Benny Westcott
Senior Brooke Burke was named Team MVP and Offensive Player of the Year at the girls basketball awards banquet held Tuesday, March 7, at Sweet Home High School.
She was also honored with a First Team All-League distinction in the 4A Oregon West Conference.
Sweet Home Head Coach Michelle Knight noted her work ethic.
“Brooke is the first kid in the gym sweeping the floors every day and lowering the nets,” she said. “She’s the last to leave because she wants to take a few more shots to get even better. She has come to everything — every open gym and kids camp I have ever put on. She has left an outstanding legacy at Sweet Home High School.”
Burke led the team this season in four major categories, scoring 439 points, dishing off 24 assists, snagging 148 rebounds and recording 46 steals on defense. It was a fitting end to a record-breaking career. She’s the girls program’s all-time leading scorer, finishing with 1,496 career points and the most points in a single game: 39, against Cottage Grove on Dec. 2, 2022.
Also at the banquet, fellow senior Meeja Bitter was named Defensive Player of the Year.
“Meeja is very quick,” Knight said. “She does what [assistant coach] Nick [Tyler] calls ‘Meeja things’ on defense. She’s like, out of position, but makes things happen, and we’re like, alright, do that.”
Knight said the highlight for Bitter was in a late season home win against North Marion, when the senior stole the ball near the very end of the game that “sealed the deal for the win.”
Bitter finished the season with 22 steals, 37 deflections and a block.
“She just hustles,” Knight said of Bitter. “She just gets after it. She’s an amazing kid.”
Speaking of hustle, the team’s Hustle Award went to freshman Addy Vannice.
“She’s quick. She’s a great defender,” Knight said of Vannice. “She has amazing hustle. She is very coachable, and has what we call coach’s eyes. She’ll see stuff on the floor that helps us coach the rest of the girls.”
Vannice was also given the Coaches Award, which goes to “the kid that’s coachable, comes in and works hard, does all the things we ask even when it’s hard, and gives their all,” Knight said.
The Most Inspirational Award went to junior Madison Duncan.
“[Duncan] works very hard,” Knight said. “She gives her all. She’s working on getting mean. She is steadfast and dependable. And she has literally come to everything that I have ever put on in my five years of coaching. She’s a great kid.”
Freshman Aubrey Newberry won Most Improved.
“She’s very coachable,” Knight said of Newberry. “She’s very quick, has lots of hustle, and jumps high.”
Burke was the team’s sole four-year letter winner. Second-year letters went to Duncan and Bitter. First-year letter winners were Vannice, Newberry, Selah Wright, Loralai Mark, Jocelyn Fairchild, Adrienne Funk, and Keely Boyd.
The Huskies finished last in the OWC with an overall record of 5-18, going 1-9 in league play. Knight noted how the team had a lot of fresh faces at the varsity level this season.
“These girls overcame adversity,” the coach said. “We were mostly young and inexperienced. It’s a huge learning curve to just come into a varsity game. It’s a very fast game, so I was really proud of my team and how they overcame so much adversity.”