Surprises: Four AAA players who “did what now,” in December

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Emma Pickney, Lewis County, P, 6-1, Jr.</strong> - Emma Pickney aided the Lewis County Minutemaids, big time. She helped them in the paint. She helped them on defense. She helped them in scoring. You name it and Pickney had a hand in it. She really took her job as the team's leading nearly everything, seriously. Over 8 games, she's scored 13.9 points, while shooting a dependable 50% from the field. But wait, there's more. She also cleaned off the boards with 11.3 rebounds. In case you didn't realize, those scoring and rebounding numbers are reading as a double-double average. Impressive, huh. And we are only going to learn more about Pickney and her teammates as the season progresses, with games against North Marion, Ripley, Bridgeport, East Fairmont, and Buckhannon-Upshur, these ladies will be more than ready come regional tournament time. For now, we know that Pickney refused to shy away from the spotlight in an undefeated month. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='385110' first='Kenna' last='Keener'], Grafton, F, 6-0, Fr.</strong> - It seems like only yesterday [player_tooltip player_id='385110' first='Kenna' last='Keener'] was tagging this reporter with her AAU stats on Twitter. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now, she's tagging this reporter with her high school stats, and let him tell you something, they have been doozies. They're big. They're bold. And they're daring and impressive for a freshman. There is little left disputing that No. 22 is ... all right. She's doing just fine as a Bearcat. She's grasping the Class AAA game. She's picking up what Coach Hartsel Keener is putting down. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Try these ones on for size, she's got a double-double average per game, that's rebounds and points, with other stats not far behind. She's got the respect of her teammates for wasting no time in finding herself. She's going to keep getting better on the block, and she's already long and lanky. As far as developing a post-game and college attention, that's incredible. She works at it enough and she will be just fine. Coaches interested in Ms. Keener should follow her closely. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Abby Eastman, Ripley, C, 5-10, Jr. </strong>- You didn't really know what to expect from Abbie Eastman at the beginning of the season. You know now. Or, at least you should. She continues her climb to the forefront of the Ripley attack. She's growing up into the graduated Kyanna Baldwin day, by day, by day. Every game shows that much more, every minute proves it just that much longer. Baldwin's angle of attack, her job in the post, and her beat for team morale are all there in Eastman. She's making an impact, she's bringing her group together. Don't forget earlier this year when she went down before Ravenswood, the girls were devastated and dropped a rivalry game and regional game. They cared about their teammate that much. She's adopted this team after a transfer from Roane County, and she's become an immovable object. If Ripley ends up winning a championship, McKennan Hall kept this group in line and [player_tooltip player_id='375427' first='Sophie' last='Nichols'] provided the big game energy, but the heart ... the heart will be Eastman. In other words, coaches, you just got your glue kid for a next four years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='384128' first='Emma' last='Freels'], North Marion, PG, 5-6, Jr. </strong>- [player_tooltip player_id='153426' first='Olivia' last='Toland'] led the way for North Marion in December, and [player_tooltip player_id='384128' first='Emma' last='Freels'] rode right along. With Katlyn Carson gone, Freels stepped up. Whether scoring points or making's defenses think twice about pulling a double team on Toland, Freels contributed just as much as Carson. She averaged the second most points on the team, while shooting 46% from the field, good for tops on the team. Freels also brought a comfort at the point guard position thanks to her junior status. By staying calm in the heat of the moment, she helped the Huskies achieve a near spotless record in the opening month. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Honorable Mentions:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='722414' first='Harmony' last='Mills'], Independence Addison Issac, Midland Trail; [player_tooltip player_id='440713' first='Tarayn' last='Myers'], East Fairmont; [player_tooltip player_id='379508' first='Martina' last='Howe'], RCB; [player_tooltip player_id='570476' first='Payten' last='Goodwin'], Lewis County; Sadaya Jones, Pryor, Fairmont Senior </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->