STARTERS
G. Olivia Jones, West Potomac–Jones concluded her high school career in style, leading the Wolverines to the state semis before falling to Osbourn Park. The small but talented guard led her team in scoring on many occasions, and with the ball in her hands the Wolverines were in good shape. Her best weapon was the three-pointer, but Jones does a ton of things well: ball-handling, passing, even rebounding. Plus, Jones in our view also was an underrated defender who could cause problems for ball-handlers with some of the best of ’em. She will play at Gettysburg next season.
G. Anya Rahman, Langley–With Langley’s freshmen providing the Saxons a lot of support, Saxons star senior Anya Rahman had life (slightly) easier this season. She still scored, but often more efficiently, and she had more energy to put into her team’s solid team defense. Still, when it was time for Rahman to take over she did, often delivering key baskets at important junctures. Rahman has certainly always been able to score–she went over 1,000 career points last calendar year. She’s also a heady player that makes others around her better. She’ll play at Carnegie Mellon next season.
G-F. Kennedy Parrott, Centreville–With one of the deadliest jumpers in Northern Virginia, Parrott was again dominant for the Wildcats and was voted Northern Region Player of the Year. She frequently dropped 20 or more points on opponents. Swift in transition, Parrott could handle the ball herself if given the opportunity and pull up quickly and effectively virtually anywhere. She just radiated next-level vibes this season and was occasionally unstoppable. Parrott will play at Colgate next year.
G-F. Tatum Olson, McLean–The physical Olson had another great year, and was voted Second Team Class 6 All-State. Olson has a great handle and fights her way into the paint to take good shots. Or, sometimes she just hits a lot of three-pointers from way beyond the arc. Point is, she scores, such as when she hit for 26 against Centreville or 27 against West Springfield earlier in the season. Olson’s physicality allows her to fight inside as well. The 1,000-point scorer will play at Emory University next season.
F. Georgia Simonsen, Robinson–Not too much more to say about Simonsen, who will play at Radford next Fall. She was again a dominant force for the Rams, putting forth 20-10-type performances on a regular basis. Simonsen did a good job passing out of double-teams, and she is much-improved attacking from the perimeter. The Rams will miss her in many, many ways next season, but they may miss her paint protection most. Her blocked shots on opponents attacking the rim allowed TJ Dade’s guards to gamble a heckuva lot more on defense with Simonsen behind her.
RESERVES
G. Ava Wu, Madison–Madison had a lot of talent this season, but a ton of it was young and a great many of the Warhawks could not or would not create their own shot. Still, the Warhawks were competitive, and that was mainly because of Wu. Wu handled the ball a lot on the perimeter as point guard, but the Warhawks looked for her to come off screens to get her shot as well–when she wasn’t creating it herself, at least. Wu was one of the better three-point shooters in Northern Virginia this season, and she also was good at keeping defenders off-balance with the drive.
G. Sarah Chawki, Edison–The triumvirate of dynamic Eagles guards, junior Kennedy Marshall, Shannon Heiner, and this one, Sarah Chawki, came close to getting Edison past Robinson in the Occoquan Regionals. Chawki has been getting it done for Edison for a long time. She’s always been aggressive offensively, and Chawki scored 1,000-plus points in her career. She’s gotten way more efficient offensively, and devoted a lot of her energy to ball-handling and defense this season. She was all-district defensively, as well as First Team All-Occoquan Region.
G. Shannon Heiner, Edison–Heiner, like Chawki, could play the 1-3, but functioned more off-ball this year. The very tough and cerebral guard did a lot of damage this season attacking the hoop with either hand and burying threes. Defensively her length caused opponents problems, and when Edison was at its best Heiner was often forcing turnovers on defense. Heiner was also voted First Team All-Occoquan Region. Ice to Chawki’s fire, both Heiner and Chawki will be missed in Springfield next season.
G. Brynn Hunter, Potomac Falls–We feel Hunter never got enough credit for her very impressive basketball career playing at the Falls. Hunter did it all for the Panthers. A smaller guard, she was relentless attacking the rim, often serving as the team’s point guard. She played good, hard defense, and even with PFalls’ considerable height, she still sometimes led her team on the boards. A very good athlete, Hunter was voted First Team All-State Class 5 this season, where she averaged well into double figures.
G-F. Frances Shapiro, Washington-Liberty–Washington-Liberty was missing star junior center Eve Jungman much of the year, but Julia Kelly, Frances Shapiro, and the rest of the Generals still won a lot of games this season. It helped having a do-it-all player like Shapiro, whose energy and relentless play helped set the pace for the rest of the squad. On defense she used her length to torment ball-handlers, racking up steals. A good shooter and finisher, she averaged into double figures scoring, and did a good job on the boards as well.
F-C. Alex Brown, Osbourn Park–Brown was bothered by injuries her junior year, but rebounded to have a very solid senior year and help Osbourn Park win a state title. Though she can be potent on offense, the 6’2″ Brown again made her impact mostly on defense again this season. Quick enough to play up front in a zone as well as protect the paint down low, Brown was a big reason for Osbourn Park’s defensive success. Most importantly she logged big minutes, ultimately playing the entire state championship game. She’ll play next level at Stony Brook.
F. Kaiden Kerkulah, Thomas Jefferson–There were a lot of deserving candidates for Player of the Year in the National District, but we were glad to see Kerkulah receive the honor. She’s been really good for a long time. An undersized but strong low and high-post threat, Kerkulah again was a regular threat to deliver 20-10-type games. She was all-district defense as well, with the ability to deliver thunderous blocks down low but yet quick enough to guard the perimeter.
F. Emerson Mustard, Chantilly–Mustard finished her career with another good season for the Chargers. A tall forward good in transition, many times all the opposition could do was foul her as she attacked the rim. With the ability to play both in the post and on the perimeter, shoot from outside, and rebound, Mustard had nights where she was unstoppable. Even when she wasn’t filing up the stat books, it was very rare that the First Team All-Concorde selection wasn’t making her presence felt in some aspect of the game.
F. Valerie Blankenship, Woodgrove–The Catoctin District Player of the Year was a tremendous force offensively this season. Twice this year she hit seven threes in a game, once finishing with 31 points in a win over Loudoun County and once finishing with 29 points in a win over Broad Run. Her three-point shot was her greatest weapon, but Blankenship was also quite good on the boards and cleaning up inside. Blankenship will play for Shepherd next season.
HONORABLE MENTION
Emma Komaily (Woodson); Keilani Johnson (Freedom-Woodbridge); Savannah Price (Freedom-Woodbridge); Keilana Johnson (Freedom-Woodbridge); Taylor Allen (Potomac); Olivea Puller (Potomac); Allison Lisack (Freedom-South Riding); Jaliah Jackson (Millbrook); Josie Russell (James Wood); Ellie Friesen (Meridian); Nora Stufft (Meridian); Olivia Jett (John Handley); Brooke Lee Miller (Brentsville District); Josie Willett (Sherando); Kenza Chienku (Fauquier); Peyton Daley (Langley); Alyssa Evans (McLean); Ally Hodder (McLean); Esther Paul (Loudoun County); Olivia Eastlake (Loudoun County); Kyra Hurley (Park View); Kate Thurman (Woodgrove); Aliya Wilson (Broad Run); Claire Erny (Broad Run); Helene Lydon (Yorktown); Hanna Rohde (Marshall); Julia Kelly (Washington-Liberty); Isabella Menn (Washington-Liberty); Da’Nayah Cuthbertson (Manassas Park); Ruby Karandikar (South Lakes); Kalia Ketelhut (South Lakes); Ainsley Phillips (Falls Church); Natalie Turner (Mount Vernon); Rachael Sykes (Mount Vernon); J’Maia Joseph (Colonial Forge); Elizabeth Harley (Mountain View); Juelle Lisenby (South County); Savannah Simmons (South County); Valli Swaminathan (Woodson); Jaymie Bevins (Robinson); Isabella Hollandsworth (West Springfield); Kalina Rapoza (West Springfield); Emily DePaul (Lake Braddock); Victoria Patrick (Alexandria City); Anna Mawloud (Fairfax); Bailey Zimmerman (Oakton); Madeleine Bernet (Chantilly); Anjali Borra (Chantilly); Aaliyah Thrash (Colgan); Mariah Barksdale (Colgan); Audrey Williams (Colgan); Ayanna Porter (Woodbridge); Icys Carroll (Gar-Field); Angel Boateng (Osbourn); Cheyenne Sweeney (Patriot); Abigail Lee (Thomas Jefferson); Reagan Skorupski (Stone Bridge); Katherine Yashina (Potomac Falls); Breanne Blubaugh (Riverside); Sam Wiles (Riverside); Kaitlyn Puzenski (Heritage); Rachel Stewart (Heritage); Natalie Tikalsky (Tuscarora); Esther Ibekwe (Dominion); Ahria Mehta (Dominion)