The college basketball season is underway for the 2025-26 season, and teams have gotten their first looks at their landscape in November.
New England in particular is on fire. Six different schools appeared in D3hoops.com's last Top 25 poll: Smith (No. 4), Bowdoin (No. 6), Bates (No. 11), Trinity (No. 14), Amherst (No. 15), and Colby (No. 19).
Across Division 3 women’s hoops, players have already exceeded expectations, and some have already surpassed milestones.
Here are 10 players around New England who made a big impact on the court throughout the month of November.
DIVISION 3 WATCH: 10 men's standouts in November
Sydney Cassidy, Keene State
Freshman, 5-10 wing
Hometown: Somers, Conn.
Cassidy began her college career with a hot start, starting in all seven of Keene State’s games so far. The first-year put up 11.4 PPG and 5.7 rebounds per game to help the Owls to a 5-2 record in November. Those numbers also earned her a pair of Little East Conference Rookie of the Week awards. After she played just 10 minutes against Dean College on Nov. 18 — when she scored ten points and added three rebounds — she rallied against Plattsburgh State on Nov. 21, earning her first career double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Elsa Daulerio, Bates
Senior, 6-3 center
Hometown: Harpswell, Maine
Elsa Daulerio scored her 1,000th career point at home in overtime on Nov. 25. With the game tied at 66, Daulerio grabbed an offensive rebound, and her putback to surpass the 1,000-point mark was also good to help break the tie and beat Southern Maine.
Daulerio joins her mother, who graduated from Bates in 1991, in the 1,000-point club. She is averaging 10.4 points and 7.0 rebounds to help Bates to a 5-0 record in the month of November. The senior also has 10 blocks and 13 assists on the season so far.
Grace Jaffray, JWU
Sophomore, 5-9 forward
Hometown: Blue Hill, Maine
Jaffray has earned two weekly awards for the Conference of New England so far this season. She averaged 26.6 points through November, peaking at 38 points against Western New England.
The 2024-2025 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year is playing an average of 25.6 minutes a game and is pulling down 7.6 rebounds. She also has six steals for the Wildcats, who are off to a 4-2 start. She’s picked up a double-double in five games and leads the CNE in scoring through November.
Laura Johnson, Lasell
Senior, 5-8 guard
Hometown: Groton, Conn.
Johnson has double-doubles in all six games so far this season, and the senior is averaging 14 points per game alongside 18.5 rebounds. With her efforts, Lasell went a perfect 6-0 in November, which saw Johnson win two GNAC athlete of the week honorees. Teammate Shirle Major hit the 1,000 point milestone against Suffolk on Nov. 25.
Johnson has also picked up 2.2 steals and 1.5 assists through Lasell’s first six games. She averages over 37 minutes per game.
Virginia Johnson, Smith
Junior, 5-10 guard
Hometown: Minneapolis, Minn.
The No. 3 Pioneers kicked off the season with a 5-0 start, and Johnson supported the undefeated effort in November, averaging 12.8 points and 8.4 rebounds. Johnson also has nine steals on the season so far.
She earned the Tyler Tournament MVP with 17 points and eight rebounds in the season opener, followed by a nine-point and five-steal performance in their second game of the season to secure Smith’s Tyler Tournament win.
Grace Laster, Norwich
Freshman, 5-8 wing
Hometown: Arlington, Va.
The freshman was named GNAC Rookie of the Week for the first two weeks of the season. She’s averaging 20.4 points a night, and Laster leads Norwich in scoring overall with 14.2 points per game despite only starting one of the Cadets’ six games in November and averaging 21.3 minutes per game.
She started her collegiate career off hot with a 20-point and seven-rebound performance against VTSU Castleton in Norwich’s season opener in 26 minutes of play. Against Gordon, Laster scored 18 points in just 15 minutes off the bench in the 94-63 win.
Kate Olenik, Colby
Junior, 5-8 guard
Hometown: Medfield, Mass.
Kate Olenik is averaging 20.2 points through the Mules’ first five games to help guide Colby to a 5-0 start. She scored a season-high 24 points against Brooklyn College on Nov. 25 and averages 5.4 rebounds. The Medfield, MA native had seven steals and 15 assists so far this season.
She was the NESCAC Player of the Week once in November, and Olenik leads the league, alongside Wesleyan’s Olivia Quinn, in scoring with her 20.2 per game. She ranks among the top three in the NESCAC in field-goal percentage (.615).
Abbie Quinn, Bowdoin
Junior, 6-0 forward
Hometown: Bangor, Maine
Quinn reached double figures in the first four games of Bowdoin’s season.
She earned a double-double against Saint Joseph's on Nov. 15 with 14 points and 10 rebounds. She is averaging team highs with 14.8 points and 6.0 rebounds — all in just over 20 minutes per game. The Polar Bears have kicked off their season with a 4-0 start, and Quinn earned two NESCAC Weekly Honor Roll awards for her role in those wins.
She’s second in the NESCAC with a .595 field-goal percentage.
Jessie Silk, Emerson College
Sophomore, 5-6 guard
Hometown: Newton, Mass.
Silk put up a career-high 32 points against Wesleyan on Nov. 16 and helped the Lions to a 5-2 start in November. Silk leads the NEWMAC in scoring through the month with 19.3 points per game and is second in the league in rebounding with 12.0 per game. The sophomore had five double-doubles through seven games.
Silk’s teammate, senior Bri Frongillo (Hopedale, Mass.) — the reigning NEWMAC Player of the Year — scored her 1000th career point against Wesleyan after missing the first six games of Emerson’s season while completing an internship on the West Coast.
Marlo Simms, Trinity
Junior, 6-2 center
Hometown: Decatur, Ga.
After playing just one minute in one game in her rookie season and playing an average of 7.3 minutes in her sophomore campaign, Simms made an immediate impact in her heightened role this season. She is averaging 22.8 minutes in six games so far this season, and Simms is averaging a double-double with 12.0 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.
With three consecutive baskets, Simms fueled Trinity’s comeback victory over The College of New Jersey on Nov. 15 in Trinity’s season opener, and she scored a career-high 19 points against SUNY-Brockport on Nov. 15 — two performances that earned her a NESCAC Player of the Week honor.
