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NCAA Tournament: Local WBB Alumni to Watch

03/15/2022, 11:30am EDT
By Mitchell Northam

Mitchell Northam (@primetimeMitch)

There’s just one women’s college basketball team based in Philadelphia that’s dancing in the NCAA Tournament this March. That’s Villanova – seeded 11th in the Wichita Region. And the Wildcats are loaded with locals: Lucy Olsen (Spring-Ford), Brooke Mullin (Neshaminy), Kenzie Gardler (Cardinal O’Hara) and Kaitlyn Orihel (Archbishop Wood).

But there are other Philadelphia-area natives who will feature for other tournament teams across the bracket.

Let’s get to know them a little bit better.


Lizzie Oleary (above) and Delaware beat Drexel in the CAA championship game. (Photo courtesy Delaware Athletics)

Lizzie Oleary, Delaware
High School: Abington
First Game: vs. No. 4 Maryland, Friday at 5 p.m.

A fifth-year senior, O’Leary has started in every game she’s featured in for Delaware this season. She’s fourth on the team in scoring and third in rebounding, averaging 6.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per-game.

Delaware has often been powered this season by Baltimore native Jasmine Dickey – who ranks third in the nation in scoring – but O’Leary has shown she can contribute in a big way too, like on Jan. 9 when she poured in 20 points and 14 rebounds in a victory at the College of Charleston.

The 6-foot-2 O’Leary was key in the Blue Hens CAA title game win over Drexel too, chipping in seven points (on 3 of 3 shooting), seven rebounds and a season-best five assists in Delaware’s upset of the Dragons. The Blue Hens are making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2013, when Elena Delle Donne steered them to a Sweet 16 appearance.

Nia Jordan, Buffalo
High School: Neumann-Goretti
First Game: vs. No. 4 Tennessee, Saturday at 3 p.m.

A 6-foot-1 guard, Jordan is a reserve guard for the Bulls, playing about 5.3 minutes per-game. One of her best games this season came in a win over nearby Niagara, where she tallied five points and three rebounds in 16 minutes. Buffalo is Jordan’s third stop in college basketball, as she spent her freshman season at New Orleans, and last season at Labette Community College.

Coached by Felisha Legette-Jack, this is Buffalo’s fourth trip to the tournament since 2016.

The first-round game between Buffalo and Tennessee could have featured two Philadelphia natives, but Keyen Green – a forward for the Vols and a Phil-Mont Christian graduate – tore her ACL in January and is out for the rest of the season. Green had been averaging seven points and 3.2 rebounds per-game before her injury.

Alisha Lewis, UCF
High School: Strath Haven
First Game: vs. No. 10 Florida, Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Lewis helped the Knights have one of their best regular seasons ever, as they finished 25-3 overall and 14-1 in the American Athletic Conference. Lewis started in 13 of the 28 games she played in for UCF and averaged 7.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.6 steals per-game. Her steals average is 26th best in the nation, and her three-point shooting percentage – 43.4% – is 51st best in the nation.

A 5-foot-7 junior, Lewis shined in UCF’s pair of conference matchups with Temple this year, as she totaled 15 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and three steals while shooting 71.4% from the floor.

According to HerHoopStats, Lewis is also ninth in defensive win shares this season with 3.8, and 22nd in defensive rating with a 72.5 mark. She’s key to what UCF does defensively, and if the Knights want to win their first ever NCAA Tournament game, they’ll need her at her best. UCF is 0-6 all-time in the tournament.

Diamond Johnson, N.C. State
High School: Neumann-Goretti
First Game: vs. No. 16 Longwood/Mount St. Mary's, Saturday at 2 p.m.

Johnson transferred to N.C. State this past offseason and made a splash right away with the Wolfpack. She averaged 10.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals per-game as N.C. State won the ACC's regular season and conference tournament titles. Johnson was second on the team in scoring and passing, and is a big reason why the Wolfpack are a No. 1 seed in this year's tournament.

After making the All-Big Ten Second Team a season ago at Rutgers, Johnson was named ACC Sixth Player of the Year this season for her impact off the bench with N.C. State. The Wolfpack could play No. 8 Washington State in the second round of the tournament, and that'll be good news for Johnson, as she had one of her best games of the year against the Cougars back in November. The 5-foot-5 sophomore scored a season-best 24 points in that game and also had seven rebounds and four steals.

A year ago, N.C. State exited the tournament in the Sweet 16, troubled by a lack of depth. Johnson has helped erase that problem for the Wolfpack this season. As head coach Wes Moore said earlier this year: "It’s pretty nice when you can bring Diamond Johnson in to give you a spark. She can give you more than a spark — she gives you a forest fire out there."


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