to showcase their talents.
“I hope they understand that they have a platform scholastically,” Williams said. “Obviously they have AAU, which is really strong on the girls’ side. But in Philadelphia, I hope for those that can’t compete on an AAU team, they know they have somewhere to come scholastically and be in front of coaches and jell together as a team.”