The second month of play in college basketball is nearly through, and league competition has begun for D-3 women’s programs. Across the region, players are finding their footing and making and impact.
New England remains central in the Division 3 picture. No. 3 Smith, No. 7 Bowdoin, No. 12 Bates, No. 13 Trinity and No. 19 Amherst all appear in the latest WBCA Coaches' Poll. The nation's second-leading scorer gets her buckets in Maine.
From senior leaders and 50-point scorers to a breakout freshman, all corners of the region are showing they have stars.
Here are ten players across New England who made waves for their programs throughout the month of December.
Jaycie Christopher, Southern Maine
Senior, 6-0 guard
Hometown: Skowhegan, Maine
Christopher elevated her game to average 21.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in the Huskies’ four games in December. Against UMass Boston, Christopher scored eight points in the second quarter to help open a 12-point lead for the Huskies in a game-high 21-point outing. She followed up with a career-best 30 points against Western Connecticut, plus 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. She went 5-for-5 from beyond the arc and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field in the first half. The Huskies are 2-0 in the Little East so far.
Carly Davey, Bowdoin
Senior, 5-5 guard
Hometown: Westford, Mass.
The undefeated Polar Bears faced a tough challenge on Dec. 4 when they traveled to face then-undefeated Bates. Bowdoin came out on top in double overtime, with help Davey’s 17 points in the fourth quarter and overtime periods after entering the fourth with just two points. Davey also had five rebounds and five assists in the win. She followed that performance with two more double-digit showings to average 16 points and four rebounds through Bowdoin’s first three games in December. She also led the Polar Bears with 19 points against Hartford.
Claire English, Emerson
Junior, 5-11 wing
Hometown: Winchester, Mass.
English logged her third double-double of the season against Salem State, but her defensive impact stood out in the month of December, earning her two NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Week nods. Against Suffolk and Salem State, English had 3.5 blocked shots and 11.5 rebounds per game as Emerson held its opponents to 52.5 points on 26.4 percent shooting.
In the first week of December, English averaged 6.5 rebounds, three blocks and two steals per game as Emerson went 1-1. The junior is averaging 8.9 points and 8.5 rebounds on the whole season — plus 2.27 blocks per game, tied for 32nd in the country.
Bri Frongillo, Emerson
Senior, 5-3 guard
Hometown: Hopedale, Mass.
Frongillo scored her 1,000th point against Suffolk on Dec. 9, becoming the 12th player in program history to score 1,000 points at Emerson. She then turned around and scored a season-high 33 points against Salem State on Dec. 11. She played in all but one minute across the pair of games, averaging 29 points and four rebounds.
Overall, Emerson went 3-1 in December, and Frongillo averaged 22.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals through the four games.
Sophie George, Plymouth State
Senior, 5-6 guard
Hometown: Meredith, N.H.
George’s performance against WestConn helped Plymouth State rebound from a tough 72-52 loss against LEC opponent Rhode Island College. She scored a career-high 26 points that included a pair of free throws in the final seconds of overtime against WestConn to help secure a 73-72 win. The free throws proved monumental, as they gave the Panthers a three-point lead that WestConn could not surpass despite a last-second jumper.
George kicked off the game with three straight 3s to open an 11-3 Plymouth State lead. She added three assists and a steal in the LEC win.
Grace Jaffray, JWU
Sophomore, 5-9 forward
Hometown: Blue Hill, Maine
Jaffray just keeps on pouring in the points after scoring at least 35 in the first three games of the Wildcats’ season. In December, she put up a season-high 41 points (six 3s) against Salem State, plus six rebounds, four assists and two steals. The sophomore also went 15-for-18 from the free-throw line.
She followed the outing against Salem State with 33 points against Alfred and nearly had a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds against Union. Jaffray is averaging 26.2 points so far this season, ranking second in the nation.
Grace Kinum, Bowdoin
Sophomore, 5-7 guard
Hometown: New Providence, N.J.
Kinum helped Bowdoin to continue its undefeated season so far with double-doubles in two of the Polar Bears’ three wins in December, and nine points and 10 rebounds in the third. She tossed in a career-high 26 points in Bowdoin’s double-overtime win over Bates and added 10 rebounds and four steals. Against Colby, Kinum had six assists, three blocks and three steals in addition to 10 rebounds.
The sophomore leads the team in multiple categories, averaging 7.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.7 steals per game.
Meagan Schuermann, Rhode Island College
Junior, 5-8 guard
Hometown: Cooperstown, N.Y.
The Anchorwomen are perfect in Little East play through December with the support of Schuermann. She averaged 19.3 points through RIC’s four games this month and exploded for 26 against VTSU Castleton on Dec. 13 before putting up a career-best 32 points against Coast Guard on Dec. 20. Against VTSU, she had six rebounds in addition to her 26 points, two blocks and a steal. She leads the Anchorwomen with 16.9 points per game overall and is tied for a team-best 22 steals.
Maddie Topa, Eastern Connecticut
Freshman, 5-8 wing
Hometown: New Hartford, Conn.
Topa caught fire in December as a freshman, earning two Little East Conference Rookie of the Week awards for her output in the first two weeks of the month.
She’s taken on a bigger role in December after coming off the bench at the beginning of the season. Topa has started in all four of Eastern Connecticut’s games in December, and she’s averaging 10.8 points and 6.8 rebounds through those games.
Topa helped lead Eastern Connecticut to a 72-64 road win over Bridgewater State with her first career double-double, amassing 13 points, 12 rebounds, five steals and four blocks.
Madi Zancan, Regis
Senior, 5-9 forward
Hometown: Cumberland, R.I.
Madi Zancan had a dominant month, especially at the Daytona Beach Shootout, where she averaged 33.5 points and 13.0 rebounds. She set a single-game scoring record in Regis women’s basketball history in the Pride’s opening game against Alma with 50 points. She added 17 rebounds in the 92-88 overtime loss. Zancan followed up the historic performance with 17 points and nine rebounds against Grove City in a 70-43 loss. Zancan earned GNAC Player of the Week twice in December — the first coming after the senior averaged 23.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in the first two games of December.
Overall, Zancan averaged 28.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals this month.
