NJ girl is allowed to play on boys' basketball team

NEW JERSEY (FOX 5 NEWS) - For the past four months, the Archdiocese of Newark had been playing full-court defense on 13-year-old Sydney Phillips. Her St. Theresa's school in Kenilworth, New Jersey, eliminated its girls' basketball team due to lack of interest. After the school denied her request to play on the boys' team, her parents filed a lawsuit in December.

As a result of the litigation, on February 1, Sydney and her sister Kaitlyn were both briefly expelled from St. Theresa's. They learned of the difficult decision the same night they had a workout with the WNBA's New York Liberty.

Two weeks after that emotional day, Sydney got to experience a much different feeling, thanks to news she never even knew was coming.

Superior Court Judge Donald Kessler ruled Friday that Sydney must be allowed to play in the final game with the 8th-grade boys' team. The judge overturned his original decision after learning that girls in nearby Clark were allowed to play on the St. John the Apostle boys' team.

Sydney is already focused on getting her next victory, one that'll take place in a different court, as she finally gets to play the game she loves.

Sydney will make her debut on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the regular season, fittingly it will be played at St. Theresa's. After that, she is guaranteed at least one playoff game with her new team.