Wiggins, Brown named AP D1 Players of the Year
The Michigan Associated Press All-State voting panel didn’t have it easy when it came to selecting the Player of the Year in Division 1 for girls basketball.
East Grand Rapids’ Jillian Brown and Kalamazoo Central’s Morasha Wiggins were both Miss Basketball finalists, averaged over 20 points a game, helped their teams advance to the regional finals and are headed to Power 5 schools to play hoops.
It’s no surprise Wiggins and Brown will share the honor of being named Player of the Year.
Wiggins is the 18th-best player in the nation and Brown is No. 50, according to one set of rankings. Wiggins, a 6-foot-1 guard, suf
fered a torn ACL that ended her junior season. But she bounced back strong to lead her team to a 14-2 record. She averaged 24.3 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3.5 steals and 1.3 blocks.
Wiggins will continue her education and basketball career at North Carolina.
“She’s meant the world to the program, obviously from a talent standpoint, but also in terms of her leadership skills,” Kalamazoo Central coach Jason Plunkett said. “The young girls have looked up to her, and they see how much work she puts in, and they’re following right along behind her in terms of developing the work ethic that it takes to be successful. Her mark on the program doesn’t stop now that she’s done playing for us; we’ll feel her mark on the program for years to come.”
The 5-10 Brown completed her career as East Grand Rapids’ all-time leading scorer, finishing with 1,486 points for a team that was 14-3 last season. She averaged 20.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Brown made 57 3-pointers in 17 games, shooting nearly 40 percent for the Pioneers.
“She has had a lot of different honors coming in, and they are all well-deserved,” coach Troy Hammond said. “I have just never met a kid who has
worked harder, so it’s cool to see it pay off with some individual accolades. She has always meant a lot to our team, and she always put our team first. She is just a winner, so it’s really cool to see honored in these ways.”
Mt. Pleasant senior Mackenzie Egger capped her fine four-year career by earning second-team honors.
Egger will play collegiately at Yale this fall. She carries a 4.2 GPA.
On the court this season the first-team All-SVL honoree averaged a double-double with 19.5 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. She also chipped in 2.2 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per.
Egger also became the fourth-player in Oiler program history to surpass 1,000 career points.
The 2021 Associated Press Division 1 girls basketball All-State team as selected by a panel of 11 Michigan sportswriters.
Players of the Year
• Morasha Wiggins, Kalamazoo Central, Sr.
• Jillian Brown, East Grand Rapids, Sr.
First-Team All-State
• Morasha Wiggins, Kalamazoo Central, Sr.
• Jillian Brown, East Grand Rapids, Sr.
• Alanna Micheaux, Wayne Memorial, Sr.
• Kailee Davis, Detroit Renaissance, Sr.
• Theryn Hallock, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, Jr.
• Jaci Tubergen, Hudsonville,
Jr.
• Keliese Christopher, East Kentwood, Sr.
• Brazyll Watkins, Battle Creek Lakeview, Sr.
• Ella Stemmer, Saline, Sr.
• Kailyn Nash, Muskegon, Sr.
Coach of the Year
• Casey Glass, Hudsonville
Second-Team AllState
Alaina Diaz, Hudsonville; Alexa Downey, Grosse Pointe South; Mackenzie Egger, Mt. Pleasant; Brooke Daniels, L’Anse Creuse North; Alli Carlson, East Grand Rapids; Macy Brown, East Grand Rapids; Arieonna Ware, Battle Creek Central; Jada Garner, Midland Dow.
Coach of the Year
• Kyle Theisen, Midland Dow
Honorable Mention
Shannon Wheeler, Detroit Renaissance; LaChelle Austin, Wayne Memorial: Ciara Hardy, Romulus: Precious Fields, Detroit Cass Tech: Riley Rosenthal, Muskegon Mona Shores; Sophia Hekkema, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer; Alexis McCully, East Kentwood; Elle Irwin, Rockford; Avery Zeinstra, Byron Center; Ava Scanlon, Grand Ledge; Alyssa Karner, West Ottawa; Maddie Petroelje, Hudsonville; Emma Costen, Hudsonville; Lily Zeinstra, Byron Center; Annelise Lebeda, East Lansing; Maya Pierce, Jackson; Layne Sleight, Jackson Northwest; Emily Homan, Haslett;
Rachel Rustad, St. Johns; Alaila Walker, Kalamazoo Central; Adelaide Douglass, Mattawan; Alexa Kolnitys, Midland Dow; Alecsis Smith, Bay City Central; Abby Rey, Midland Dow; Sophie Canen, Saline; Lauren DeWolf, Ann Arbor Pioneer; Jordan Wright, Ann Arbor Huron; Caprice Augustine, Ypsilanti; Kaitlyn Cain, Marysville; Ally Shagena, Port Huron Northern; Julia Gilbert, Port Huron; Genevieve Decker, Anchor Bay; Camille Keyes, Port Huron Northern; Taylor Wolfe, Anchor Bay; Lillee Gustafson, Hartland; Logan Lewis Sr. G West Bloomfield; Indya Davis, West Bloomfield: Sydney Hendrick, West Bloomfield; Madison Skorupski, Clarkston: Shannon Kennedy, Bloomfield Hills Marian; Kendal Zeiter, Troy; Alexis Roberts, Farmington
Hills Mercy; Megan Lautner, Traverse City West; Grace Ryan, Temperance-Bedford; Savanna Killinen, Temperance-Bedford; Alex Long, Flushing; Olivia Dirkse, Davison; Taylor Thompson, Grand Blanc; Maeve St. John, Howell; Isabelle Gilmore, DeWitt; Corinne Jones, East Lansing; Janae Tyler, Holt; Ashley Loon, Berkley; Ellie Tisko, Farmington Hills Mercy; Molly Libby, Lakeland; Anna Herberholz, Bloomfield Hills Marian; Heaven Rogers, North Farmington; Maddie Dolenga, Rochester Adams; Sarah Soraghan, Royal Oak; Taylor Anderson, South Lyon East; Sydney LaPrairie, Stoney Creek; Nevaeh Otis, Birmingham Groves; Lauren Gumma, Troy; Andie Wolfe, Walled Lake Northern; Summer Davis, West Bloomfield; Tricia Sankiewicz, St. Clair Shores Lakeview; Mikyah Finley, Detroit Renaissance; Maddie Kohler, Grosse Pointe North; Desiree Jackson, Detroit Cass Tech; Elle Irwin, Rockford; Ava Scanlon, Grand Ledge.