City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2024-25 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 4. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season, click here.)

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As always, Philadelphia basketball is everywhere.

Year after year, dozens and dozens of Philly-area ballplayers are spread around Division I rosters, 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 1 of our 2024-25 CoBL 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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2024-25 Alumni Roundup: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 

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Lainey Allen (Jr. | Maryland-Eastern Shore)
In her first two years at UMES, Allen’s started 39 of her 54 appearances, the 6-2 post from Plymouth Whitemarsh averaging around 17 mpg in both seasons. All of her numbers improved from year one to year two, as she averaged 5.1 ppg and 5.8 rpg last year on 44.4% from the field, including one block per game. 

Ryanne Allen (Jr. | Villanova)
Allen returns home after two years at Vandebilt looking for a fresh start on the reshaped Wildcats’ roster. A two-time state champion and former PCL MVP at Archbishop Wood, Allen appeared in 60 games with the Commodores with a 4.3 ppg average. The 6-foot-1 wing is a career 36.1% three-point shooter and looks to make a mark with Villanova.

Anna Azzara (Fr. | Wright State)
A four-year starter at point guard for Spring-Ford, Azzara heads out to Ohio to begin her college career in the MAC. The 5-6 guard compiled 1,641 points in her high school career, piling up rebounds, assists and steals to boot, with all sorts of all-league and all-state honors.

Amaris Baker (Sr. | Drexel)
A Cardinal O’Hara grad who started her career at Kennesaw State and then did a year at Harcum College before going to Drexel, Baker had a quality season in her return to the Division I landscape. The 5-7 guard was the Dragons’ leading scorer last year at 11.7 ppg, shooting 46.6% from the floor and 33.5% from 3-point range , with 4.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. She ended the season on a tear, averaging 16.5 ppg over the final 12 games of the year.

Kendall Bennett (Soph. | Binghamton)
As a freshman at Binghamton, Bennett played in 30 games, all off the bench, averaging 4.1 ppg and 2.6 rpg while hitting 59.1% of her shots. The 6-2 center out of Germantown Academy hit double figures once, scoring 11 points against Binghamton, and seven rebounds against Bryant was her high-water mark on the glass. 

Bri Bowen (Jr. | Quinnipiac)
Bowen began her career at Delaware, though she didn’t see the court in the 2022-23 season. The 5-10 guard from Archbishop Wood went up to Connecticut last year, where she played in 31 games in her first season as a Bobcat, aftering 2.7 ppg and 2.5 rpg while hitting 44.8% of her shots. She scored in double figures three times, topped by a 13-point, six-rebound, three-assist outing against Niagara. 

Anajah Brown (Sr. | Siena)
Brown has established herself as one of the best post players in the MAAC over the last couple years, averaging right around 11 ppg as both a sophomore and a junior, adding 7.4 rpg this past season, a bit below her sophomore year (8.1 rpg). The 6-1 forward from the Baldwin School did smash her career high with a 33-point explosion against Iona in February, shooting 14-of-22 from the floor with 10 rebounds as well. 

Maddie Burke (Gr. | Villanova)
Burke’s entering her third and final season at Villanova, the 6-0 guard from Central Bucks West having played in 72 games with 57 starts in a Wildcats uniform over the last couple seasons. Known as a 3-point specialist, she’s had an interesting journey over her career in that respect: she hit 35.4% as a freshman at Penn State and then only 19.5% a year later, then made 36.1% of her triples as a junior at Villanova before 23.7% a year ago, averaging 4.0 ppg as a senior. 

Anna Camden (Gr. | Richmond)
Camden’s first year in Richmond didn’t even get started, an offseason ACL injury relegating her to a redshirt season. The Shipley School’s all-time leading scorer joined the Spiders after four years at Penn State where she made 111 appearances with 58 total starts. Camden adds depth to a strong Richmond frontcourt.

Denae Carter (R-Jr. | Villanova)
A 6-0 forward out of St. Basil Academy, Carter spent her first year at Villanova on the sidelines with a torn ACL suffered in the preseason. Prior to that, she’d played in 47 games with 10 starts across two seasons at Mississippi State, averaging 5.0 ppg and 3.6 rpg along the way. 

Gabby Casey (Soph. | Saint Joseph’s)
Casey jumped right into the mix on Hawk Hill, the former PCL MVP and Gatorade PA Player of the Year playing all 34 games for St. Joe’s as the Hawks advanced to the WBIT quarterfinals. The Lansdale Catholic alum, who was one of the Hawks’ top reserves, posted 3.8 ppg and 2.4 rebounds per game while picking up two A-10 Rookie of the Week honors. Casey again figures to be a key player on a veteran-laden Hawks team.

Isabella Casey (Fr. | Bucknell)
A four-year varsity player and two-year captain at Germantown Academy, Casey is one of a few local players on the Bucknell roster, the 5-10 guard and 1,000-point scorer a tough scorer around the rim and rebounder as well.

Carly Catania (Fr. | New Hampshire)
A 5-9 wing and multi-sport standout from Villa Maria, Catania always played bigger than her height, which she’s hoping carries over as she starts her college career at New Hampshire. 

Savannah Curry (Fr. | Temple)
Originally from Maryland, Curry spent her last three years of high school at the Westtown School, where the 5-10 wing proved herself a strong 3-point shooter whose slashing skills steadily improved. She could earn a solid role initially as a freshman.

Amber Denmark-Howard (Fr. | NC A&T)
A 6-foot-tall wing from Bensalem, Denmark-Howard (who went by Amber Howard in her high school years) is a versatile player who had to do a little bit of everything for the Eagles. It’ll be interesting to see what role she settles into with more talent around her than ever before.

Maggie Doogan (Jr. | Richmond)
A star-in-the-making at Richmond, Doogan went from a strong freshman year (11.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg) to a standout sophomore one, averaging 15.4 ppg and 5.7 rpg on .483/.356/.870 shooting splits, averaging 2.3 apg for good measure. The 6-2 forward from Cardinal O’Hara, a first team All-Atlantic 10 Selection as a sophomore, only had four games where she didn’t finish in double figures, setting a new career bar with 28 points against Appalachian State. She also finished with a pair of double-doubles, and had as many as eight assists in one game. 

Caroline Dotsey (Soph. | Maine)
A 6-1 forward from Haverford High, Dotsey saw action in 20 games in her freshman year at Maine, scoring a total of 14 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Her best game was her college debut, when she scored four points and grabbed six rebounds against Quinnipiac.