The next level: Caraballo, Cole and Webb playing collegiate ball

Angela Caraballo
L.C. Bird High
Shooting guard
Junior at St. Augustine’s

Caraballo originally committed to Division II Barton College in North Carolina, but decided to transfer to St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, N.C., where she was reunited with high school teammate KeKe Williams. This year, Caraballo has stepped her game up and is the school’s top scoring option in a starting lineup that shows offensive balance. Averaging 10.2 points per game, Caraballo is shooting 31.4 percent from three-point land. Defensively speaking, she is second on the team with 22 steals through 14 games, providing pressure in the backcourt of the Eagles’ opponents. Against Virginia State on Nov. 27, Caraballo exploded for 21 points on 8 for 15 shooting. On Dec. 13, also against Virginia State, she scored 18 points. The shifty guard has scored in double figures six times this year.

Taja Cole
L.C. Bird High
Point guard
Junior at University of Georgia

After making the decision to transfer from Louisville, sitting out a year and suiting up at Georgia, that decision appears to have paid off for Taja Cole and the Bulldogs. A McDonald’s All-American in high school, Cole has brought a high level of play to the Southeastern Conference. This season, the Bulldogs have a 12-5 mark and are currently 3-1 in the conference. Cole is averaging 11.2 points, 6.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game as the team’s starting point guard. She nearly achieved triple-doubles three times. This past Sunday, Cole and Georgia knocked off No. 13 Tennessee, 66-62. Cole had 10 points and seven assists, including two crucial three-pointers. She may have had her best game overall against UCLA on Nov. 14, netting 22 points with 10 rebounds and nine assists in a win. A game earlier against Winthrop, she scored 14 points, had 11 assists and corralled seven rebounds.

Kylah Webb
Thomas Dale High
Power forward
Freshman at Bluefield State

Webb was a two-sport standout in basketball and volleyball at Thomas Dale High, but injuries kept may have kept her from reaching her ceiling. Despite that, Bluefield State took a chance on the athletic 6 foot 1 inch forward and have been rewarded immediately for doing so. Webb has worked her way into the starting lineup, starting 10 of the 12 games in which she’s appeared. She is third on the team in scoring at 7.1 points per game, and second on the team in rebounding at 4.8 rebounds per contest. Defensively, she’s blocking 1.5 shots per game and has provided the Rams with a defensive presence in the paint. On Jan. 8, in just 17 minutes against West Virginia Tech, she poured in 16 points on 8 for 11 shooting. In the next game against Converse College, she put up 10 points. She had a similar two-game stretch on Nov. 16 and 17 where she scored 16 points against Kentucky Christian University and 12 against Rio Grande College.