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2023 Girls All-City Classic Notebook (Pt. 2)

06/01/2023, 11:45am EDT
By CoBL Staff

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)

The 10th Annual girls’ All-City Classic took place at Imhotep Charter on Tuesday night, with three games bringing together some of the city’s best freshmen (Class of 2026), sophomores and juniors for an evening of all-star games.

Here’s the second half of our notebook from the evening; CLICK HERE for the rest:

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Haverford's Aniya Eberhart has some D1 colleges tracking her after the spring live periods. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Aniya Eberhart (2024 | Haverford)

With Maine commit Caroline Dotsey in the mix, Ebehart wasn’t the focal point for a 27-2 Haverford squad this season. There were moments, however, when the 5-10 guard took over games for the Fords. Those moments will likely get more and more common over the next calendar year

Ebehart scored nine points during Tuesday in the junior game. She can get going from deep and likes to push the ball in transition — something Haverford may do more frequently next season with forward Dotsey and Mollie Carpenter gone.

Playing with Philly Rise this offseason, Ebehart said her ability to race down the floor has caught the eyes of a few college coaches. Fordham, Robert Morris and Rider are the most recent to get in touch after playing down in Texas during the May live period. La Salle and West Chester are both schools she said she’s heard from.

“One coach said they liked my hustle, how I move on the floor, how athletic I am, how I keep my eyes up,” Eberhart said. “I’m good with passing. I have a solid shot when I get my feet set.”

Eberhart said getting used to a new group with the Rise this summer, but the team improved throughout the spring and hopes to continue that upward trajectory after a recent 4-1 showing in Texas.

“We keep progressing as the tournament’s keep going on,” Eberhart said. “We’re just getting better everyday.”

Personally, she’s prepping for a strong showing later this summer when she can get back in front of college coaches. In the meantime, she’s trying to visit some colleges and get to some team camps that aren’t too far from home, including Lafayette, La Salle, Widener, Cheyney and Delaware.

”I just have to keep contact with them as the season goes on,” Ebehart said of the college coaches she’s talked to. “They said they would come watch me in July at the Run for the Roses, so I’m excited for that.”

It’s certainly possible Haverford has another D-I commit to lean on in Eberhart by the time next season rolls around 

“Just staying healthy basically with my team,” she said of her goals this offseason. “Getting ready for school. I know we have a big season coming up. I’m very excited, my senior season. I just want to stay healthy for my team, continue to work, continue to work on my shot. I’ll have to get a lot of shots up this upcoming winter.” — Owen McCue

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Amber Howard (2024 | Bensalem)

Last year in Chicago, Howard saw where she wanted to be.

The Bensalem junior will have a chance to play on some prime real estate when she goes back to the Windy City this summer thanks to making the jump to the Philly Rise 17U EYBL team. It’s also brought some good things Howard’s way, including a few college offers, some more conversations and a chance to round out her game.

“It’s been pretty good so far, it’s a new team, so we’re still kind of learning each other and adjusting,” Howard said. “I’m playing some new positions, so it’s different but we’re winning.”

She and her Rise teammates won big at their EYBL session in Dallas last week, capturing their age group’s Platinum Bracket title. It was a needed turnaround after they fell short in their previous event in Virginia earlier this spring, but Howard felt that weekend was good for building continuity in the team.

A 6-foot-1 wing at Bensalem, where she was named the team’s MVP for the second straight year after averaging 12.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg, Howard is finding herself doing some different things with her AAU team. She’s enjoying the challenge too, knowing players tend to stand out when they don’t just specialize in one thing.

“I’m playing the big positions sometimes, still playing on the wings, it’s good because I can show the coaches how versatile I can be,” Howard said. “I’m really looking to be consistent and play with my foot on the gas the whole game. I’ve definitely been working on my shooting so once the high school season starts, I’ll be good to go.

“I didn’t do too well with my shooting last year, so that’s something I need to keep working on.”

Howard picked up her first offer from Iona in late April and has since added offers from William & Mary and Bucknell in May. She’s also heard from Kentucky, Stonehill and a few local schools on top of the programs that have extended offers.

“I want to wait until July and that last live period, then I know it’s time to either pick or narrow my list of schools,” Howard said. “I’m starting to work on a top five so when July comes, I want to be set.”

In Chicago last summer, Howard set a goal to come back with the chance to play on the big stage at Nike Nationals. A few months from now, she’ll be able to say she did just that.

“EYBL gets to play on the black courts,” Howard said. “I’ve been wanting to play on them since last year. I just wanted to be part of that atmosphere and that environment.” — Andrew Robinson

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Shipley's Sanai Johnson is focusing on her training instead of playing grassroots hoops. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Sanai Johnson (2026 | Shipley School)
Johnson was terrific in Tuesday’s All-City Classic, winning MVP of the freshman game. She said she’s rarely played on the floor with so many people her same age before.

The 5-4 guard, who scored 19 points on Tuesday, played varsity as an eighth grader for Shipley last season and was an All-Friends Schools League honorable mention as a freshman (12.1 ppg) this season — the lone non-Westtown/FCS/George School player on the list. 

She scored a career-high 27 points in a win over ANC to get the Gators to the FSL semifinals.

“I think I knew what I was going against,” Johnson said of her second year at Shipley. “I knew the competition. I worked up to get 30 in big games throughout the whole season and just working.”

Last summer, Johnson played up on K-Low Elite’s 10th grade team. She won’t be running with any AAU squads this offseason, instead working on her own game. Johnson works out with area trainers Tasheed Carr and Bilal Benn. The West Philadelphia native has a few parts of her game she’d like to focus on and take into next season.

“Just my shooting, being consistent and being shiftier and craftier and my defense,” Johnson said. — Owen McCue

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Kaiya Rain Tucker (2025 | Friends’ Central)
Rain Tucker didn’t even know Maryland-Eastern Shore had been watching her until a phone call with assistant coach Casey Monroe-Gaskins last week. So it came as quite the surprise when she had her first Division I offer by the end of the chat.

“I was so happy I cried, so I would definitely say it was very exciting,” Rain Tucker said. “There’s always room for growth though. I feel like I can still grow more as a player, work on my ball handling, work on getting open shots, looking to score more.”

Monroe-Gaskins, who has family in Philadelphia, told Rain Tucker UMES had their eyes on her playing with Friends’ Central this past season along with playing for BBA 17U earlier this spring in Pittsburgh and most recently during the May live period in Atlantic City.

The 6-foot forward was an All-Friends Schools League honorable mention selection in her first season at FCS. She believes she brings a lot to the floor in the front court.

“I communicate very well,” Rain Tucker said. “I can rebound well. I can get open, I can get people open. I’m just a very positive energy on the court as well. I feel like everybody needs that.”

She has a visit to Bryant scheduled for June 26 and has plans to get on campus at UMES in the near future as well. Buffalo and Hofstra have expressed some interest as well. 

There’s plenty to still try and add to/unlock in her next two years with the Phoenix, however.

“I feel like it was a slow start for me,” Rain Tucker said. “I feel like junior year I really will dominate more. I wasn’t as powerful as I could have been. I was still in a little box. Now that I’ve been working out, I’m getting to know the coach more, getting to know the girls more, I’m really expanding my game.”

College coaches can contact Rain Tucker and the rest of the 2025 class directly on Thursday. Things should be busy for Rain Tucker and her classmates Logyn Greer and Nal’La Bennett, who has an offer from Delaware State.

The group took the program a step forward this past season under coach Vinny Simpson, who was in his first full season, as they advanced to the FSL championship game and PAISAA semifinals. 

They’ll lead the charge next year without senior Sana'a Garrett, who recently committed to Jacksonville. Rain Tucker believes Garrett set the path for her and the other young players in the program to follow.

“We’re very proud of her,” she said of Garrett. “She’s been working really hard, offseason, preseason, any time. It’s really motivating to see our head captain head somewhere big, a D1 school. … It really uplifts everyone like, ‘Oh wow. If our head captain can do it, then we can do it.” — Owen McCue

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Nal’la Bennett (2025 | Friends’ Central)

It’s been a good spring thus far for Bennett, who’s playing with New Heights (N.Y.) for the first time, helping her team to a one-loss spring in Select Events showcases in Ohio and Texas during the live periods. 

“Just been traveling a lot, it’s good competition,” she said. “It’s a new team so I’m just trying to get used to it.”

Bennett had a strong sophomore year with Friends’ Central, helping the Phoenix to the Friends’ Schools League championship game, where they fell to powerhouse Westtown. The 5-6 guard didn’t have to be the team’s primary ball-handler with Sana’a Garrett (Jacksonville) filling that role, but she certainly stepped up as their primary shooting threat, a talent she put on full display Tuesday night.

Launching shot after shot from beyond the 3-point arc, Bennett finished with 15 points on 5-of-9 from deep, knocking down treys with ease from well beyond the high school arc. 

She knows that’s something she’s plenty capable of; the next step will be preparing her game for college, where at her size she won’t be so easily able to get her shot off, especially at the Division I level. 

“I’m getting better at talking, it’s a big part,” she said. “Since I’m a smaller guard, I need to become more of a point guard; [right now] I’m more of a shooting guard [...] I’m just trying to get better at going downhill and perfecting my handle more.”

Bennett’s got one D-I offer, from Delaware State, which she picked up in October. She said other schools have been talking to her coaches, including Monmouth, Rutgers and Texas Southern, and is looking forward to the June 1 deadline when college coaches can directly contact players for the first time, instead of having to go through their high school or grassroots coaches.

“It feels good — I just know I’m putting the work in, so it all comes in time,” she said. — Josh Verlin


D-I Coverage:

HS Coverage:

Small-College News:

Tag(s): Home  Recruiting  Contributors  Josh Verlin  Owen McCue  High School  Andrew Robinson  Girls HS  Central League (G)  Haverford High  Friends' Schools (G)  Friends' Central  Shipley School  Suburban One (G)  SOL Patriot (G)  Bensalem  Nal'la Bennett