City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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LOWER GWYNEDD >> All it took was a good pass.

It hasn’t taken long for Swarthmore freshman Vianna Kanyamiheto-Watson to become an impact player for the Garnet and it’s already made her a target of opposing defenses. However, if there's one thing the guard knows, it’s how to seize an opportunity and after a couple quiet quarters on Tuesday, she turned up her play down the stretch.

Kanyamiheto-Watson scored nine of her 18 points in the fourth quarter as Swarthmore won its second straight, downing host Gwynedd Mercy 75-58.

“I realized after the first game against NYU when I dropped 21 that every team after that is going to look at that game,” Kanyamiheto-Watson said. “I expected that they would put a lot of pressure on me but I like being able to find my teammates, get them open shots and set them up because I know they can score just as easily as I can.”

The astute will recognize Kanyamiheto-Watson’s name from Westtown boxscores over the last four years. A 5-foot-7 guard who hails from Mechanicsburg, Kanyamiheto-Watson played high school locally for the powerhouse Moose program on rosters loaded with current and future Division I players but wasn't one of their leading players statically.

That didn’t mean she got buried. Kanyamiheto-Watson was a valuable reserve, especially as an upperclassman, and seemed to make the most of every opportunity she got by producing and playing the right way while recognizing the value being on a team like Westtown provided for her.

“I think my transition from freshman to senior year was insane,” Kanyamiheto-Watson said. “I would not be the player that I am today without going to Westtown. It was good for me to learn how to contribute without being the main ballhandler or the main scorer and in practice, I still got that opportunity to figure out how to get my shots off or get stronger handling the ball under pressure because I got to go up against those people every day.”

While she would have been a standout performer and a leading player on almost any other roster, Kanyamiheto-Watson explained Westtown was the perfect fit for what she wanted in a boarding school with a high academic focus. The basketball was just a really potent plus and her career spanned the Moose’s rise into a national power that is routinely sending players to the next level.

“Coach Fran (Burbidge) really just sold the school and basketball-wise, he’s done such a good job at building the program,” Kanyamiheto-Watson said. “When I came in, it was still in the start of getting that level of people to come and I loved seeing the program growing into what it is now.”

Swarthmore, which improved to 2-2 on the season under fifth-year coach Dawn Grant, also saw that Kanyamiheto-Watson had plenty of game. The Garnet got into the mix during the summer between her junior and senior years while she was playing AAU for 717 Hoop Dreams from the midstate area and much like Westtown, Swarthmore checked a lot of boxes from the high standard on academics to even the values the university stands on.

She participated in the Garnet’s prospect camp that August then announced her commitment in February 2025. With the Garnet shifting toward a younger group - the team has seven freshmen and sophomores on its 12-player roster - she also saw an opportunity to make an early impact.

“They were very, very persistent on wanting me to come,” Kanyamiheto-Watson said. “The recruitment process is different for everybody, but it was really nice to get that validation that I am the player that I think I am. I’m not always someone who was in that spot, even in AAU I wasn’t always the leading scorer, so I’m glad people still saw how I contributed and what I could do.”

On Tuesday, Kanyamiheto-Watson picked up her first score on a 3-point shot with 5:01 left in the first quarter and she would score the last five of the frame for Swarthmore as Gwynedd Mercy took a narrow 17-16 lead after one. For the next two quarters, the Griffins gave her plenty of defensive attention with sophomore Kailyn Bell in particular weaving through every moment with the Garnet first-year to try and slow her down.

It worked from the perspective that Kanyamiheto-Watson was held to just one point in the second and third quarters combined but not in the larger scale as her teammates took advantage of their own opportunities. Sophomore Claire Mathews, who joined the Garnet as a transfer from Brandeis this summer, hit a trio of threes for nine second quarter points and junior Carly Murphy netted all eight of her points in the frame as Swarthmore opened up a 45-35 halftime lead.

“The way we connect off the court is really great too and I would say that definitely contributes to our play style,” Kanyamiheto-Watson said. “I really like the different perspectives we all have on basketball. Claire coming in as a transfer, she has a different college experience and her bringing that, it really meshes with us as well.”

Swarthmore started four underclassmen - freshmen Kanyamiheto-Watson and Samara Diggs and sophomores Mathews and Lily Czub - alongside Murphy on Tuesday. Freshman Emy Chen was their only guard to come off the bench while senior Raven Richardson, who made her season debut, provided a big spark in the frontcourt with eight points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals with both reserves also contributing five points in the second quarter takeover.

“Our team had a transition coming into the year but we’ve handled it really well,” Kanyamiheto-Watson said. “We’re really young and I like that, we’re easily impressionable so it’s easy for us to change things up and find our flow. I like that I have a chance to help lead our team in doing that.”

Gwynedd Mercy, which was led by an inspired effort from Plymouth Whitemarsh alum Azzy Crumpton who tallied a team-best 17 points plus seven rebounds, tightened up its defense in the third quarter. The Griffins, who also got an all-around effort from Bell with the Ridley grad chipping in eight points, nine rebounds and eight assists, trailed just 59-50 with six minutes left despite having leading scorer Julianna DeFebbo out for the night with an injury.

On the next trip down the floor, Kanyamiheto-Watson attacked from the corner and lasered a pass to Diggs for an open layup and that was all the freshman guard needed to get going again. She and Chen combined for a steal, Kanyamiheto-Watson deflecting the ball then taking off as Chen gathered it and pushed up the floor before dishing to her classmate and the Westtown alum finishing the and-one layup.

Mathews would find Kanyamiheto-Watson for a three, the freshman hitting 4-of-5 from deep in total during the game and 6-of-10 shots overall, her shot barely moving the net to cap an 8-0 that put Swarthmore up 66-50 with four minutes to go.

“Our team, we produce off of plays like that,” Kanyamiheto-Watson said. “It really gets us going and it always seems to start a whole run for us.”

The freshman finished her night hitting a three with 38 seconds left and assisted Czub, who had 16 points in a solid effort, on a three to close out the game. It’s early in the season but Kanyamiheto-Watson thinks the Garnet’s transition game can continue to be a strength but the guard noted they can also get better including on the defensive end.

“I love the way our coaching staff listens to the players,” the guard said. “If something’s not working, they’re very open to listening to what we’re seeing because we’re the ones on the court so I really appreciate being on a staff that values listening to their players.”

Staying in the area to play college basketball means Kanyamiheto-Watson has been able to stay well connected with her fellow Westtown alums playing in college. Kennedy Henry, who she graduated with last year, is starting as a freshman at Villanova while Savannah Curry and Grace Sundback – who were her upperclassmen when she started high school – aren’t too far away at Temple and Delaware respectively.

Aidan Langley, another of her close friends from the Class of 2025 and a freshman playing at Towson, was already in town to play at Villanova and will be back a few times this season and Kaniyamiheto-Watson said she’s been trying to get to any of the other former Moose players games that she can. Of course, she’s also still close with the girls still at Westtown like senior Atlee Vanekso and junior Jordyn Palmer and definitely plans to get to a few of their games this season as well.

“I have the same feeling here at Swarthmore,” Kanyamiheto-Watson said. “Our team is very close and I really appreciate that, just like I did at Westtown. Even now, I’m still going to games for my friends who graduated at Westtown and are playing in college but I love spending time with my team here just as much.”