Class AAA All-State Breakdown

<em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">PHOTO: Parkersburg’s [player_tooltip player_id="153276" first="Bre" last="Wilson"] gets some shots up during pregame warm ups at the state tournament in Charleston. </span></em> With a ton of experience and talent returning to West Virginia’s biggest classification this season, it figured to be a showcase year in the Mountain State. That certainly was the case in Class AAA in a season highlighted by parity and overall depth among the big schools. Here’s a look at the Class AAA All-State first team as voted on by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association. <span style="color: #3366ff;"><strong>Senior Statements</strong></span> Among the eight first teamers selected, seven were seniors. Three of them made their second-straight first team with Greenbrier East’s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153279" first="Haley" last="McClure"]</strong> appearing for the third consecutive season. The 5-foot-11 forward averaged 19.5 points per game and moved into second place on the school’s all-time leading scorer’s list. University’s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153277" first="Ashten" last="Boggs"]</strong> and Parkersburg South’s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153275" first="Makenna" last="Winans"]</strong> each made their second first-team appearance in as many years. Boggs nearly averaged a double-double at 19.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest while Winans scored 16.8 points and gathered 7.9 caroms per game. <strong><span style="color: #3366ff;">Ahead of Time</span></strong> Though seven of the players on the first team are graduating this fall, the one that isn’t made quite a splash this season. George Washington’s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153323" first="Kalissa" last="Lacy"]</strong> (2021) scored 24.6 points per game in earning the first-team captain’s spot and eventually, the Mary Ostrowski Award as the state’s player of the year. Lacy, a four-sport athlete (soccer, softball, swimming), made huge strides in her game in the offseason, focusing particularly on ball handling and defense. It panned out to say the least, with her presence at the top of GW’s pressure leading to both steals and transition points. Lacy did it all against one of the state’s toughest schedules that included seven combined games against the top three seeds in the Class AAA tournament (Parkersburg, Woodrow Wilson and Greenbrier East). <strong><span style="color: #3366ff;">Title-Town Tandem</span></strong> Though Parkersburg’s senior class hasn’t been able to see its bid for a third-straight state title through (at least not yet), a pair of its leaders earned their first, first-team nods. Both <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153276" first="Bre" last="Wilson"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153283" first="Aleea" last="Crites"]</strong> were named to the first team, marking four different Big Reds to make the big-school top squad in the last three seasons. Wilson led the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game with Crites chipping in 11.6 for a team that thrived off of its scoring balance. Wilson is among the best 3-point shooters in state history and made six 3-pointers in a win over University in the 2019 state championship game. Crites meanwhile has improved dramatically in her time at Parkersburg and her size and overall athleticism made her a nightmare in the Big Reds’ vaunted full-court pressure. <strong><span style="color: #3366ff;">Exclamation Points</span></strong> Rounding out the team was a pair of point guards in Woodrow Wilson’s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153281" first="Liz" last="Cadle"]</strong> and Wheeling Park’s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153280" first="Shanley" last="Woods"]</strong>. Cadle guided the Flying Eagles into the Class AAA semifinals before the state tournament was postponed due to the coronavirus. The senior averaged a team-high 14.3 points per game to go with eight rebounds and seven assists. Woods helped drive a Wheeling Park team that was ranked No. 1 in the AP poll for the majority of the year before the Patriots were upset in a regional co-final by Morgantown. Woods finished her senior season with an 18.9-points-per-game average.