Catherine Banahene: From Ghana to the Stony Brook School
Stny Brook School's Catherine Banahene goes up for a contested shot during a game at Portledge on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. Credit: Sam Johnston
Back in 2023, approximately 5,000 miles away from Long Island, the future of the Stony Brook School girls basketball team made the biggest decision of her life. Catherine Banahene, then 12 years old in Accra, Ghana, decided with her family that her physical gifts were too rare to let go to waste. They agreed to let her study abroad and attend boarding school in the United States so that she can carve out a career path for herself as a basketball player.
“It was an opportunity for me to improve in my game and further my education,” Banahene told Newsday after a game at Portledge on Wednesday night. “I started playing back at home when I was about 10, but things are very different back in Africa. It was a great chance to get out here and play. We knew it was for a good cause.”
Banahene, now a strong, lanky, 6-7, 14-year-old girl, is carving that very path on the court. After landing here in 2023, she attended The Rectory School in Connecticut and began playing AAU basketball in New York City, bouncing from the Riverside Hawks to the Vipers NYC program to Castle Athletics. In the fall of 2025, Banahene transferred to the Stony Brook School after catching the attention of coach Kelly Mukisa at the Inspiring Young Minds Prep School basketball showcase on Sept. 14.
Upon joining the Bears, Banahene was immediately pulled up to their varsity team as an eighth grader and inserted into the starting lineup at center, where she has helped complete an otherwise small, guard-heavy team. She has provided an unstoppable paint presence on both ends of the court and has already become one of the PSAA’s best rim protectors, averaging more than 10 rebounds and four blocks per game.
With Banahene’s presence down low, Stony Brook is off to a 9-4 start, including 5-0 in league play and is ranked No. 9 in the state among Class A teams by the state Sportswriters Association. Her most recent game flashed a taste of what she is capable of, as she racked up six points, 10 rebounds, two assists, a steal and three blocks in just over 11 minutes of playing time, leading Stony Brook past host Portledge, 83-19, in Locust Valley.
“She makes everything as real as can be,” Mukisa said. “With size being such an important factor in the higher levels that you can climb to, her being 6-7 makes things possible for herself, like full-ride Division I in a power conference, national team or even the WNBA. Those are things that should be spoken about when you talk about Catherine, and that allows coaches to elevate the level of expectations for the other girls around her, as well.”
Banahene has found herself a second home with Stony Brook and has found somewhat of a sister figure in classmate Rebekah Moore, who is the team’s second leading scorer this year at 14 points per game. She had 13 points and three steals in Wednesday’s win over Portledge. The two eighth graders have their own play that they run together that they have nicknamed “Peanut Butter and Jelly.”
“I knew her previously through AAU, but this year, we’ve really started connecting more,” Moore said. “I’ve seen sides of her that not a lot of people get to see. I think [her success] is really cool. I’m really proud of her and all the growth she’s had. I enjoy all the workouts we have together and the laughs we share.”
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
