City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)

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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2023-24 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 6. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season, click here.)

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There is Philadelphia basketball talent everywhere in the country.

Dozens of Philly-area ballplayers are spread around Division I women’s rosters heading into this season, from East Coast to West Coast, North to South, low-major to high-major and everywhere in between. Each fall, CoBL rounds up all of those local prospects to update you on how their careers are going and what’s expected of them in the year to come.

We’ve split the area’s D-I alumni into a three-part list, the whole thing way too big to run all at once. Here’s Part 3 of our 2023-24 CoBL girls alumni roundup, featuring around 20 players who are on a Division I roster this season.

(If we’re missing someone, let us know: cityofbasketballlove@gmail.com)

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2023-24 Alumni Roundup: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 |

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Bella Runyan (Sr. | Villanova)
Runyan’s been a defensive specialist for all three years at ‘Nova. The long-armed 5-foot-11 Moorestown Friends product has played a steady role off the bench; her minutes per game were 22.3 as a freshman, 22.2 as a sophomore and 23.5 as a junior, when she played in a career-best 37 contests. Runyan averaged 4.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg and 2.2 apg last year, including a season-high 13 points in their NCAA Tournament first-round win over Cleveland State.

Brigid Scanlon (Fr. | St. Francis)
There’s no doubt what colors are worn at the Scanlon household in State College, as both Brigid and her brother Brendan, a junior, play for the Red Flash. A 5-8 guard, Scanlon spent her last two years of high school at the Perkiomen School following two years at St. Joseph’s Academy.

Ava Sciolla (Soph. | Columbia)
A versatile 6-foot wing out of Pennsbury, Sciolla spent her freshman year at Maryland, where she played 44 minutes in 16 games, scoring a total of seven points with 10 rebounds. She transferred this offseason to Columbia, where she joins a Lions program coming off a 28-6 (12-2) season, including a loss in the WNIT championship.

Sydni Scott (Soph. | Marshall)
The Thundering Herd’s first option off the bench as a freshman, Scott averaged 5.6 ppg and 2.0 rpg in 30 appearances, earning four starts along the way. The 5-8 Cardinal O’Hara grad went into double figures six times, including a season-high 17-point outing against Georgia Southern which saw her go 5 of 7 from downtown.

Abby Sharpe (Fr. | Penn)
The leading scorer on Plymouth Whitemarsh’s undefeated 2021-22 state championship squad, Sharpe is one of five freshmen on the Quakers’ roster. A 6-foot guard, Sharpe is a strong outside and mid-range shooter, and has good length defensively. Penn needs help in the scoring column, and she can bring it. 

Kaylene Smikle (Soph. | Rutgers)
Smikle burst onto the college scene as one of the country’s top young stars, the Westtown School product averaging 17.9 ppg and 4.5 rpg to earn a spot on the All-Big East Second Team and All-Rookie Team. A 6-foot guard, Smikle had the highest-scoring freshman season in program history, leading the team with 56 3-pointers, hitting the 20-point mark 15 times and topping out with a season-high 29 points against Maryland.

Raanee Smith (Sr. | Sam Houston State)
A 6-2 forward out of Friends’ Central, Smith spent her first two years of college hoops at Colorado, making 16 appearances, but she’s been a more significant part of the Sam Houston State rotation in her two years there. Last year she played in 30 games (four starts), averaging 4.2 ppg and 4.8 rpg in 14.1 minutes per game, all career-best numbers.

Bella Smuda (RS-Jr. | Liberty)
Smuda’s output dropped a little from her freshman (7.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg) to sophomore (5.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg) years, but she bounced back as a junior (7.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg), playing a career-best 15.1 minutes per game in 33 appearances. The lanky 6-6 post from Downingtown East has 113 career blocks — another 50, her number from her junior year, and she’ll be in the Flames’ top four all-time. 

Aleah Snead (Fr. | St. Joseph’s)
The second local prep standout starting on Hawk Hill this fall is Snead, the Penn Charter product and 2022-23 Inter-Academic League MVP. A 5-11 wing guard, Snead was a 1,000-point scorer for the Quakers, excellent at getting to the bucket and finishing with either hand. 

Elle Stauffer (Jr. | Harvard)
The 5-11 Germantown Academy product has played in 39 games through her first two years at Harvard, averaging 2.1 ppg and 1.4 rpg. She played in 16 as a sophomore, averaging 1.6 ppg and 1.4 rpg, with a season-best seven-point, six-rebound outing against Merrimack. 

Grace Sundback (Fr. | Delaware)
The 5-9 guard out of Westtown School begins her college years as one of four freshmen on the Blue Hens’ roster. A Staten Island native, Sundback is a knockdown 3-point shooter who can also play some point. 

Erin Sweeney (Gr. | Drexel)
Sweeney played in a career-high 18 games last year for the Dragons. The 5-10 guard out of Archbishop Carroll has seen action in 34 games in three years, averaging 1.3 ppg in 5.4 minutes last season.

Bella Toomey (Fr. | Fairleigh Dickinson)
A 6-foot forward from Penn Charter, Toomey was a three-time All-Inter-Academic League First Team selection, a quality high-post operator who’s good on the glass. She’s one of seven freshmen on the Knights’ roster.

Meliah Van-Otoo (Soph. | Loyola Md.)
A multi-sport standout at Westtown, Van Otoo started four of 24 games she played in as a freshman for the Greyhounds, averaging 2.2 ppg and 1.0 rpg. A 5-4 point guard, Van Otoo reached double figures once last year, scoring 10 points against Army.

Maddie Vizza (Sr. | Northeastern)
Vizza got her college career off to a good start, starting 13 of 20 games as a freshman, but an injury limited the Germantown Academy product to just five games as a sophomore. She made her return for the final four games of last season. So it’s been more than a couple years since Vizza averaged 7.0 ppg and hit 44% from deep as a freshman, but she’s shown she can produce when healthy.

Annie Welde (Soph. | Villanova)
A walk-on from Cardinal O’Hara, Welde appeared in eight games her first season at Villanova, making her only shot for two points in 13 total minutes. 

Khalis Whiting (Soph. | Stony Brook)
Whiting missed her entire senior year at Abington (2021-22) due to a knee injury. She recovered enough to make 15 appearances for the Seawolves as a freshman, though only for a total of 20 minutes, scoring a eight points in that time. 

Taylor Wilson (Fr. | Army)
One of nine freshmen on the West Point roster — half of the roster — is Wilson, the 5-10 Archbishop Carroll grad coming off her second first team All-Catholic League season. Next year, she’ll be welcoming her sister, Carroll senior Brooke Wilson, as her teammate once again. 

Cire Worley (Fr. | UMass-Lowell)
The all-time leading scorer in Abington girls’ history, Worley heads up to Massachusetts to begin her River Hawks career. The 6-foot forward is one of five freshmen on the Lowell roster; last year they went 5-22 (4-12 America East) under first-year head coach Denise King. 

Carmen Williams (Jr. | George Mason)
A 5-10 guard from Penn Charter, Williams spent the last two seasons at Radford, where she played in 59 games (42 starts) and took a nice jump from freshman to sophomore year. Last season, in 31 games (28 starts), she averaged 9.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.9 apg and 1.4 spg while playing more than 30 minutes per contest. At Mason, she’ll have a chance to play some games back home.