City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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The 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament tips off Wednesday night with the First Four round. Drexel adds a local squad to the field and brings plenty of homegrown talent with it. Here are the CoBL-Area products to look out for in the tournament this week:

Ryanne Allen (Soph. | Vanderbilt)
Allen, an Archbishop Wood product, appeared in 11 games this season, averaging 6.9 ppg and 1.4 spg in 19.7 mpg before suffering a season-ending knee injury against Lipscomb on Dec. 17. Vanderbilt plays Columbia on Wednesday night.

Amaris Baker (Jr. | Drexel)
The Cardinal O’Hara product arrived at Drexel this year after an All-American season at Harcum College a season ago and was instantly the team’s leading scorer at 11.8 ppg and added 4.2 rpg. She averaged 19.8 ppg during four CAA Tournament wins that sent the Dragons back to the NCAA Tournament, where they will face Texas on Friday.

Anna Camden (Gr. | Richmond)
The Shipley School product injured her knee after transferring to Penn State and had surgery that’s kept her out the whole season, but she’s still a presence around the program for the Atlantic 10 champs.

Maggie Doogan (Soph. | Richmond)
Doogan averaged 15.4 ppg and 5.7 rpg for a 29-win Richmond team that will face Texas on Friday. A season after earning All-Rookie and third team All-Atlantic 10 honors, the former Cardinal O’Hara star was a first team all-conference selection as a sophomore.

Caroline Dotsey (Fr. | Maine)
After leading Haverford to a Central League championship and District 1 runner-up finish last season, Dotsey’s seen limited action in 19 games as a freshman for the Black Bears, who will play Friday against Ohio State.

Erin Doherty (Gr. | Drexel)
Doherty, a Haverford High product, has played in six games for the Dragons after transferring from D-III Catholic University this offseason.

Kaitlyn Flanagan (Soph. | Holy Cross)
The Plymouth Whitemarsh product, who ended her high school career with a state title, has 65 starts in two seasons and a pair of Patriot League titles and NCAA Tournament appearances as well. She’s averaging 7.2 ppg and 4.4 apg for Holy Cross, which faces UT Martin on Thursday in a First Four game.

Hannah Griffin (Fr. | Holy Cross)
Griffin is in her first season with the Crusaders after a standout career at Gwynedd Mercy, playing eight games this season. 

Diamond Johnson (Jr. | Norfolk State)
Johnson transferred to from North Carolina State this offseason and she has unsurprisingly been sensational. The Neumann-Goretti product and former PA Gatorade Player of the Year averaged 20.3 ppg, 2.9 apg and 3.8 spg in the 22 games she played, earning MEAC Newcomer of the Year, All-MEAC First Team and an All-Defensive Team honors. She’ll lead the Spartans against Stanford on Friday.

Paige Lauder (Sr. | Columbia)
Lauder and the Lions will make the first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history in Wednesday’s First Four game against Vanderbilt. The Villa Maria Academy product has played in 24 games this season, averaging 2.3 ppg and 2.6 rpg.

Brooke Mullin (Gr. | Drexel)
The Neshaminy grad had a pair of March Madness runs at Villanova, including a Sweet 16 appearance last season, before finishing out her career with the Dragons this year. She’s averaging 10.3 ppg and leads her team with 52 made threes and 3.7 apg.

Grace O’Neill (Soph. | Drexel)
The 5-foot-7 guard from Archbishop Carroll is leading the Dragons in rebounding (5.3 ppg) and also chipping in 5.1 ppg and 3.1 apg in her second season starting at Drexel.

Laine McGurk (Fr. | Drexel)
McGurk’s appeared in 28 games for Drexel this season, averaging 6.5 ppg in her first year following a standout career at West Chester Rustin.

Mary Sareen (Fr. | Maryland)
Sareen, Radnor’s Team MVP last season, has seen action in seven games as a freshman for the Terps, who will face Iowa State on Friday.

Ava Sciolla (Soph. | Columbia)
After playing in the NCAA Tournament last season with Maryland, Sciolla transferred to Columbia this year and her team will be back in the Big Dance. 

Sydni Scott (Soph. | Marshall)
Another Cardinal O’Hara product going dancing, Scott and the Thunder Herd will play Virginia Tech on Friday afternoon — around the same time as Doogan and Baker’s games. Scott made four starts as a freshman and has started 14 of the 22 games she’s played as a sophomore, averaging 9.5 ppg.

Erin Sweeney (Sr. | Drexel)
A deep reserve during her first three seasons in University City, the former Archbishop Carroll standout is averaging a career-high 5.0 ppg this season. She’s seen a huge uptick in minutes as of late and is averaging 8.8 ppg in the Dragons’ last five contests, including four CAA tournament wins.