Seventh-grader Sydney Phillips says she enjoys basketball so much, she wants a chance to play on the boys team. (Phillips family photo)

KENILWORTH -- As a sixth-grader last year, Sydney Phillips earned a spot on the girls basketball team at St. Theresa's School in Kenilworth. By the end of the season, she was picked as an all-star player.

This year, however, Phillips learned in October that St. Theresa's was dropping the team because not enough girls were interested. Phillips and her parents quickly approached the school, seeking some options and finally requesting their daughter be allowed to play on the boys team.

After meeting with several school officials, without success, Sydney's father, Scott Phillips, decided to take it to another step. He filed a suit against the school and the Archdiocese of Newark seeking that they be required to allow his daughter to play on the seventh-grade boys team.

"I'm not looking for money. I just want her to play basketball," Scott Phillips said.

His daughter, he said, has hopes of playing the game in high school and college.

"She's a good player," the father said. "We're not saying she'll be the best player. She's a good player. She works hard and she wants to play."

The family interest in the sport runs deep, as Scott Phillips' wife, Theresa, was the coach for the St. Theresa's girls team.

In the lawsuit, Phillips says the school and the archdiocese do not have a specific rule prohibiting Sydney from playing on the boys team.

St. Theresa's, in the legal brief responding to the lawsuit, states Sydney Phillips' application to play on the boys team was filed late, a claim Scott Phillips says is not true.

Sydney has attended St. Theresa's since pre-school. She is the student council treasurer and an altar server, the lawsuit states.

Her father said she has enjoyed playing basketball since her pre-school days and she would be one of the better players on the boys team. The team has a no-cut policy, so she would not be taking a boy's spot. She tried out for, and made, an AAU team.

"The school should be embracing her spirit," he said.

A hearing on the application for the injunction is set for Jan. 5 in Superior Court in Essex County.

Jim Goodness, a spokesman for the archdiocese, declined to comment on the pending litigation. A lawyer who filed the school's brief in response to the lawsuit also declined to comment.

Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.