Hey, remember basketball season? Yes, that was months ago, but with the massive deluge of sports news during the busy spring season, time has a way of slipping by.
Nonetheless, we’ve spent hours over the past few weeks and months chasing down stats (and sponsors) and the time has finally arrived to announce the second annual All-Lowco Girls Basketball Team Presented By Lowcountry Heat Basketball.
If you’re a dedicated reader of LowcoSports.com, this next bit will sound familiar. Feel free to scan down to the good stuff. But here’s the regular disclaimer:
No one knows a player better than her coach, so coaches’ assessments of their own players were the top consideration when compiling this list. Stats don’t lie (except when they do) so numbers carried significant weight. Finally, opposing coaches often are capable of providing an unbiased comparison of players from rival teams, so that input helped to sort out the pecking order.
In many cases, this is an exercise in splitting hairs. The difference between some players on the five-player first team and those on the five-player second team is minuscule, as is the divide between the second team and those who earned honorable mention. The same could be said for the narrow margin separating those who made the list from the players who just missed the cut.
In basketball, more than in other sports, SCISA competition is on par with the quality of public school play, so you will see a strong private-school representation here.
Ultimately, this is a culmination of opinions, and yours may vary. Just remember that in order to put someone else *on* the list, someone has to come *off* the list. Awards should mean something, and limiting the size of the team to 25 players in an area of 12 high schools seemed like a fair place to draw the line while retaining an appropriate level of prestige.
Without further delay, here is your 2018-19 All-Lowco Girls Basketball Team Presented By Lowcountry Heat Basketball:
COACH OF THE YEAR
Jermaine Bigham, MRHS — After scanning through the All-Lowco Team selections below, the reasoning for Bigham getting the Coach of the Year nod will come into focus. The Sharks claimed the Region 8-3A title and reached the third round of the Class 3A playoffs in just their third season of existence despite boasting just one second-team All-Lowco player and two honorable mention selections. They were able to do so because Bigham got them to buy into playing outstanding team defense, allowing only 33.4 points per game and at one point holding five straight opponents under 30.
Runner-up: Kenny Conroy, HHCA
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Tkai DeVore, JPII — The only strike against DeVore was her level of competition, as the Golden Warriors played a relatively weak SCISA schedule. But the stats speak for themselves. The versatile 5-foot-8 junior averaged 20.8 points, 11 rebounds, and 5.5 steals and racked up 14 double-doubles in 21 games, including 21 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to eventual state champion Hilton Head Christian Academy. And she proved she can do it against a higher level of competition when she poured in 28 points to go with seven boards against Region 7-4A champion Hilton Head High.
Runner-up: Marlaysia Westbrook, RHHS
FIRST TEAM ALL-LOWCO
Jasmine Campbell, Jr., F, HHCA — 10.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg
Dominant post presence led Eagles to SCISA 2A state title
Tkai DeVore, Jr., G/F, JPII — 20.8 ppg, 11 rpg, 5.5 spg
Area’s best pure scorer put up big numbers despite defenses keying on her
Trinity Feltner, Sr., G, HHIHS — 10.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.5 apg
Region 7-4A Player of the Year and All-State pick was leader on region championship squad
Brielle McCarthy, Jr., G, HHCA — 11 ppg, 4.5 apg, 2.5 spg
One of area’s best defenders also put up solid offensive numbers for state champs
Marlaysia Westbrook, Jr., F, RHHS — 17.6 ppg, 10.6 rpg
Region 8-3A Player of the Year and All-State selection for Jaguars
SECOND TEAM ALL-LOWCO
Tatyana Aiken, Jr., G, BLHS — 11.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.2 spg
Jossie Frazier, Sr., G, HHCA — 13 ppg, 5 rpg, 3 apg
Amelia Huebel, Jr., C, BA — 17.2 ppg, 13 rpg
Brittany Linton, Soph., F, BHS — 11.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg
Chynna Sneed, Jr., F, MRHS — 9.8 ppg, 8 rpg
HONORABLE MENTION
Jordan Bigham, Soph., F, MRHS
Allayah Bryan, Sr., F, BLHS
Kristen Fielding, Soph., F, HHIHS
Jasmine Hamilton, Jr., F, JPII
EmilyAnn Hiers, G, BA
Emonee Johnson, Soph., G/F, BCHS
Olivia Light, Sr., G/F, HHP
Emma Peluso, Jr., G, MRHS
Miley Ray, Jr., G, HHIHS
Starr Reed, Jr., G/F, BCHS
Kenzie Ryan, Fr., F, HHIHS
Dior Shelton, Soph., G, HHCA
Lenasia Singletary, Sr., F, RHHS
Layla Warren, Soph., G, BHS
Darien Watkins, Sr., G, BHS
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