Cardiff Met Basketball welcomes trio of US collegiate talents
Cardiff Met Basketball has strengthened its women’s programme with the arrival of three experienced players from the United States collegiate system, with Alyssa Durazo-Frescas, Laila Anderson and Ivory Finley joining the Archers in Cardiff.
The trio bring extensive experience from NCAA basketball to the programme and will combine their playing careers with postgraduate study at Cardiff Metropolitan University, with all three undertaking the MSc Sport Coaching programme part-time.
Alyssa Durazo-Frescas
Durazo-Frescas arrives at Cardiff Met following an outstanding final season with Grand Canyon University, where she established herself as one of the leading three-point shooters in US college basketball.
The California guard started all 32 games for Grand Canyon during the 2024/25 season, averaging 14.6 points per game while shooting 46.4 per cent from three-point range. She led the country with 3.88 three-pointers per game and set a series of Grand Canyon single-season records, including three-point percentage, three-pointers made and three-pointers attempted.
Her performances earned her All-WAC Second Team and WAC All-Tournament Team honours before she capped the year by winning the 2025 Celsius Women’s 3-Point Championship in San Antonio, defeating Alabama’s Aaliyah Nye in the final of the nationally televised competition.
Laila Anderson
Anderson joins the Archers following her time at Elon University, where she featured in all 30 games during the 2024/25 season and made 29 starts.
The guard averaged seven points per game for Elon, recorded 11 double-figure scoring performances and reached the landmark of 1,000 career collegiate points during the season.
Prior to joining Elon, Anderson enjoyed an impressive spell at the University of Mount Olive, where she averaged 17.5 points per game during the 2023/24 campaign and was named to the Conference Carolinas Second Team.
Ivory Finley
Finley brings further experience to Cardiff following a collegiate career that has included spells with UMass Lowell, Utah State and Pepperdine University.
The 5ft 10in guard played her first two collegiate seasons at UMass Lowell, making 33 starts across 51 appearances and earning America East All-Rookie Team honours.
She later moved to Utah State, where she started 29 of 30 games during the 2023/24 season and finished second on the team in scoring, before completing her US collegiate career at Pepperdine. During the 2025/26 season, Finley appeared in 32 games for the Waves, contributing across scoring, rebounding and playmaking.
The arrival of Durazo-Frescas, Anderson and Finley adds significant experience to the Cardiff Met squad and continues the University’s tradition of combining high-level sporting opportunities with academic and personal development.
Cardiff Met Archers Head Coach Stef Collins said:
We’re really excited to welcome Alyssa, Ivory and Laila to the Archers family. They each bring something different to the group, and we’re looking forward to seeing them settle in, build relationships and grow together with the team. They’ve already brought great energy, and we can’t wait to see what they add to our season.
The three players will now continue their development as Archers while studying towards their MSc Sport Coaching qualifications at Cardiff Met.
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