By: Mitch Fink
We’ve reached the mid-semester mark in Division 3 women’s college basketball, with standouts from across New England showcasing impressive starts to the season.
For the region’s top veterans, this fall was an opportunity to build on success from previous campaigns, while some underclassmen are making names for themselves early in their careers.
And some are primed to lead their teams to deep NCAA tournament runs, with three New England schools nationally ranked and two other teams receiving votes.
Here are 10 players from Division 3 colleges who have been stars to start the season.
Kori Barach, Amherst College
Guard, 5-10, Senior
The Mammoths are 8-1 and a contender for the NESCAC title this year, thanks in large part to Barach’s stellar play in the backcourt. The Concord, Mass., native leads Amherst in scoring with 14.1 points per game, and she’s also averaging 6.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
The Mammoths’ success thus far has been driven by their defense, which is holding opponents to just 44.1 points per game — the second-lowest mark in the nation. Barach has been a key part of that success, averaging over a steal per game.
Lyric Grumblatt, Rivier University
Guard, 5-9, Senior
One of the most prolific scorers in all of D3 women’s basketball, Grumblatt is capping off her collegiate career with another dominant campaign. At the mid-semester break, she ranks third in the country with 26.9 points per game.
A three-level scorer with a tight handle and an effective 3-point shot (36.7 percent), Grumblatt became the second player in program history to eclipse the 2,000 point mark on Nov. 26. After an 0-5 start, she has led the Raiders on a four-game winning streak before conference play kicks off in January.
Stephanie Hart, Fitchburg State
Forward, 5-7, Senior
A dominant force on the glass, Hart is averaging a double-double with 11.6 points and a remarkable 15.2 rebounds, which is the second-best mark in the nation.
She has posted a double-double in all but three games thus far, and has notched a pair of 20-rebound games — 22 in a 68-57 loss to Anna Maria and 24 in an 83-70 defeat at Dean College. She’s been a steady force throughout her career with the Falcons, but has broken out for career-high numbers across the board this season.
Grace Jaffray, Johnson & Wales
Forward, 5-9, Freshman
Jaffray has had a spectacular start to her collegiate career. She’s the sixth-leading scorer in D3 at 25.1 points per game, and is also averaging 7.2 rebounds and 2.7 steals. Behind her offensive success, the Tigers are 8-1 and on track for their first winning season in six years.
Already, Jaffray has earned GNAC Player of the Week honors twice and GNAC Rookie of the Week four times. A former standout at Ellsworth High in Maine, she broke the Johnson & Wales freshman single-game points record in her collegiate debut, a 39-point effort in a 94-69 win over Salve Regina.
Sydney Jones, Bowdoin College
Guard, 5-6, Senior
Named a First Team Preseason All-American by D3hoops.com, Jones is living up to the hype in her senior season with the Polar Bears. She’s averaging 14.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.2 steals this year, leading Bowdoin to an 8-0 record at the Christmas break.
Last year, Jones won NESCAC Player of the Year honors and led the Polar Bears to a conference title and NCAA Elite Eight appearance. Behind her production, Bowdoin is again poised to make a run at the national title — the Polar Bears currently rank sixth in the D3hoops.com national poll. A native of Chestnut Hill, Mass., she played her high school basketball at Noble and Greenough School.
Ally Landau, Smith College
Guard, 5-3, Graduate Student
A grad transfer from Haverford College in Pennsylvania, Landau has made an instant impact at Smith, which lost to NYU in the national championship game last year. She’s averaging 14.4 points to go along with 7.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per night.
At Haverford, Landau was a 1,000-point scorer who averaged over 16 points in all three of her seasons. Those numbers have taken a slight dip this year, since Smith features a deep roster with several offensive creators, but Landau still leads the 13th-ranked Pioneers in almost every statistical category.
Alexa Mustafaj, Middlebury College
Guard, 5-5, Senior
After becoming Middlebury’s all-time leading scorer as a junior last February, Mustafaj has continued to dominate in her senior campaign. She’s averaging a team-high 19.9 points for the Panthers, plus 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists a night.
She sits at 1,787 career points at the mid-semester break, setting her up to have a shot at eclipsing the 2,000-point plateau down the stretch. A native of Yonkers, N.Y., she has Middlebury off to a 7-1 start ahead of a Dec. 29 showdown with No. 1 NYU.
Marinique Reddin, Anna Maria College
Forward, 5-8, Senior
Reddin has been a prolific scorer throughout her collegiate career, but she’s taken it up a notch in her senior season with the Amcats. She’s ninth in the nation with 23.1 points per game, and is just shy of averaging a double-double with 9.3 rebounds a night.
She earned GNAC Player of the Week honors in late November after an especially impressive stretch, which featured a 29-point, 25-rebound double-double in an 89-80 loss to Nichols on Nov. 18 and a 35-point, 14-rebound effort in a 68-57 triumph over Fitchburg State on Nov. 20.
Dorothy Stotts, U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Guard, 5-7, Junior
Stotts is having a breakout junior season, highlighted by a remarkable 50 percent clip from beyond the arc. She averaged 12.8 points her freshman year and 14.0 last season, but is up to 20.4 points a night this year, leading the Bears to a 9-1 record.
Even while putting up five threes a night, she’s remained efficient, shooting 56 percent from the field. The Edina, Minn., native has scored at least 12 points in every game this season and has put up 20 or more in six of 10 contests so far.
Abrianna Vazquez, Nichols College
Guard, 5-5, Graduate Student
Vazquez is once again putting up big numbers for the Bisons in her fifth year with the school. She’s averaging 22.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 3.0 steals a night, and has scored at least 20 points in all but two games this fall.
The Dedham, Mass., native got off to a particularly hot start, scoring 32 in the season opener against Lassell and tallying 27, 26 and 29-point performances in her next three games. She became Nichols’ all-time leading scorer when she reached the 1,757-point mark last January and is just 62 points away from eclipsing the 2,000-point mark.
Honorable Mentions: Bri Frongillo (Emerson), Kylie Grassi (Bridgewater State), Lilly Hedge (Western New England), Erianna Moore (Maine Maritime), Madison Medbury (Rhode Island College), Lulu Ohm (Brandeis), Olivia Quinn (Wesleyan), Caitlyn Scott (Albertus Magnus), Taylor Verboven (University of St. Joseph), Kaylin Zalewski (UMass Dartmouth)
