City of Basketball Love

Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)

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(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2025-26 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

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Amya Scott and Carryn Easley were two tiny guards who left an enormous footprint on the Neumann-Goretti program the previous four years. Scott (Delaware State) and Easley (Fordham) were generational stars for the Saints, who bookended their high school careers by winning state championships, along with winning the Catholic League title last year.

Now comes the hard part for Saints’ coach Andrea Peterson, picking up the pieces and defending everything without her beloved “Munchkin” guards.

The irony is, looking out from the inside, it may not be as difficult as perceived.

While Archbishop Carroll may be viewed as the favorite to win the Catholic League with the Eberz sisters and a strong, young returning nucleus, the Saints return three starters and arguably the best player in the Catholic League in 5-foot-8 junior guard Reginna Baker, who is nearing 1,000 career points and will be joined by 5-6 senior guard Kamora Berry, who made 99 three-pointers last year and is closing in on 1,000 points herself, and 5-8 senior guard Zion Coston

In addition, the Saints return improved 6-foot sophomore forward Chrisette King, 5-6 sophomore guard Haniyyah Solis-Morgan, 5-6 junior guard London Thompson, 6-foot junior forward Skylier Stewart, who missed last season due to injury, and 5-7 freshman guard Azzure O’Connor, the daughter of former Simon Gratz star Marvin O’Connor.

The Saints also have two impact transfers from Ursuline Academy, Sanai “Nunu” Johnson, a 5-7 senior guard, and 5-foot-11 senior forward Jasmine Butler.

Peterson, one of the area’s most accomplished coaches with six state championships (2-2A, 3-3A), including last season’s first Class 4A title, two Catholic League championships and seven District 12 titles, is entering her 12th season. Though she lost two foundational players in Scott and Catholic League MVP Easley, this could be the deepest team she will have in a decade. For years being undersized with Easley and Scott, the Saints will also have one of their taller teams in about six years.

These are riches Peterson is not used to having.

Her personnel will be quite a bit different than past years, although the Saints will continue playing downhill. They shared the ball in a new motion system Peterson installed last year, getting everyone involved. The Saints have known commodities in Baker, Coston, and Berry. Saints’ assistant coach Darius Holman invested time this summer into developing King, who made great strides towards being more athletic and faster.

The math adds up to this: The Saints could be even better than they were last year, when they went 26-4 overall and went 11-0 in the Catholic League.

“Last year we heard this all season: We were too small, we were undisciplined; we were not deep enough; we only rely on Mya and Carryn, and we couldn’t play on big courts, because we have a small team that plays on a small court,” Peterson said. “But I always knew what I had inside my locker room. We could be good. We have a lot of growing to do with this team. Carryn and Mya were like two super women. They stabilized everything.

“You knew you were going to win with them on the court. Those two would never let you down. A great team runs itself. Our practices were timed and they led it. They have passed everything down to Reginna, Mo, and Zion.”

Peterson brought up Coston, who could have started last year, and not once did she complain. She had two sturdy pillars last year. Peterson feels she can count on three in Baker, Berry and Coston. With their depth, Peterson will have the flexibility to rest players this year.

“Can we be as good as we were last year, as long as we embrace the young ones and the new girls, we could be as good as last year,” she said. “I know what I have in my locker room again. I like this team.”

Baker, who has nine college offers, is now the face of the team. She knows what will be expected. She is ready for the responsibility. She may be asked to handle the ball more and play multiple roles. As a sophomore, Baker would take over pieces of games. She stresses her goal this season is to sustain those dominant times.

“As a freshman, I was in my head a lot, because I was afraid I would mess up,” Baker said. “I grew a little last year. I want to be more explosive when I have the ball. I believe this year we can go three-for-three. Carroll is very good. Cardinal O’Hara is very good. We will be facing great competition. We believe in ourselves.”

Berry will be the vocal leader, as she was as a junior. In clutch moments, she has hit vital threes and any team that will face the Saints will have to be aware of her.

The Saints have a nucleus that played on big stages, the Palestra, the Giant Center, national-level preseason tournaments.

“Everyone calls me the ‘mom’ of the team,” said Berry, who is getting attention from Central Connecticut State and Florida Gulf Coast. “It won’t be easy making up for Carryn and Mya, they are tough to replace, but Sanai and Jasmine have fit right in. In four years, we have never been this deep and never been this tall. I’ve never had a breather in four years here. I’ll get it this year. We have the best player in the Catholic League. Chrisette put the work in this offseason. She is going to make a difference.

“We won before, we will win again. But we will win differently.”

Two unsung components will be the defense provided by King and Coston, who will be the Saints’ shut-down defender. Coston worked on her offensive game this summer, honing her ballhandling skills, and sharpening her jump shot. She did everything from bringing the ball up last year to covering opposing players who were five inches taller than her.

King has revamped her whole game, and that started with building mental toughness.

“I pressed myself this summer, because I took AAU a lot more seriously,” King said. “I’m more confident. I’m coming with a little something this year. I let people bully me as a freshman. I took that and applied that to being better. It bothers me that I could have done more than I did last year, I held myself back. I had special moments last year that I can incorporate into this year.

“We’ve been through it. Mya and Carryn taught us how to win. We learned those lessons well.”

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Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on BlueSky here.