The All-Deck Team: Class 4A State Squad

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eight teams descended on the Tony's Pizza Center for the Kansas Class 4A State Girls Basketball Tournament on March 7.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wellington, McPherson, Fort Scott, and Bishop Miege all advance to the semifinal round, which be played Friday, March 8.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clearwater, Labette County, Andale, and Ottawa all saw their dreams of state championships drift away.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I enjoy putting all-star teams together to give players extra exposure. I have put together a team of 10 I would like to put one team for a barnstorming trip after the season. Here is a look at those ten players who impressed me the most. Selecting the final three was extremely difficult as there were about five more players I wanted to include.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='398990' first='Keegan' last='Yarick']</strong>, 5'8”, SG, Fort Scott, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yarick had the only double-double on the first day of the tournament scoring 21 points and cleaning the glass for 12 rebounds. The Fort Scott senior left her pawprints all over Fort Scott's victory over Clearwater by adding three assists and three steals to her game totals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='349454' first='Brittan' last='Zeka'], </strong>5'10”, CG, Wellington, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Zeka is listed as 5-foot-10, but she plays more like a six-footer. Zeka scored 15 points and finished 4-of-8 from 3-point range. If you put her and Yarick in the same backcourt they would light up a lot of teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='265114' first='Elizabeth' last='Tjaden']</strong>, 5'9”, SG, Clearwater, '24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tjaden loves to drive the ball and has never seen a defender she was unwilling to drive against. She had a team-high 20 points shooting 6-of-18 from the field, and 5-for-7 from the free-throw line for Clearwater. She will be my third guard in the lineup and I would just tell her to drive until your legs fall off, but save the jump shots for Yarick and Zeka.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='621237' first='Justine' last='Berlin']</strong>, 5'11”, PF, Clearwater, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Berlin has a composed game and does a nice job of balancing when to look to score and when to dish it. She was a difference-maker on defense and will be by defensive enforcer in the starting five. Her final stat line included three rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='999826' first='Reagan' last='Winter']</strong>, 5'10”, PF, Andale, ‘27</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Winter was the best frontcourt defender in the tournament, so she will be my fifth starter. The Andale freshman scored a team-high 13 points and was a board monster collecting nine rebounds. If I apply full-court pressure with this starting five, we would run teams out of the gym.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='719105' first='Jaela' last='Thompson']</strong>, 5'8”, SF, McPherson, ‘27</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thompson was my favorite prospect from the tournament. She has a smart shot selection and she makes crisp passes. She finished the game with 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field. Her bloated stat line consisted of six rebounds, six assists, and six steals. The McPherson freshman would be my “sixth man.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='398385' first='Allie' last='Brown']</strong>, 5'4”, GG, Fort Scott, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Fort Scott junior filled up her stat sheet with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals and hit one of the best stop-and-pop jumpers I have seen all season. She will probably be my first guard off the bench for this all-star squad. She can carry a team and would be a solid change of pace with a couple of the bigger guards on this team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='317352' first='Mary' last='Grant']</strong>, 5'8”, SG, Bishop Miege, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grant is a pure jump-shooter. Her  3-point attempts from the top of the key are a thing of beauty. She is also a gritty player who is willing to rebound. She finished with 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field against Labette County.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='932958' first='Dru' last='Zeka'], </strong>5'7”, SG, Wellington, ‘27</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Zeka can rain threes. The freshman scored 14 points off the bench in Wellington's win. She converted on 4-of-7 three-point field goal attempts and is the perfect sharpshooter to come off my bench.<a></a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='606251' first='Jayla' last='McLeod'], </strong>5'10”<strong>, </strong>SF, McPherson, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bullpup senior runs the floor well, has a huge wingspan, and can jump like a kangaroo. McLeod finished with 13 points of 6-of-8 shooting from the field. She is the defensive difference-maker on my bench.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Honorable Mention:<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='779243' first='Leah' last='Askins-Dieterich']</strong>, Ottawa, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='231272' first='Karter' last='Alvord'], </strong>McPherson<strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='621236' first='Lyndi' last='Barton']</strong>, Wellington, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='766787' first='Ellie' last='Bower']</strong>, McPherson, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='817386' first='Allison' last='Clevenger']</strong>, Clearwater, <strong>Kylee Comstock</strong>, Fort Scott, <strong>Reanna Eilrich</strong>, McPherson, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='622112' first='Kylan' last='Gregory']</strong>, Wellington, <strong>Finley LeMay</strong>, Bishop Miege, <strong>Maddison Lies</strong>, Andale,<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='606251' first='Jayla' last='McLeod'], </strong>McPherson, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='231288' first='Foster' last='Nichols']</strong>, Ottawa, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='349450' first='Valerie' last='Norwood']</strong>, Wellington, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='525606' first='Landry' last='O'Brien']</strong>, Labette County,<strong> Taya Orth</strong>, Andale, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='349455' first='Kirston' last='Verhulst']</strong>, Bishop Miege<strong>.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->