City of Basketball Love

By CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
—

It’s time to finally put a bow on the 2024-25 Philadelphia-area basketball season. 

Now that we’ve had time to digest the four-month stretch that comprised our 13th season of local hoops coverage, the CoBL staff has come together to release its annual CoBL All-Area High School Awards. 

It’s not an easy process — there are so many players in the area deserving mention for terrific high school years, but only a couple dozen make this list each spring from all the various districts, leagues, and levels that we cover. CoBL determines its All-Area teams through several factors: individual performance is important, but so is team success; this is not a ranking of purely the best or most talented players in the Philadelphia area, but instead is focused on who had the biggest impact on their team’s triumphs this season, whose season is most worthy of distinction. That’s a subjective bar, as all awards are, but that’s the standard we try to aim for.

For the last few years, we’ve split our awards up by PIAA and non-PIAA, due to the differences between the two with regards to shot clocks, fifth-year players, post-graduate players, and more. This year, we have six all-area PIAA teams and two for the non-PIAA. 

Without further ado, our all-area non-PIAA girls’ teams: 

2024-25 CoBL-Area Non-PIAA Player of the Year

Jordyn Palmer (Soph. | Westtown School)
Nationally-ranked as one of the top sophomores in the country, Palmer averaged 21.7 ppg and 10.2 rpg for the Moose to earn first team All-Friends Schools League honors and win PA Gatorade Player of the Year for the second straight year. She helped the Moose to a dominant run to fifth straight FSL League and fourth straight PAISAA title and a spot in the Chipotle Nationals. All of that coming off a star turn with the USA U-17 National Team.

First Team
Riley Davis (Soph. | Notre Dame)
Davis led the Inter-Ac undefeated champions in scoring with 16.0 ppg to go along with six assists, five rebounds and three steals per game. She earned first team All Inter-Ac honors and was named the league MVP. She helped her team to the PAISAA semifinals.

Logyn Greer (Sr. | Friends’ Central)
The Colorado recruit, who is ranked nationally in her class, averaged 16.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.0 apg and 3.0 bpg this season. A versatile 6-3 wing who can step out and knock down 3-pointers while also serving as one of the area’s top rim protectors, Greer earned first team All-FSL honors as her team finished as the Friends Schools League and PAISAA runner-up and went up against a national schedule.

Jessie Moses (Soph. | Westtown School)
Moses, a 5-10 guard, is nationally ranked among the top sophomore recruits in the country. She averaged 17.9 ppg, 3.5 apg, 3.0 spg and 3.0 rpg to earn first team All-Friends Schools League honors, helping the Moose to a dominant run to fifth straight FSL League and fourth straight PAISAA title and a spot in the Chipotle Nationals.

Grace Nasr (above) averaged a double-double for Notre Dame. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Grace Nasr (Soph. | Notre Dame)
The 6-3 sophomore center averaged a double-double for the Inter-Ac champions, finishing with 11.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg. The first team All-Inter-Ac selection, who’s recently picked up her first Division I offers from Penn and Princeton, boosted her statline with 3.0 apg, 3.0 bpg and 2.0 spg. She helped her team to the PAISAA semifinals.

Zya Small (Soph. | Friends’ Central)
The Scranton-area native, who was a standout for her hometown high school as a freshman, had no issue adjusting to life in the FSL. The 6-1 wing high-major recruit averaged 15.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 2.0 bpg for the Phoenix and earned first team All-Friends Schools League honors. She helped the FCS to the FSL and PAISAA title games as well as navigate a national schedule.

Atlee Vanesko (Jr. | Westtown School)
A high-major recruit, Vanesko averaged 10.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.6 apg, and 3.0 spg, earning first team All-Friends Schools League honors. She steadied the Moose at the point guard spot, particularly during an early season stretch when injuries hit Westtown hard, helping her team to a dominant run to fifth straight FSL League and fourth straight PAISAA title and a spot in the Chipotle Nationals.

~~~

Second Team

Nal’la Bennett (Sr. | Friends’ Central)
The Stony Brook commit averaged 14.6 ppg and 3.0 apg for the Phoenix, earning first team All-Friends Schools League honors. A standout outside shooter, the 5-6 guard helped FCS to the FSL and PAISAA title games as well as navigate a tough national schedule.

Kaylinn Bethea (above) is off to St. Joe's after a standout career at Penn Charter. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Kaylinn Bethea (Sr. | Penn Charter)
The St. Joe’s recruit, one of the top guards in the area over the course of her four years, earned another first team All-Inter-Ac honor as she averaged 20.9 ppg, 4.7 apg, 7.7 rpg and 5.3 spg for the Quakers, who finished in fourth place in the Inter-Ac in the first year of a new coaching regime. 

Gabby Bowes (Sr. | Germantown Academy)
Bowes, a Millersville recruit, was GA’s leading scorer this season as she averaged 14.4 ppg to go along with 4.1 rpg and 1.0 spg. A 6-0 wing who’s always been a strong outside shooter, Bowes earned first team All-Inter-Ac honors for the league’s runner-up.

Sophie Hall (Sr. | Notre Dame)
A multi-sport standout who’s going to be a soccer goalie at the University of Delaware, the 5-8 Hall was no doubt a crucial piece to the Irish’s Inter-Ac championship. Hall averaged eight points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists per contest as she was arguably the league’s best on-ball defender as well as a reliable 3-point shooter and ball-handler who didn’t need to take many shots to have a massive impact on the outcome of a game.

Jess Kolecki (Sr. | Germantown Academy)
The senior point guard, who’s not playing basketball in college, was a first team All-Inter-Ac selection for the league’s runner-up. A strong ball-handler and distributor who was also a quality rebounder, she averaged 6.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.8 apg and 1.0 spg. 

Gabby Vaughn (Jr. | Shipley School)
A 6-0 wing who could play all five positions for Shipley,  Vaughn was the lone non-Westtown/FCS player on the All-Friends Schools League first team. She averaged 11.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.9 apg and 1.3 spg for the fourth-place Gators, who reached the PAISAA semifinals.