The Colony Courier-Leader (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 7, Ed. 1 Sunday, March 24, 2019 Page: 10 of 12
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10A starlocalmedia.com
The Colony Courier Leader
Sunday, March 24,2019
FIRST TEAM
MOST VALUABLE PLAY
SECOND TEAM
AMARIA FIELDS
G, McKinney North, Soph.
After winning district New-
comer of The Year as a fresh-
man, Fields took her game
to even greater heights in
the 2018-19 season. The
explosive shooting guard
averaged 24.5 points per
game and scored 30 points
or more three times to help
North make its 10th consec-
utive playoff appearance. Fields was at her best when
needed, averaging 25.3 points per game to lead District
10-5A in scoring and garnering all-district honors.
TAHJANARY PERRY
G, Mesquite Poteet, Sr.
Perry was the catalyst for
the Pirates as she earned
13-5A MVP honors after
leading the team along
with fellow senior Amaya
Briggs to their first dis-
trict championship since
2005. One of the best
outside shooters in the
area, Perry averaged 18.5
points. But she impacted the game in every facet,
pulling down 3.9 rebounds, dishing out 3.4 assists
and recording 4.1 steals per contest.
JORDYN OLIVER
Prosper, Sr.
The Lady Eagles had no trou-
ble adjusting to Class 6A compe-
tition this season, and it certainly
helped having one of the top play-
ers in the state leading the way
in Oliver.
The District 9-6A MVP led
Prosper five rounds deep into
' the postseason in the pro-
gram’s first-ever run in 6A be-
fore eventually falling to Allen
in the regional final.
Oliver had the ability to take
over any game down the stretch
when her team needed her the
most and did just that on nu-
k merous occasions in key mo-
ments.
A The Baylor signee led the
i Eagles in scoring with just
P over 20 points per game, in
rebounds with nine per con-
test and served as the team’s
main facilitator with just over
four assists per game.
During her illustrious career
with Prosper, she posted over
2,000 career points as a four-
year starter in the program and
accomplished much of what she
wanted to do during her high
school tenure.
Although she never brought
home a state championship to
Prosper, Oliver helped put the
Lady Eagles on the map by be-
coming a force against their 6A
foes.
In fact, Prosper held a slim
halftime advantage and nearly
punched its ticket to state behind
down the stretch.
RANDI THOMPSON
G, Frisco Liberty, Sr.
Thompson was not only the
best player on the only Fris-
co squad to reach the state
tournament this season, but
she also had some amazing
moments along the way. The
most notable came with her
squad down by three to rival
Lone Star in the regional fi-
nal when she knocked down
a miraculous 3-pointer to send it to overtime. The North
Texas signee also earned Offensive Player of the Year in
District 9-5 A after averaging just over 14 points per game.
NYAH BOYD
G, Mesquite Horn, Sr.
Boyd is one of the most 1
Oliver’s 21 points, but Allen was accomplished girls bas-
just too much for the Lady Eagles ketball players in Horn
history, having made first-
team all-district all four
years, including a pair of
11-6A MVP awards. The
North Texas signee earned
a share of the MVP honor
during the past season as
she averaged 17.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 as-
sists. Boyd led the Jaguars to at least a share of the
district championship in all four years.
JADEN OWENS
G, Plano West, Sr.
A McDonald’s All-Amer-
ican, Owens had an
impressive campaign
in the difficult District
9-6A despite missing a
handful of games in the
middle of conference
play that effectively
sunk the Lady Wolves’
playoff hopes. The West
star and UCLA signee turned in a senior season
that saw her average 16.5 points per game, far
and away the best on the 2018-19 Plano West
squad, and tally four assists per outing.
NYAH GREEN
F, Allen, Sr.
Also a McDonald’s
All-American and one of
the top players in the coun-
try, Green’s quick-trigger
jump shot and smooth
handles kept opposing
defenses off balance all
season long. The Louis-
ville commit averaged 17.0
points and 6.3 rebounds
per game, split District 9-6A co-MVP honors and
helped lead the Lady Eagles to the Class 6A state
semifinals - the program’s deepest playoff run ever.
NGOZIOBINEKE
F, Rowlett, Sr.
Obineke was already an es-seosseg.
tablished standout, but after s Then
making the move to run the
point on offense, she took E as
her game to the next level. w '
The Texas Women's Universi- 1 i
ty signee led the Eagles back k gel
to the playoffs and earned a
share of the 10-6 MVP hon-
or. Obineke often controlled Musis
the action at both ends of
the court and led Rowlett with 16.3 points, 8.5 rebounds.
2.6 assists and 3.4 steals per game.
URMSMS
» ALLEN * CARROLLTON » CELINA » COPPELL
» FLOWER MOLINO » FRISCO » LAKE CITIES
» LEWISVILLE » LITTLE ELM MCKINNEY
» MESQUITE » PLANO » ROWLETT » THE COLONY
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JEWEL SPEAR
The Colony, Jr.
Already a two-time all-district performer
(Newcomer of the Year as a freshman and
first-team as a sophomore), Spear
elevated her game to another level
for her junior season with the Lady
Cougars as The Colony claimed its
second district title since 2017.
Spear, a junior, was among the
area leaders in scoring at 24 points
per game en route to earning Dis-
trict 8-5A MVP, all-5A Region I and
all-state honors.
The junior sharpshooter — who
participated in Team USA tryouts
and camps last summer — shot
47 percent shooting from the field,
including 39 percent on 3-pointers
while chipping in 6.2 rebounds, 2.6
assists and 1.1 steals per game.
THE COL
018-1
Spear rose to the occasion in the biggest mo-
ments, as well, including five games of at least 29
points in 8-5A action before scoring at least 25
points in all four playoff games while helping
the Lady’ Cougars to the regional tournament for TCU signee also improved her assist numbers, tal-
the second time in three years before being elimi- lying two per game in a season she entered with a
nated by eventual state champ Amarillo. goal of more effectively distributing the ball.
In the process, Spear eclipsed more --------------------------------------
than 2,000 points scored for her career
at The Colony. ADRYANA QUEZADA
The Colony head coach Colby RLANN FAR
Pastusek not only praised Spear F, Frisco Lone Star, Sr.
for her shooting ability, lead- Quezada stepped upto
ership abilities and improve- the plate this season for
— ments on the defensive end of the Lady Rangers and
the court, but for her distribu- emerged as the top play-
tions. er on a team that was
. Still uncommitted, the blue- a buzzer-beater away
A t from reaching the state
& chip recruit (rated No. 60 n
A i n tournament. The UTSA
5 the ESPN Hoopgurlz poll for signee was named MVP
her class) figures to have of District 9-5A and was
a host of Division I pro- more than deserving of
grams to choose from next the honor after leading the district in scoring
season. with 17 points per game.
AVERY CROUSE
G/F, Sachse, Sr.
The Mustangs have en-
joyed unprecedented
success the last two
seasons due to their bal-
ance, but Crouse is the
leader of that group, hav-
ing captured 10-6A MVP
honors for the second
straight year. Though not
asked to carry the load,
the UTEP signee averaged 13.8 points on 46 per-
cent shooting, including 34 percent on 3-pointers
(67-195). while also recording 2.7 rebounds. 2.3
assists and 2.3 steals per game.
TAVY DIGGS
F, Plano East, Sr.
One of the best interi-
or players in District
9-6A and a McDonald's
All-American nominee.
Diggs concluded her
Plano East career with
a season that saw her av-
erage 15 points per game
and pull down nearly
eight boards a night. The
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
COACH OF THE YEAR
As an underclassman,
Merritt was a cog - albeit a
valuable one - in the Plano
maroon and white machine,
contributing on both ends for a
senior-heavy team and steadily
embracing a greater workload
that culminated in helping the
Lady Wildcats win a state cham-
pionship in 2018. (
As a junior, Merritt took on
the responsibility of being Pla-
no’s focal point and shined in
an arena that features several of
the top prospects in the nation.
She averaged 18.0 points per
game, but it was her work on
the defensive end that netted 4
praise among the 9-6A coach-
es, who voted Merritt as the
district’s Defensive Player of
the Year.
The centerpiece of the Lady-
Wildcats’ zone defense, and a ■
player whose athleticism was
JORDYN
MERRITT
Plano Senior, Jr.
vital when defending outside
the paint, Merritt's length and
speed made her a truly versa-
tile defender. She led Plano
in per-game averages in both
steals (2.2) and blocks (1.1),
and was second on the team
with 2.2 deflections per game.
Playing for one of the best rebounding teams
in the area, Merritt spearheaded the Lady
1 Wildcats in that phase as well with 9.9
A boards per game.
Merritt managed that workload while
leading the Lady Wildcats in scoring
on a near-nightly basis and rarely
T coming off the floor - save for
foul trouble or a lopsided fin-
With three McDonald’s
All-Americans graduating
from 9-6A. Merritt will enter
her senior year as the dis-
trict’s undisputed top player,
and one of the very best in
both the state and nation.
Anytime a team advances to the state cham-
pionship game, its head coach is going to re-
ceive a ton of recognition.
Reedy and the Lady Redhawks are coming off
one of their best seasons in school history after
reaching the state tournament for the first
time since 2016.
. y Throughout his tenure as a
. the team's shot caller. Reedy ■
W has transformed Liberty into
a perennial state power
ROSS REEDY
Frisco Liberty
year in and year out and has
made the playoffs nine straight
seasons.
This year was no different de-
spite never being able to crack the
top nine in the state rankings fol-
lowing a dominant run through the
District 9-5A slate. Parire
The Lady Redhawks finished 17-1 and shared
the district title with state-ranked Lone Star, as
the two foes squared off for the third time in
the regional final.
Perhaps Reedy and the Lady Redhawks’ de-
fining moment of the season came in the
final seconds when he drew z
up a play to get his star play- 1 X
er Randi Thompson a look
at a 3-pointer to send it too
to overtime.
’ The play worked to per-
fection and Liberty went on to
take down the Lady Rangers and
advance to the state tournament in
San Antonio.
Although the Lady Redhawks
fell short in the state title game to
Amarillo, the 2018-19 season will go
down as one to remember.
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
SIXTH
I OF THE YEAR
Starting at point guard for
Lake Dallas, Buss helped lift
the Lady Falcons to their sec-
ond straight postseason ap-
pearance and brought to the
floor one of the club’s most
consistently strong motors
night in and night out during
her rookie campaign.
The freshman’s game was
often characterized by a will-
ingness to go to the tough ar-
eas, throwing up impressive
shots as much a result
of a lack of fear as they
were her athletic ability.
Her 9.7 points per
game, collected during
a season that saw her
average 28 minutes
per outing, were
second only- to star
junior Dorian Norris,
ALACIPALVIF DI ICC and the freshman point
MACKENZIE DUJ) guard dished out nearly
■ I - three assists per game.
Lake Dallas, Fr. Though small in
stature, Buss was also
second only to Norris
in rebounds, pulling down 5.9 a game, and her sea-
son was full of high points on the scoresheet - Buss
totaled 22 points in a 67-52 victory’ over Denton Ryan
during 8-5A play, 18 against Frisco Independence in
non-district action and another 13 in a late confer-
ence win over Denton Braswell.
In a season that saw Lake Dallas spread
the scoring around efficiently, Buss was of-
ten in the center of it all.
If she can be more efficient,
both from the floor (35.4 per-
cent this season) and from the
, line (44.9 percent), to take ad-
vantage of the shots she cre-
ates, Buss should be a central
figure for the Lady Falcons for :
years to come.
Be it coming off the bench or making the occasion-
al strategic spot start. Adams filled her role as Allen's
sparkplug admirably for the Class 6A state semifinalists.
As a senior, Adams posted season-long averages of
5.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists - numbers that
won’t shatter any program record books but proved in-
valuable in the Lady Eagles’ best season ever.
Her 2.8 rebounds checked in at fourth on the at
team - Adams is only 5-foot-2 and was often the
shortest player on the floor - and despite her
reserve role, she totaled 39 steals on the year
(third on the team).
Adams also had a
knack for delivering
in the clutch, es- 9 *
pecially in theClA
playoffs. She
converted a 1
put-back at the X
buzzer to defeat
Sachse in the third
round, came off the
bench in the fourth quarter
ALLE
and spearheaded a lockdown defensive
effort against Pflugerville Hendrickson in
the regional semifinals, and led the Lady
Eagles in points during the team’s regional
final victory' over Prosper.
"Cyd is another X-factor who can
help handle the ball for us under
CYDNI ADAMS
Allen, Sr.
pressure,’’ said Teresa Durham,
Allen head coach, following Al-
len’s playoff win over Prosper.
“She came in off the bench
[in the regional semifinals
against Hendrickson] and
did her job. She gave us
that spark because she was
dialed into her job. [Against
Prosper], she just told me, ‘0K
coach, I’ve got it.’”
In a district ruled by some of
the top players in the country,
there may not have been a play-
er in 9-6A who maximized their
| physical gifts quite like Adams.
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McGathey, Liz & Roark, Chris. The Colony Courier-Leader (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 7, Ed. 1 Sunday, March 24, 2019, newspaper, March 24, 2019; Plano, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1622504/m1/10/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The Colony Public Library.