Basketball finalists announced for Player of the Year
The five finalists for News-Times Girls Basketball Player of the Year are: El Dorado’s Tasia Richardson, Smackover’s Sharnes McGhee, Junction City’s Camya Hamilton, Parkers Chapel’s Terri Malone and Strong’s Dynasty Davis.
The finalists will be honored and the winner announced this Thursday at the News-Times Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet, which begins at 7 p.m. at College Avenue Church of Christ.
Richardson, a junior, came on strong during the season as a leader in the backcourt for the Lady Wildcats. She would average 12 points and three assists per game.
“She was a huge part of the team. She improved a lot. She was definitely a leader for us. She was a go-to player for us,” said El Dorado coach Destinee Rogers. “We look forward to what she’s going to do in her senior year. She’s really taking it up a notch in spring workouts. I really feel like she stepped her game up big-time this year.” McGhee, a senior guard, led the Lady Bucks in scoring all three years. This season, she averaged 18 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals per game.
“Almost every single time she stepped on the court, she was the best true basketball player on the court,” said Smackover coach Tripper Rowton. “She was the best player on the court, I’d say 95 percent of the time. Her scoring will be missed. Her basketball IQ will be missed and her passion for the game.”
Hamilton, a 5-3 senior, missed 12 games with an injury. She returned in time to lead the Lady Dragons’ postseason surge into the quarterfinals of the 3A state tournament. Her three-point play with four seconds on the clock
beat Bald Knob in the first round.
On the season, Hamilton averaged 12.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game.
“She was our captain and floor leader, always played hard. She was our go-to player when we needed a basket. If she was 5-8 or 5-10, she’d probably be a D-1 prospect,” said Junction City coach Henry Harrell. “We could tell when she wasn’t there. We were struggling to score, struggling to get rebounds. The team flow wasn’t there without her.”
Malone, a 5-9 senior forward, shouldered a huge load on both ends of the court for the Lady Trojans. She averaged 15 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game while shooting 71 percent at the free throw line.