Northwestern University’s Wildcats basketball team will have three Philadelphia area players this year, writes Isabella DiAmore for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Souderton High School graduate Casey Harter joins current Wildcats stand-out Paige Mott, another Montgomery County native, on the team. Mott is a former Abington Friends student.

This season West Chester native and Academy of Notre Dame de Namur graduate Maggie Pina will also be playing on the Division I team.  

Pina will be pursuing a specialized certificate at the School of Professional Studies in order to pave the way for law school. Harter is entering the Evanston, Illinois university as a freshman.  

Harter and Pina both played locally for the Comets Girls Basketball Club but never on the same team. However, they both bonded over mutual connections.  

“It was great to hear that she lived so close to me, played for the same organization as I did, and also has the experience of playing college basketball,” said Harter.  

Another Pennsylvania connection is the team’s veteran head coach Joe McKeown who is a Philadelphia native.  

The athletes were attracted to the Northwestern team’s style of play, due to its similarity to what they grew up around. The trio hopes to bring the Wildcats up to the top 25 and hopefully return to the NCAA Tournament.  

Read more about the Montgomery County connections to the Division I team at Northwestern in The Philadelphia Inquirer.  

More about Maggie Pina.