It took some searching, but Reynah Rattliff found her home.
The Northeast Philadelphia resident has played on a lot of different basketball courts, having attended four different high schools in four years. Now at Universal Audenried Charter School in South Philadelphia, she found comfort, familiarity and championship team.
“Me, Shayla (Smith) and Senaya (Parker) all played together in seventh grade,” said Rattliff, a senior guard. “Me and Senaya played together since third grade. I played with Ikera Ellison at (Archbishop) Ryan during my sophomore year. There’s definitely girls I played with or played against throughout the years. We just all came together on one team.”
Rattliff began her high school career at Archbishop Wood in Warminster before transferring to Philadelphia Catholic League rival Archbishop Ryan to play for her father Jullian Rattliff. She played at Life Center Academy in New Jersey during her junior year, before settling at Audenried to play with her childhood friends. It’s like nothing changed.
“It was really welcoming,” Rattliff said of joining Audenried. “Over the summer I did (Coach Kevin Slaughter’s) camps. I’ve been training and going to the camps since freshman year. He was recruiting me then, but I decided to go a different route. From there, I played with the girls and we were able to join forces and they were really nice to me.”
Rattliff joined a squad that was already oozing with talent as senior Shayla Smith became the Public League’s all-time leading scorer with more than 2,500 career points under her belt. Senior teammate Senaya Parker is also a 1,000-point scorer. And the Rockets were two-time defending PPL champs heading into this season.
Room for one more?
Rattliff joined the party, and on Feb. 23, Audenried completed the three-peat, by defeating Imhotep Charter, 65-52, at La Salle University. The seniors were at the forefront of the charge.
“We have a lot of older kids that are leading the way,” Slaughter said after the Rockets won their PPL semifinal game over Friere Charter. “It’s learning experience. Every game, and every year, you learn.”
This season, Rattliff had contributed 187 points, 42 rebounds, 57 assists and 31 steals heading into the city championship game on Feb. 28 against PCL champ Neumann-Goretti. They are two different brands of basketball that Rattliff knows well. She prefers her side of the fence.
“I definitely think the play style is different here,” Rattliff said. “When you’re in the PCL, it’s a lot more organized, like they have certain types of sets that they want to instill in everybody. Everybody plays within a system. Here, I like that Coach Slaughter really lets us play how we play. He doesn’t force us to be anything different.”
It’s worked. Over the last three years, Audenried has a combined 66-20 record prior to the Neumann-Goretti game. More importantly, it provided a sense of home for a well-traveled player like Rattliff.
“I love it here,” she said. “Everyone is really supportive of each other. Whenever we’re doing good, we’ll uplift the others. If they are doing bad and they’re down on themselves, we’ll make sure we stay together as a team and as a family.”
