Annie Whitfield was named the varsity girls basketball team’s most valuable player Thursday night at the team’s annual awards dessert, held at the Skyline Inn Restaurant.
Whitfield missed eight games and still was tops on the team in steals, with more than 90 for the season. She finished first in total points and assists and was second in rebounds.
“She led us in so many ways,” said Coach Robby Robinson.
Megan Rubidoux was named the team’s Three-Point Queen, dropping 42 of them during the season. She was followed by Kendell Anderson with 36 and Whitfield with 34.
Jasmin Yoder received the Ms. Hustle Award.
She always competed to be first in everything, Robinson said. If the team was sprinting, she was moving at full speed. The game would start, and she was non-stop action.
Amanda Hubbard received the Coaches Choice Award, which, Robinson said, goes to the player does the extras. She is involved in more sports and spreads herself thin with activities. She is always there when a coach asks for something.
The award winners were selected by the coaching staff.
“We personally loved every minute of the year,” Robinson said. “Yeah, it’s discouraging to lose, but being around these young women energizes a person.”
The JV2 finished the year after a lot of close games and defeated Junction City in overtime at the end. The JV1 had a three-game winning streak over Christmas break, won an overtime game against Sisters and ended with a win at home against La Pine.
The varsity defeated Taft and finished last in league while implementing a gutsy full-court press in an attempt to rack up points in transition. The girls were usually mismatched in size and ideally wanted to avoid a slow half-court game where their opponents could use their height to grab boards.
In their last three games, the Huskies took 50 two-point shots and 33 three-point shots, more than 80 per game, Robinson said. They were shooting, and with that the percentages will come.
“We received probably four or five e-mails during the year just congratulating our girls for never quitting,” Robinson said. The Junction City coach, whose team was on the way to playoffs, told Robinson the girls had improved substantially between their first and second contests.
Receiving varsity letters were seniors Rubidoux and Whitfield, their fourth each. Yoder received her second, and Sarah Wyatt received her third.
Junior Sabrina Davis received her third letter. Juniors Nicole Bell and Anderson received their second letters.
Sophomores Hubbard, Haley Kent, Peyton Plebuch, Jade Corliss and Harlee Brendle received their first letters, as did freshman Jordan Miller.