Prep girls basketball: All-County team
Published 12:00 am Thursday, April 19, 2018
- REBECCA BENSON/SALISBURY POST ... ALL-ROWAN COUNTY GIRLS BASKETBALL FOR 2018 — Front row (L-R): Riley Corriher (South), Adalie Harrison (East), Olivia Gabriel (Co-Player of the Year, Carson), Janiya Downs (Co-Player of the Year, South), Maria Capito (Salisbury). Back row (L-R): Tazah Hardin (South), Anayia Fulson (Salisbury), Abigail Wilson (West), Bryanna Troutman (Salisbury), Egypt Alexander (West), McKenzie Gadson (Carson). March 27, 2018
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By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.comALL-ROWAN COUNTY FIRST TEAM
Olivia Gabriel, Carson, 5-5 Sr. — MVP of Carson’s first Christmas tournament championship and the orchestrator of Carson’s first conference tournament championship. There’s no way to have a better season than the one Gabriel had. The South Carolina State signee was North Piedmont Conference Player of the Year in addition to winning Rowan County Co-Player of the Year honors and third team all-district recognition. Led Carson to a 25-4 record and a top-10 ranking in the final 3A poll with 17.4 points per game and led the Cougars in steals and assists.
Janiya Downs, South, 5-11 Jr. — Named district player of the year and third team All-State by the North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association. Downs is the Post’s Co-Player of the Year for Rowan County, the second straight season she’s been honored. Downs led the county in scoring with 21.2 points per game and pulled down 12.8 rebounds per game. She scored 30 or more points five times and posted 22 double-doubles and two triple-doubles for an 18-9 team. All-Central Carolina Conference.
Bryanna Troutman, Salisbury, 6-1 Jr. — Troutman provided an automatic double-double for the Hornets and stuffed the stat sheet for 15.9 points, 11.0 rebounds, 4.6 steals and 2.7 blocks per game. She scored in double figures in 20 of her 24 games before missing the Hornets’ playoff game with an injury. Led the Hornets to a 19-6 record and repeats on the all-county first team.. All-Central Carolina Conference. Has surpassed 1,000 career points.
Abigail Wilson, West, 5-11 Soph. — Wilson topped 20 points 17 times in a breakout season and scored in double figures 28 times in 29 outings. She scored 609 points (21.0 per game) after producing 339 for second team all-county honors as a freshman. A strong rebounder and inside scorer she was All-North Piedmont Conference. Led the Falcons to a 21-8 record. She’ll begin her junior season with 948 career points.
McKenzie Gadson, Carson, 5-9 Jr. — Averaged 12.8 points and 5.4 rebounds and shot 56 percent on her 2-point field goal tries. An athletic defender with speed and length, she repeats on the first team. Has surpassed 1,000 career points. All-North Piedmont Conference.
ALL-ROWAN COUNTY SECOND TEAM
Anayia Fulson, Salisbury, 5-8 Soph. — The athletic guard repeats on the second team after another strong season. She averaged 13.9 points and 2.6 assists and was All-Central Carolina Conference.
Egypt Alexander, West, 5-10 Sr. — A lefty scoring machine on the block, Alexander averaged 13.0 points per game as a senior and finished an outstanding career with 1,438 points. All-North Piedmont Conference.
Riley Corriher, South, 5-6 Sr. — Corriher had a great second half of the season and scored in double figures in 14 of her last 15 games. She averaged 12.3 points as a senior, mostly on flurries of 3-pointers.
Adalie Harrison, East, 5-0 Soph. — Harrison led the Mustangs in scoring (8.8 points per game), assists and steals. She hustled her way to a spot on the All-North Piedmont Conference team.
Tazah Hardin, South, 5-6 Sr. — One of the county’s faster players, Hardin repeats on the second team. She had great stats — averaging 10.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.4 steals per game.
Maria Capito, Salisbury, 5-6 Sr. — Capito averaged 10.8 points, with the bulk of her scoring coming from the 3-point line. She finished her career with 962 points, making her one of the top 15 scorers all-time at Salisbury. All-Central Carolina Conference.
HONORABLE MENTION
Colbie Perry, Carson, 5-8 Fr. — Perry made 64 3-pointers, leading the Cougars in that category. Averaged 8.0 points per game. All-North Piedmont Conference.
Mary Sobataka, West, 5-6 Jr. — She’s scored 737 points for the Falcons as a three-year starter. Averaged 7.8 points this season and is a strong defender.
Navatia Taborn, North, 5-3 Fr. — Point guard scored in double figures and has a chance to lead a comeback by North in girls basketball. All-Yadkin Valley Conference.
Whitley Arnott, South, 6-0 Soph. — Averaged 9.3 rebounds per game for the Raiders and chipped in with 5.4 points per game.
Ellie Wilhelm, Carson, 5-6 Fr. — Wilhelm had huge games in the Christmas tournament championship and NPC tournament championship. She made 29 3-pointers and averaged 5.7 points and 4.6 rebounds.
Hollie Harrison, East, 5-4 Sr. — Averaged 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds and brought a lot of senior leadership to the Mustangs.
Makiya McDaniel, North, 5-8 Fr. — Young post player had back-to-back games with 18 and 17 points for the Cavaliers. Honorable Mention All-Yadkin Valley Conference.Tacorra Robinson, Salisbury, 5-8 Jr. — Returning from an ACL injury, helped the Hornets with averages of 6.8 points and 5.0 rebounds
