HS Girls Basketball: GW's Jeriyah Pryor captains AAAA all-state team

Woodrow's Zoey Williams named second-team all-state

Photo credit: WVSSAC

By Jay W. Bennett
For the WVSWA

The Mountain State Athletic Conference had three of its programs advance to the Class AAAA state semifinals inside the Charleston Coliseum.

Although top-seeded George Washington came up short against fifth-seeded Parkersburg South and the Wood County Patriots eventually lost to No. 3 seed and rival Parkersburg for the big school crown, it was the Kanawha County Patriots who landed the captain of the all-state first team in GW junior Jeriyah Pryor as selected by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.

“I’m glad she plays for me instead of against me,” quipped GW head coach Jamie LaMaster, who watched this year’s only repeat 4A first team honoree earn the MSAC Player of the Year award as well as MaxPreps’.

“I've been at GW 22 years now and she is the most decorated player that I've had in my career, best junior, until this point. I've had a player of the year. I've had a lot of first-teamers and one captain, but I've never had a kid garner so many accolades in one season.”

Pryor led the Patriots to a 22-2 record and had a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. She shot 46 percent from the floor, 77 percent at the free-throw line and averaged 19.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 4.2 steals.

“There's a lot that goes into that,” admitted LaMaster. “There's a lot of weight room. We start the first day of school. We grind from the first day of school until the end of the season.

“She puts in a lot of time. I'll say this, although she is physically gifted and a great player, she does also put the work in to live up to that.”

Pryor’s backcourt running mate, junior Rayana Breckenridge, was one of four players to earn a nod on the top unit after garnering second team honors last season.

Breckenridge, who had a 2.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, averaged 16.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.2 steals.

Also moving up from the second team were University senior Bri Fox, Parkersburg senior Kennedy Porter and Big Red junior Frances Guice, who averaged 16.2 points, 4.4 boards, 1.9 assists and 1.7 steals while knocking down 52 triples and shooting 72 percent at the line.

Fox, who is off to Washington & Jefferson College, averaged 20.8 points, 4.8 caroms, 3.6 dimes and 5 steals. She shot 48 percent from the floor and 73 percent at the charity stripe.

Porter averaged a double-double of 15 points and 13.4 rebounds to go with a block a game. The Big Red, who inked with Shepherd, shot 57 percent and had 15 double-doubles, which included a 4A state tournament record 24 rebounds against University in a 71-70 overtime quarterfinal victory where she also scored 24 points.

Parkersburg also was represented on the first team by senior point guard Lauren Flanagan, who drained 57 treys at 37 percent, shot 85 percent at the line and averaged 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals.

"This was a team that was not only talented but tough and resilient. It was a group that was led by unselfish leaders with a goal to win a state title,” expressed PHS head coach Chris Murray. “We had such a team first mindset with very good skilled scorers and kids who wanted to win so badly. We handled adversity like how champions should. When things got hard, we dug in deeper.

“Most importantly they made their community proud, and made their student body proud. We had the best support of any team all year. Lauren played with all heart. For her to have the tournament run it will forever be remembered by everyone. Kennedy found her voice as a leader and held the team accountable all while leading by example. Frances, who I enjoy watching play the game with a relentless competitive spirit, she's more than deserving of the honors."

Parkersburg South was represented on the first team by freshman Lindsey Logston, who averaged 18.9 points, 5.3 boards, 2.3 assists and 3.6 steals while converting at nearly 69 percent from the line.

Third-seeded Morgantown, which lost to the Big Reds in the semifinals, landed Sydney Deuesenberry. The Mohigan featured a stat line of 10.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 4 steals an outing as a sophomore.

Also finding their way to the first team were MSAC 3-point champion Gracie Day of Cabell Midland and Huntington’s Ava Gallion. The junior Day averaged 18.2 points a game. Gallion, who signed with Concord, put up 17.9 points, 3.8 assists and 2.6 steals a night.

Parkersburg senior Lucie Cline was named captain of the second team after averaging 7.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals while hitting 66% at the line.

“Lucie who was the glue to everything we did. She was what we were missing this year,” admitted Murray.

Joining Cline on the second team were Washington sophomore Natalia Holmes and Martinsburg senior Tianna Sanabria. Both programs advanced to state.

The remainder of the second unit included Huntington senior LaLa Sloan, Hurricane sophomore Brooklyn Jones, Morgantown junior Carper Messerly, Riverside junior Ava Ward, Woodrow Wilson sophomore Zoey Williams, Parkersburg South freshman Quinn Bolyard and George Washington’s freshman Ady Gumm.

Wooden plaques in the shape of West Virginia that include the player’s name, school, licensed WVSWA logo, year of the honoree are available to all-state first team, second team and honorable mentions and can be purchased from the Bear Wood Company through its website at Bearwoodcompany.com

Class AAAA All-State

First Team

Jeriyah Pryor, George Washington, JR (Captain)

Kennedy Porter, Parkersburg, SR

Bri Fox, University, SR

Rayana Breckenridge, George Washington, JR

Frances Guice, Parkersburg, JR

Ava Gallion, Huntington, SR

Lindsey Logston, Parkersburg South, FR

Sydney Deuesenberry, Morgantown, SO

Lauren Flanagan, Parkersburg, SR

Gracie Day, Cabell Midland, JR

Second Team

Lucie Cline, Parkersburg, SR (Captain)

LaLa Sloan, Huntington, SR

Brooklyn Jones, Hurricane, SO

Carper Messerly, Morgantown, JR

Ava Ward, Riverside, JR

Zoey Williams, Woodrow Wilson, SO

Quinn Bolyard, Parkersburg South, FR

Ady Gumm, George Washington, FR

Natalia Holmes, Washington, SO

Tianna Sanabria, Martinsburg, SR

Honorable Mention

Braylan McGuire, Cabell Midland; Bella Miller, Preston; Emilee Owens, Parkersburg South; Maddie Ancell, Morgantown; Grace Dotson, Parkersburg South; Donya Burton, Woodrow Wilson; Whitney Cox, University; Natalie Craddock, Oak Hill; Liz Bohren, Huntington; Braylan McGuire, Cabell Midland, Colby O’Malley, Hurricane; Maddy Ancell, Morgantown; Sophie Kelly, Cabell Midland; Mariah Johnson, George Washington.

Photo credit: WVSSAC

Jeriyah Pryor (2), a junior guard at George Washington, drives to the basket in a state quarterfinal tournament game against Washington High, March 12 at the Charleston Coliseum.