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CoBL Fall Classic: Day 2 Standouts (Oct. 2)

10/02/2022, 11:30pm EDT
By CoBL Staff

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)

ROYERSFORD — The inaugural CoBL Fall Classic, presented by Spring-Ford, had its culminating day on Sunday with 17 teams in action across eight sets. The CoBL staff was on hand as some of the top talent from Southeastern Pennsylvania and beyond took to the courts, with some ultra-competitive games going on throughout the day.

Here’s our staff picks for standouts from Sunday’s action:

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Kendall Bennett (2023 | Germantown Academy)
Bennett, a Binghamton commit, had 19 points, seven boards and a block to wrap up her afternoon against Archbishop Wood and fellow future America East forward Deja Evans (Albany). The 6-foot-3 forward does a terrific job of gravitating toward open space on the floor, allowing her teammates to find her inside for an easy bucket. She has great hands, keeps the ball high and has a soft touch around the rim. She used a reverse layup on multiple occasions to avoid a contested shot. The Patriots also used her at the top of the key where she set screens, popped for a jumper, rolled to the basket or passed/handed off to teammates.  

Gabby Bowes (2025 | Germantown Academy)
The 5-9 sophomore for Germantown Academy is one of the many rising stars for a program looking to get back to the top. Bowes brings size and intensity to the defensive side of the floor, on a team that has clearly bought in to stop opposing teams from scoring. She couples that with a lethal shooting ability, knocking down numerous shots from behind the three point arc. Once she hit her groove there was no stopping Bowes. She has a knack for spacing the floor and finding her spot so that her teammates can get her the ball with an open look. A true 3 and D player, Bowes will be a key contributor as Germantown Academy chases a state title. 

Lancaster Catholic 2024 point guard Mary Bolesky was one of the standouts during Sunday's action at Spring-Ford. (Photo: Jack Verdeur/CoBL)

Mary Bolesky (2024 | Lancaster Catholic)
One of the most impressive outings all weekend took place when the Crusaders absolutely shut down defending PIAA 6A champs Plymouth-Whitemarsh to the tune of a 44-16 win on Sunday afternoon. Bolesky, Lancaster Catholic’s point guard and a first team all-Lancaster-Lebanon Section 4 selection, is a ton of talent in a 5-4 package; she’s got the ball on a string and made no-look passes look easy on the break, and hit for three 3-pointers as part of her 13-point, five-rebound, three-assist performance. And her rebounds weren’t the type that fell to her; Bolesky’s got impressive ups and overall athleticism, which made her a pesky on-ball defender. She’s got interest from a couple D-Is, including Columbia & St. Francis (Pa.), and it was easy to see why.

Gabby Casey (2023 | Lansdale Catholic)
The last time Casey was in Spring-Ford’s gym, all she did was score her 1,000th point and close out a state playoff win over Allentown Central Catholic. She pretty much picked up where she left off, leading the Crusaders in wins over West Chester Rustin and the host Rams. Playing defense like a free safety, Casey caused plenty of havoc on that end while showing her usual strong attacks on the rim and the jumper she’s put plenty of work into on the offensive side. Casey had 18 points and 10 rebounds in LC’s comeback win over Spring-Ford and showed off her vision with a few nice assists in both games. 

Deja Evans (2023 | Archbishop Wood)

The 6-foot-2 forward had two challenging match-ups Sunday, going up against Perk Valley sophomore Quinn Boettinger, then Germantown Academy senior and Binghamton recruit Kendall Bennett. Evans, in her second year with the Vikings, didn’t have a huge offensive game in either contest but showed some nice moves that included a driving reverse layup against PV in the first set. Where the forward shined was on defense, as Evans rejected several shots in both games with a couple emphatic rejections mixed in for good effect. With aggressive guards and plenty of long-armed wings in front of her, the Albany commit should have plenty of chances to turn away shots and gather rebounds for Wood on the defensive end.

Archbishop Wood 2023 forward Deja Evans, an Albany recruit, put together a standout effort during Sunday's action at Spring-Ford. (Photo: Jack Verdeur/CoBL)

Marisa Francione (2024 | Conestoga)
Francione is a scrappy 5-6 point guard who makes things happen for the Pioneers on both ends of the floor. In a win over Council Rock South, she scored 15 points and grabbed five steals. Her aggressiveness on the defensive end led to easy buckets for Stoga, whether that was her speeding down the floor for a coast to coast bucket or pushing the pace to find a teammate. In the halfcourt, she wasn’t afraid to drive into traffic, converting an and-one as one of the highlights of her outing. Francione’s toughness on offense and defense gives the Pioneers an edge. 

Jaida Helm (2023 | Lansdale Catholic)
Whatever Helm hasn’t yet learned with her new team, she more than made up for with effort. The senior, who comes over to the Crusaders after three seasons at Abington, is still picking things up on both ends of the floor in a new system but that didn’t stop her from scoring baskets, grabbing rebounds and flinging outlet passes up and down the floor. She also hit the deck a good deal, swatted a few shots and showed some good connectivity with her new teammates that should only get stronger before the season begins.

Amber Howard (2024 | Bensalem)
Howard is on the radar of a long list of Division I programs already, including almost the entire City 6. The athletic 6-foot-1 guard is a nightmare problem and seems almost impossible to stop when she's on. Howard has the speed, shiftiness and ball handling ability of a smaller guard and then good looking jumper as well. Bensalem also used her in the post as well, and she is an aggressive rebounder. A crossover into a pull-up jumper near the foul line showed a glimpse of her tantalizing potential. Howard finished with 14 points to end her day and a few good looks at the basket rimmed out or that number might have looked even more impressive.

Rylee Kraft (2024 | Lancaster Catholic)
The other main piece to LC’s dominant win over P-W was Kraft, who like Bolesky was a first-team all-LL selection as a sophomore a year ago. A 6-0 wing, Kraft scored 14 points to lead the Crusaders in the victory, but it wasn’t her scoring that really stood out. She got assigned to guard PW standout guard Abby Sharpe, one of the best players in SEPA, and absolutely locked down the future Penn guard, forcing her into tough, off-balanced jumpers, and otherwise forcing the Colonials to try and generate offense elsewhere. Offensively, Kraft showed off a tough, rim-attacking game and great second effort on the glass but also stepped out and hit a 3-pointer in the second half.

Laine McGurk (2023 | West Chester Rustin)
The Drexel commit had a strong showing in both of her games on Sunday, first putting together a 24-point outing against Lansdale Catholic (17 in first half) before scoring 18 in a win over George School to finish off her day. McGurk can knock down shots from deep, hitting four long balls on the day, but her pull-up midrange jumper is an especially deadly weapon and might be the area’s best. The 5-9 guard is terrific in transition, which suits the Knights who like to play uptempo. It helps that she is a really good finisher through contact, getting some tough looks to go against a George School squad that has a lot of size.

Perkiomen Valley 2025 wing Grace Miley helped her team to a win over Neshaminy on Sunday. (Photo: Jack Verdeur/CoBL)

Grace Miley (2025 | Perkiomen Valley)
Miley was one of the most fierce competitors on the court during Sunday’s action. Contributing on both ends of the floor, the 5-8 wing didn’t back down when guarding the opposing team's best scorers, even if they had a few inches on her. Miley disrupted her opponents’ flow, causing multiple turnovers leading to fast break opportunities for Perkiomen Valley. On the offensive side of the floor, her jump shot was on as she sank  midrange after midrange jumper and added one from 3-point land too in a win over Neshaminy. Her intensity was contagious and her team fed off that energy on their way to victory.  

Aaliyah Soliday (2024 | Spring-Ford)
A 5-7 combo guard, Soliday’s best known for her 3-point shooting abilities, which she showed off by knocking down three from long range as Spring-Ford narrowly lost to Lansdale Catholic in their only Sunday appearance. But Soliday impressed with her ability to crash the glass, grabbing five offensive rebounds (seven overall) to help keep possessions alive when the Spring-Ford girls were struggling to hit shots early on. Soliday also got into the lane and showed a nice floater, and came up with a couple steals on the defensive end as well. 

Reese Zemitis (2024 | Neshaminy)

Zemitis started hot in both of Neshmainy’s games on Sunday — a loss to Perkiomen Valley and a win over George School. She hit her first five shots (five threes) during a 15-point outing to start her day then began her second game in similar fashion, knocking down three straight shots from deep before finishing with five total in a 19-point outing. Zemitis, whose offer list is up to 13 including locals Drexel, St. Joe’s and Penn, has a pure shooting stroke and is comfortable knocking down shots off the bounce. The 6-foot wing also showed off her playmaking ability as well, setting up her teammates for looks.

Honorable Mention
Olivia Boccella (2024 | Lansdale Catholic), Isabella Casey (2024 | Germantown Academy), Ashanti Chapman (2023 | Reading), Tamiya Collier (2025 | Reading), Delaney Finnegan (2023 | Archbishop Wood), Carissa Frederick (2025 | George School), Lizzie Grant (2023 | Downingtown West), Kaitlyn Kearney (2023 | Springfield-Delco), Saniyah Littlejohn (2025 | Lansdale Catholic), Liliana Metrick (2025 | Council Rock South), Kaci Mikulski (2024 | Wildwood Catholic), Priyanka Ponnam (2025 | George School), Janie Preston (2025 | Conestoga), Kareena Preuss (2025 | Spring-Ford), Ava Renninger (2024 | Archbishop Wood), Megan Robbins (2023 | Spring-Ford), Katrina Valencia (2024 | Conestoga), Destiny Wallace (2024 | Wildwood Catholic)


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