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At Strawberry Mansion High, a girls' lacrosse team is a new thrill

WHEN KIARA Brooks and her teammates walk the halls of Strawberry Mansion High in their lacrosse uniforms, other students pepper them with questions.

WHEN KIARA Brooks and her teammates walk the halls of Strawberry Mansion High in their lacrosse uniforms, other students pepper them with questions.

"They'll say, 'What?' or 'What's that?' " said Brooks, 16, a sophomore. "Sometimes they call it corny."

But she and her teammates are resilient. Having begun playing lacrosse in February, they've learned to keep their cool against opponents with much more experience, some of whom have taunted them, calling them "ghetto" or other insults, coach Jazmine Smith said.

This weekend, the Strawberry Mansion Lady Knights will get some national attention. They're headed Saturday to Lehigh University in Bethlehem to watch the inaugural games of the United Women Lacrosse League, the nation's first professional women's lacrosse federation.

The girls won't just be watching the games. They are slated to play during halftime of one game in the four-team league, which includes the Philadelphia Force, Smith said.

Digit Murphy, the league's owner, said she was thrilled to learn that Smith had started field hockey and lacrosse teams at the school, on Ridge Avenue at 31st Street in North Philadelphia.

"We started this league to create opportunities for women in the professional sports base," Murphy said. Her goal, she said, is for professional teams to build relationships with communities.

"I told [Smith], we have to do something for your kids," she said.

Strawberry Mansion High has long had a bad reputation. In 2012, it was the subject of a Diane Sawyer documentary on ABC News that called it one of the nation's most dangerous schools.

Coach Smith watched that program.

"It broke my heart to see that documentary about all the fighting at Mansion," she said.

"That's where my family's from. My mother graduated from Strawberry Mansion Junior High. I felt compelled to create a program where I could help young girls to change their future."

Smith's family lived in North Philadelphia until she was 4 years old. When her mother became ill, the family moved to Radnor Township to live with Smith's grandparents.

In Radnor, Smith started playing lacrosse at age 7.

Soon after watching the documentary, Smith called Strawberry Mansion principal Linda Cliatt-Wayman.

Wayman had to nudge the girls to sign up.

"They had never even heard the word lacrosse," Cliatt-Wayman said. "They didn't know what it was."

The girls played field hockey in the fall of 2015 and started lacrosse this spring.

As African Americans taking up a nontraditional sport, she told them, they might have a better chance at college scholarships.

Cliatt-Wayman also is proud of a change in the girls' behavior:

"They used to get involved in petty arguments and petty fights in the building. There's one girl who doesn't even seem like she's the same child, she's done such a complete turnaround.

"Now they've learned to distance themselves from the kids who get into trouble. They've become more of a group themselves."

The record shows that the team hasn't had a great season, just four wins in 10 games. But the Lady Knights consider themselves winners.

"Even if we don't win a lot, every game we're getting better," said Deseray Jean, 15, a sophomore, seated Thursday on the field during a practice break at Mander Playground, 33rd and Diamond Streets.

The scores are etched into their memories. Nadirah Gateward, 17, a junior who is among the city's top scorers, rattles off results: "Our first game we lost, 3-1, then it was 4-2, and the next was 10-9."

Despite the record, Smith said college scouts are watching both Gateward and teammate Nadirah McRae, 17, also a junior.

"We teach them sports is about discipline. About the discipline of life," Smith said. "Everything they do on the field, or on the court, they will use those things in life. It's about structure, and most of these girls don't have a lot of structure."

Smith and assistant coach Danielle Ghilyard said their team has been compared to another Philadelphia story told in the movie Pride starring Terrence Howard.

That film was based on the true story of Jim Ellis, a swimming coach who taught city kids to compete against suburban teams.

As in the movie, the Strawberry Mansion girls have been awed at seeing the manicured fields of private schools including the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, in Villanova.

Also as in the movie, the girls at times have been treated unfairly in games - even against city schools.

At a recent game, Smith said, a varsity coach yelled at her girls to "go and learn the game."

Smith wasn't having it. She called out the coach and filed a complaint with a city official.

"My girls need to know that I love them and I will protect them," Smith said. "These are young women who are already dealing with disadvantages in life, and they don't need to be mistreated."

russv@phillynews.com

215-854-5987 @ValerieRussDN