All-state duos for champs

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Two players each from state championship teams at GPS and McMinn Central were among the seven area players named to the Tennessee Sports Writers Association's girls' all-state basketball teams for 2011.

GPS's Chadarryl Clay and Simone Busby earned spots on the Division II team, while McMinn Central's Jenna Adams and Elizabeth Masengil made the Class AA squad. Also earning all-state recognition were Silverdale Baptist's Mariah Massengill, Arts & Sciences' Robyn Anthony and Marion County's Keta Robinette in Class A and Walker Valley's Jordan Neuharth in AAA.

Clay, who won the state's D-II Miss Basketball award, and Busby led the Bruisers to their first state title since 2000. Clay, a junior, is rated the nation's ninth-best point guard nationally by ESPN after averaging 15.6 points and six assists this season. She has surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career and her 12 points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists in the title game helped GPS rally from a double-digit deficit in the second half. Busby also is a junior who averaged double-digit scoring in the state tournament, including a game-high 17 in the title game, helping GPS finish 23-1 overall.

Adams was a Miss Basketball finalist in AA and helped the Chargerettes claim the school's first team state championship of any kind. The senior averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds in three state tournament games, while Masengil, a sophomore, averaged 20 points in the state tournament.

Anthony helped CSAS cap its second straight District 5-A title by averaging 18.6 points, 4.2 steals and 2.4 assists. She scored more than 1,000 career points also. As a sophomore guard, Silverdale's Massengill led the area girls in scoring with 27 points a game on 57-percent shooting and also averaged 4.3 steals and 4.3 assists a game.

Robinette, who recently signed with Young Harris College, is Marion County's career scoring leader with 2,210 points and this is the second year she has been named all-state. She averaged 21 points, seven rebounds, 5.1 assists and 4.2 steals this season to help the Lady Warriors repeat as District 6 champions and earn their first Region 3 title.

Neuharth led a Walker Valley team that was state-ranked most of the season, averaging 15 points per game.

TSWA Girls' All-State Basketball

Class AAA

Rachel Allen (Northeast), Danielle Ballard (Memphis Central), Shacobia Barbee (Riverdale), Armeka Booker (Oak Ridge), Nicole Bowers (Hillsboro), Sydney Carden (Halls), Shanice Cason (Siegel), Nina Davis (Memphis Central), Bashaara Graves (Clarksville), Hannah Goolsby (Cookeville), Isabelle Harison (Hillsboro), Kyla Kerstetter (Brentwood), Briana Morrow (Glencliff), Hasina Muhammad (Ridgeway), Jordan Neuharth (Walker Valley), Hayley Newby (Farragut), Cheyenne North (Station Camp), Alexus Patterson (Knox West), Tyisha Petty (Riverdale), Torie Vaught (Maryville), Aaliyah Whiteside (Memphis Central), Caya Williams (Mt. Juliet).

Class AA

Jenna Adams (McMinn Central), Kayla Biles (Upperman), Kelsey Brooks (Pigeon Forge), Cara Bowling (Elizabethton), Haley Felker (Harpeth), Sam Fender (Greeneville), Bre Hall (Fulton), Anna Hammaker (Christian Academy of Knoxville), Ann Jones (Liberty), Keiona Kerby (Liberty), Cassidy Martin (Piegon Forge), Elizabeth Masengil (McMinn Central), Ansley Ricker (South Greene), Mackenzie Sells (Livingston Academy), Emily Sissom (Cannon County), Kelli Smith (Lipscomb), Kendra Williams (Bolivar).

Class A

Robyn Anthony (Arts & Sciences), Courtney Bailey (Scotts Hill), Alex Bond (Oneida), Mariah Britton (North Greene), Jaycee Coe (Jackson County), Layce Colter (Red Boiling Springs), Carly Daniel (Wayne County), Carly Dickens (Clarkrange), T.T. Flowers (Lake County), Rachel Garland (Moore County), Lindsey Higgins (Harriman), Alaina Jordan (Coalfield), Lindsey Kilby (Oakdale), Abby Laws (Loretto), Mariah Massengill (Silverdale Baptist), Alyssa McMahan (Cosby), Sydney Roach (Clay County), Keta Robinette (Marion County), Alycia Simmons (Perry County), Heather Vann (Moore County), Caroline Warden (Jackson County).

Division II

Simone Busby (GPS), Marjorie Butler (Knoxville Webb), Chadarryl Clay (GPS), Symone Daniels (St. Benedict), Kaylah Keys (Harding Academy), Sarah Galvin (Pope John Paul II), Taylor Reece (Brentwood Academy), Christina Slay (Ensworth), Justice Swett (Ensworth), Derica Wyatt (Franklin Road Academy).