skip navigation

CoBL-area D-I Alumni: Midseason Update (WBB)

12/23/2022, 5:45pm EST
By Josh Verlin

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)

Between the men and women, there are more than 150 Division I ballplayers who hail from the greater Philadelphia region. While not all of them are stars for their respective teams, there are quite a few that are off to strong starts to the 2022-23 season, either putting up career-best numbers or continuing a run of play that goes back a year or more. 

Here’s a few highlights of some D-I standouts with local ties, who aren’t playing for City 6 teams:

(All stats as of Dec. 23)


Archbishop Wood product Ryanne Allen has jumped right into a role at Vanderbilt. (Photo: Courtesy Vanderbilt Athletics)

Ryanne Allen (Fr. | Vanderbilt)
Allen has jumped right into a key reserve role at Vanderbilt, playing in 13 minutes in her first game and not any less in the dozen since, topping out with 30 minutes in a recent win over Alabama A&M. She’s producing in those minutes, too, the 6-foot-1 Wood product averaging 7.2 ppg and 2.7 rpg while hitting 40% of her shots and 35.2% (19-of-54) from 3-point range, with five double-digit scoring outings. Her high-water mark so far has been a 17-point effort on 4-6 3-point shooting against Samford.

Alexa Brodie (Sr. | Colgate)
A four-year starter at guard for Colgate, Brodie has started 10 games so far this year for the Raiders, missing one; she’s averaging 8.1 ppg, third-best on the team, plus 2.9 apg and 2.6 apg (second on the team). A CB South grad, Brodie’s numbers are similar to last year but she’s been more efficient from the floor; she’s hit double figures three times, including a 15-point, seven-rebound outing against Albany in November, and a 13-point, four-assist, three-rebounding game against Niagara.

Anajah Brown (Soph. | Siena)
The first-ever Baldwin basketball player to win all-state recognition, Brown is making her alma mater proud, as she’s taken a huge step forward in her second year at Siena. A team captain already, the 6-1 forward averaged only 2.4 ppg and 2.4 rpg last year but has jumped up to 11.3 ppg and 8.2 rpg, leading her team in both categories, while shooting 57.1% from the floor, with 17 blocks in 11 games. Scoring in double figures in all but three games, with three double-doubles, her best game thus far was likely a 17-point, 10-rebound, two-block outing against Binghamton.

Kaitlyn Flanagan (Fr. | Holy Cross)
Holy Cross is off to an 8-3 start and are one of the preseason Patriot League favorites, and they’re doing it with a true freshman starting at point guard; Flanagan, a 5-10 guard out of Plymouth Whitemarsh, leads the Crusaders in assists (37) while starting 11 all games and playing a team-high 30.5 mpg, averaging 6.5 ppg and 2.7 rpg while hitting 39.7% of her shots and 80% of her free-throws. She’s hit double-figures twice so far, scoring 12 against UNH and 11 against Stonehill, and had four-or-more assists six times, dishing out seven dimes against Dartmouth.

Zamara Haynes (Soph. | Maryland-Eastern Shore)
Haynes, a 5-7 guard out of Abington, had a solid freshman year at UMES, averaging 7.1 ppg while starting 11 of 24 appearances. This year, she’s started 11 of 13 games for the Hawks, averaging a team-high 12.5 ppg, plus 3.5 rpg with a team-best 32 assists. She’s broken the 20-point mark once this year, scoring 24 against James Madison, her best effort out of seven double-digit scoring appearances, including five with 15 or more. After playing a difficult non-league schedule, Haynes’ efficiency numbers should improve with the beginning of conference play.


Neumann-Goretti product Diamond Johnson is a full-time starter for NC State. (Photo: Courtesy NC State)

Diamond Johnson (Jr. | North Carolina State)
The reigning ACC Sixth Player of the Year is going to be ineligible for that honor this time around, as she’s moved full-time into the starting lineup for the Wolfpack (11-1), and she’s leading the charge. In the 10 games she’s played, the 5-5 guard out of Neumann-Goretti is averaging a team-high 13.9 ppg, shooting 27-of-52 (51.9%) from the 3-point arc, with 39 assists against just 17 turnovers, chipping in 4.7 rpg as well. Her best game thus far was a 22-point, 9-rebound, four-assist outing against Iowa in a 94-81 win.

Megan Jonassen (Gr. | Fordham)
A 6-0 forward out of Perkiomen Valley, Jonassen has already played in 123 career games, seeing double-digit minutes as a reserve as both a freshman and sophomore and now in her third year as a starter. She’s continuously increased her production, averaging a career-best 8.1 ppg plus 6.6 rpg (slightly less than two years ago, 6.8 rpg), with 1.2 apg. She’s also extended her range a little; after attempting only one 3-pointer in four years, she’s now 7-of-14 from deep, and is shooting 56.1% overall, by far a career best.

Ashley Jones (Gr. | Southern Illinois)
Jones is playing at her fourth college in five years, but the 5-7 Neumann-Goretti guard hasn’t wasted any time getting settled in at SIU. Through nine games, she’s the Salukis’ leading scorer (15.0 ppg), playing in all but one game, shooting 42.9% from the 3-point arc (18-of-42), with 3.8 rpg and 28 assists, good for second on the team. She’s scored in double figures in seven straight, including a 29-point outing on 9-of-17 shooting (4-7 3PT) against Chicago State.

Paige Mott (Jr. | Northwestern)
Mott had a similar role in her first two years at Northwestern, averaging around 15.0 mpg and scoring around 3.5 ppg, but her minutes have gone up (21.1 mpg) and her scoring has doubled (7.2 ppg), as she’s hitting 55.7% from the floor, far better than she did her first two years, when she was hitting at around a 40% pace. The 6-1 forward out of Abington Friends is also averaging a career-best 4.9 rpg for the Wildcats (6-5), and she’s scored in double figures in her last three games and four of her last five, with her first career double-double, a 13-point, 10-rebound effort against Duke on Dec. 1.

Grace Niekelski (Soph. | Dartmouth)
Niekelski got a run of eight starts as a freshman, but otherwise tended to be deeper on the bench for the Big Green; she’s not starting every game as a sophomore, but she’s a much larger part of the rotation, averaging new career bests in minutes (21.3), points (7.2), rebounds (3.1) and assists (1.2), starting four games out of 12 for a Dartmouth team that’s off to a bit of a rough start (2-11). The 6-0 forward out of Mount St. Joseph has scored in double figures five times, topping off with 15 against Long Beach State on Dec. 16.


PW product Taylor O'Brien is back in action at Florida State. (Photo: Courtesy Florida State Athletics)

Taylor O’Brien (Gr. | Florida State)
O’Brien had her final season of college hoops interrupted for a little more than a month thanks to an ankle injury, but she made her return on Wednesday, scoring five points in 15 minutes against Miami. The Plymouth Whitemarsh all-time leading scorer, who starred at Bucknell for four years before doing her grad season at FSU, had been off to a strong start, scoring 19 points in two of her first three games and 11 in the other, and her 13.5 ppg overall is good for third on the team. 

Maggie Pina (Sr. | Boston University)
It’s been a resurgent season for Pina, who’s been a starter for BU since her freshman year, when she averaged 11.5 ppg and won Patriot League Rookie of the Year, but she hadn’t equaled those numbers the last couple seasons, averaging 4.7 ppg last year. But the 5-7 Notre Dame grad is back to her old self, averaging 10.8 ppg through the Terriers’ first 11 games, including a 22-point effort at St. Joe’s on 7-11 shooting, one of six double-digit outings this season, and she’s shooting 24-of-47 (.511) from the 3-point arc.

Kaylene Smikle (Fr. | Rutgers)
A 6-0 wing out of the Westtown School, Smikle finally earned her first start last week — and we mean earned it. The New York native has started her college career on an absolute tear, with five games over the 20-point mark, including a 22-pointer at Illinois and 26 points with 8 rebounds against Princeton, the one which got her into the starting lineup the next game out. Through 14 games, she’s averaging 15.5 ppg and 4.2 rpg, with 23 steals and 12 blocks., 

Lex Therien (Soph. | Loyola, Md.)
The defending Patriot League Rookie of the Year has kept going with her strong play from a year ago, averaging 13.7 ppg and 10.1 rpg, her scoring up a little and rebounding down a little from last year (12.6 ppg, 10.9 rpg), her shooting percentage (44.9%) almost identical to last year’s (44.7%). She’s hit the 20-point mark once, scoring exactly that against Morgan State, and also has a 20-rebound game, in the season opener; all-in-all, the 6-1 forward out of Cherokee (N.J.) has six double-doubles, halfway to her total from last year.

Sydney Wagner (Gr. | William & Mary)
Wagner started her college career at Stetson, then transferred to William & Mary, where she’s been a bucket-getter for the last three seasons. Her numbers through 11 games (15.0 ppg) are similar to last year (14.6 ppg), and she surpassed the 1,000-point mark in a W&M uniform earlier this season, having done it for her overall career last year. The 5-6 guard, a 2017 graduate of Spring-Ford, has scored in double figures in eight games, including three with 20-or-more, topping out with a 26-pointer including four 3-pointers against Richmond on Dec. 1.

Kylee Watson (Jr. | Notre Dame)
A 6-4 forward out of Mainland Regional (N.J.), Watson came to Notre Dame after two years at Oregon, where she played in 49 games (8 starts), averaging under four points per game. She’s jumped right into a starting role with the Fighting Irish, putting up new career bests in minutes (23.6), points (7.9), rebounds (4.1) and assists (1.5), with 14 blocks, and she’s shooting 60.3% from the floor, also a new career high. Her best game thus far was a 15-point, seven-rebound game against Cal back on Nov. 12.


D-I Coverage:

HS Coverage:

Small-College News:

Tag(s): Home  Contributors  Josh Verlin  College  Division I  Women's