Williams, Handy take Chester Charter SA to new heights

CHESTER — Logan Handy’s personal goal is to finish her high school career with 2,000 points. She’s getting close.

The senior guard is enjoying her first and only season at Chester Charter School for the Arts, playing under first-year varsity head coach DeJuana Mosley.

“In my first game here, I wasn’t nervous or nothing like that,” said Handy, who scored her 1,000th point as a sophomore at Laurel High School. “You can feel the love here.”

Handy and junior teammate Ceyrah “Jimmy” Williams have been leading the way for the Sabers. Monday night, CCSA extended its winning streak to 12 games with a 51-40 decision over Chichester.

“I’m loving it here,” said Williams, who transferred from Stem Academy in Chester. “It’s been great, and I’m not surprised we are winning.”

Handy and Williams put on a show Monday, particularly in the first quarter, and have been the Sabers’ top performers this season. CCSA girls basketball is in its third year as a varsity program and second season as a member of the PIAA.

Handy and Williams have brought excitement to a program that didn’t win a game last year.

“I’m not surprised,” Handy said. “We’ve been working hard in practice and it shows on the court. I have faith in my team.”

The Sabers have thrived in their relatively limited time with Mosley, who is the second-leading scorer in Chester High girls basketball history.

“The talent has been here, but no one has been really working with it,” said Mosely, who teaches entrepreneurship and finance at CCSA. “Our focus has been on the kids and taking time to nurture them. They’re great kids, they just needed somebody to work with them. For me, it’s really awesome to see how far they are coming along. They really put the time in and you can say that about all of our girls.

“Our focus has been to build a program and to learn what it takes to be successful. … They’re at the point where they know what doing it the right way can get them, and they’re completely bought in. That’s the best part about it.”

Mosley has been pleased with her players’ selflessness and commitment. There are no egos or me-first attitudes. All the players really care about is winning together.

“We’ve changed our starting lineup seven or eight times, but most of them just want to be a part of the team,” Mosley said. “It’s about what goes on behind the scenes. It’s the little things, like when I call them over, they sprint over. They are always listening and they want to learn. It’s always about the team first. I have kids who used to start at the beginning of the season who don’t see that much time right now, and they don’t care. Their team is successful, they cheer for their teammates, and that’s what matters.”

Despite CCSA’s state-of-the-art facility and spacious confines, the Sabers play inside a small gymnasium with limited seating. Fans packed the place Monday and cheered on the Sabers as they won their 12th straight contest.

“The fans have been amazing,” Mosley said. “Even last year, when we were 0-and-whatever, the fans came out and supported the kids. That’s one thing that I really like about this school. It’s not even about success, it’s about the kids.”

Mosley, who played college ball at Lincoln University, has assembled an all-star staff. Charlene Thomas, who is the all-time leading scorer at Chester, played at Seton Hall and Vivian Melvin (Kutztown) was an 1,000-point scorer at Chichester.

“With the coaches that we have, our kids can look up to them and see that you can actually use basketball to become successful,” Mosley said. “Coach Charlene played professionally, she went to Seton Hall, and Coach Vivian went to Kutztown. So, we have three coaches that all graduated from college and the kids can see that you can use basketball to help you advance, to help you further your education.”

Mosley talked about her mentors growing up, including former Chester High athletic director Randy Leggette and former Clippers girls basketball coach Marvin Dukes, all of whom impacted her life in a major way. Along with her assistant coaches, Mosley hopes she can provide a similar positive influence to her players.

“They see that you grew up in the same city and come from the same situation, the same struggles that I had, yet you can still manage to do something positive,” Mosley said. “That’s what we try to be for the girls, to set that example for them.”

For CCSA players, basketball is one in a long list of after school activities.

“I can tell you that if we have an art show, I have to cancel practice because half of our team is in the art show,” Mosley said. “To see these kids dance, act, sing, do poetry, whatever you can think of … to see these kids and all of the talent that they have, to me it’s like the real-life version of high school musical. It’s like the cool kids are the ones that dance, as opposed to the ones that play sports. I think, in a city like this, to have our kids be able to showcase their talents is amazing.”

The talent of the basketball team is beginning to take District 1 by notice. Entering the week, the Sabers were ranked No. 2 in Class A, behind only undefeated and defending PIAA champion Jenkintown (15-0). Eight teams qualify for next month’s District 1/12 Class A tournament. The Sabers will be one of them.

Williams and Handy caused havoc Monday as the Sabers raced out to a 24-6 lead over the Eagles (3-9) in the first period and held a 32-6 advantage at halftime. Handy scored 10 of her game-high 20 points in the first quarter, while Williams racked up eight points, five assists and two steals in the opening eight minutes. Williams finished with 12 points and posted team highs in rebounds (nine), assists (nine) and steals (six). Jasmin Harper chipped in with eight points.

“I feel like we click out there,” Handy said of her connection with Williams. “She’s a defensive player, I’m an offensive player. We work hard together.”

Ava Franz had 12 points and Marissa Taylor added nine points and four steals for the Eagles, who outscored the Sabers 34-19 in the second half.