By Jim Butta
Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON —
The prize St. Marys’ junior Kelsea Fickiesen and her Blue Devil teammates coveted most was a Class A state title. However, defending state champion Huntington St. Joseph ended any hopes of that dream with a 54-44 victory in the title game at the Civic Center.
So, Fickiesen had to settle for the next best thing — being selected as the captain of the Class A first team by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
“Honored and surprised,” Fickiesen explained following her team’s 14-point loss to the Irish. “There are a lot of great players out there and to receive this honor, I am truly humbled by it.”
Fickiesen, who tallied a game-high 16 points for St. Marys (24-2), is a repeat choice by the state’s sports writers as are Huntington St. Joseph’s Dusti Chapman, Williamstown’s Liz Flowers and Parkersburg Catholic’s Maggie Boelter.
Rounding out the first team are the Irish’s Sara Sang, Gilbert’s Crystal Lester, Hayden Giuliani of Trinity and St. Marys’ Sara O’Neal.
“Earning first team honors again with Liz (Flowers) and Maggie (Boelter) is nice, but knowing that Sara (O’Neal) made it too is really special,” added the Little Kanawha Conference’s Player of the Year. “I know how hard she has worked and how much she wanted this.”
Chapman, one of four seniors on the first team, closed out her high school career with back-to-back state titles. The Irish’s emotional leader on defense tallied nine points and dished out five assists in the championship win over St. Marys. But, more importantly, she was the main catalyst in holding Fickiesen to a 2-for-10 effort from the floor.
Sang added nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds in her second championship game appearance.
“If it were not for the play of girls like Dusti (Chapman) and Sara (Sang) as well as Brooke (Keeton), we would not be up here holding this trophy again,” said Huntington St. Joseph’s head coach Shannon Lewis. “These are very special players and it has been an honor to coach them.”
Sang, a junior, averaged 16.5 points per game to lead the Irish to a 22-5 mark while the 6-foot-3 Keeton, who transferred to the school during the summer from Kentucky, chipped in 10 points per game and earned second team all state laurels.
Two players who did not make it to the Mountain State’s capital — Flowers and Boelter — repeated as first-team selections despite not reaching the Big Dance. Flowers averaged nearly 19 points a game to lead the Yellowjackets to within one win of a trip to Charleston while Boelter closed out her time at Parkersburg Catholic with a 16.5 points per game norm.
Guiliani, a junior, did reach the state tournament, leading her Warriors to a 19-4 mark before bowing out of postseason play while O’Neal saw her high school career come to an end in the state championship game, scoring 10 points and pulling down eight rebounds in the defeat.
Named as the captain of the second team was Pocahontas County sophomore Chloe Bland. Joining her on the unit was Buffalo’s Hannah Boyer, Charleston Catholic’s Capen Evans, Courtney Ferguson of Parkersburg Catholic, Samantha Bailey of Doddridge County, Keeton, Bishop Donahue’s Lacy Hampton and Caroline Bennett of Tucker County.
Third-team choices include St. Joseph’s Kiki Smith, the unit’s captain, Ashley Gibson of Iaeger, Laura Ward of Greater Beckley Christian, Shila Allman of Williamstown, Audra Hall of Tucker County, Shelby Snead of Pocahontas, Tara Hanson of Trinity and Clay-Battelle’s Ashley Casino. All first team selections will be honored at the Victory Awards Dinner in Morgantown on Sunday, May 2.
W.Va. girls Class A all-state list
CHARLESTON (AP) — The West Virginia girls Class A all-state basketball team released by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association:
FIRST TEAM
Kelsea Fickiesen, St. Marys, 5-8, jr., (capt.)
Sara Sang, St. Joseph, 6-0, jr.
Dusti Chapman, St. Joseph, 5-3, sr.
Maggie Boelter, Parkersburg Catholic, 5-5, sr.
Liz Flowers, Williamstown, 5-7, soph.
Sara O’Neal, St. Marys, 5-10, sr.
Hayden Giuliani, Trinity, 5-6, jr.
Crystal Lester, Gilbert, 5-9, sr.
SECOND TEAM
Chloe Bland, Pocahontas County, 5-8, soph., (capt.)
Lacy Hampton, Bishop Donahue, 6-0, sr.
Capen Evans, Charleston Catholic, 5-10, sr.
Hannah Boyer, Buffalo, 5-9, soph.
Brooke Keeton, St. Joseph, 6-3, sr.
Courtney Ferguson, Parkersburg Catholic, 5-9, sr.
Caroline Bennett, Tucker County, 5-5, sr.
Samantha Bailey, Doddridge County, 6-2, sr.
THIRD TEAM
Kiki Smith, St. Joseph, 5-7, sr., (capt.)
Ashley Gibson, Iaeger, 5-3, sr.
Laura Ward, Greater Beckley Christian, 5-6, jr.
Shelby Snead, Pocahontas County, 5-4, jr.
Audra Hull, Tucker County, 5-7, jr.
Shila Allman, Williamstown, 5-10, jr.
Ashley Casino, Clay-Battelle, 5-8, jr.
Tara Hanson, Trinity, 5-6, fr.
Honorable Mention
Harley Abbott, Valley Wetzel; Molly Angotti, Notre Dame; Isabelle Anile, Madonna; Montanta Armentrout, Harman; Ginger Beatty, Pendleton County; Alli Bertozzi, Paden City; Keasha Browning, Gilbert; Danielle Butcher, Gilbert; Sara Carpenter, Bishop Donahue; Savannah Church, Calhoun; Audra Clark, St. Marys; Caitlin Creighton, Wheeling Central; Nikki Cutright, Tygarts Valley; Amber Evans, Tucker County; Jessica Fields, Williamson; Rachel Fisher, Cameron; Jordyn Gorby, Hundred; Chrandra Harrah, Meadow Bridge; Ally Hoyer, Charletson Catholic; Hattie Hutson, Doddridge County; Hillary Jones, Clay-Battelle; Molly Kurtz, Wheeling Central; Maggie Lilly, Gilmer County; Sara Lyons, Madonna; Caitlin Maxwell, Tucker County; Alex McAtee, South Harrison; Courtney McCauley, Tygarts Valley; Miranda McNabb, Pocahontas County; Bethany Murphy, Fayetteville; Jenna Noice, Bishop Donahue; Jen Nogay, Madonna; Alexis Payne, Valley Fayette; Madison Postlewaite, Williamstown; Dani Renner, St. Marys; Kim Smith, Burch; Cassie Sorge, Wheeling Central; Mariah Stacy, Man; Rachel Waibogha, Trinity Christian; Meg Whelan, Charleston Catholic; Leanne Watson, Clay-Battelle; Shelby Wood, Cameron.
