The Centerburg girls’ basketball team garnered plenty of praise and awards after what was a strong season for the Trojans, including Kayla Larimore winning KMAC Player of the Year and Coach Bill Abner winning KMAC and District 11 Coach of the Year honors.
“It's an honor,” Abner said about his accolades. “It really is. But this is more about the kids than it is about me. I have good players and the girls bought into what we were trying to do. There are a lot of very good coaches in this league.”
Larimore had a terrific all-around season, leading the conference in scoring and serving as a consistent force on both offense and defense. She was not only KMAC Player of the Year, but also first team All-District 11.
The junior Lady Trojan averaged 19 points, 5.5 boards, two assists and two steals per game this season. She also hit 57% of her shots, including 33% from beyond the arc. Larimore also did a great job getting to the foul line and hitting her shots, going for 74%.
“Kayla works on her game constantly and she's a testament to what you can do if you have the drive to accomplish something,” said Coach Abner. “Teams focus on her and she still manages to deliver for us night in and night out. I am so proud of her - not for winning an award but for the person and teammate she is.”
The team also had Tiara Sheppard as a first team nod for All-KMAC and second team All-District 11. Abner commended her for being able to score, rebound, find open shooters for assists, and play strong defense resulting in steals. She averaged 10.7 points, 2.4 assists, 1.1 blocks and 3.1 steals.
“She provides a serious match up problem for teams, as well,” Abner said.
Kenlee Fairall was a second team All-KMAC and honorable mention for All-District 11. She was a wizard on defense with a KMAC high 4.4 steals per game, and also averaged about two assists per game.
“Kenlee is just full of energy and flies around all game,” Abner said. “She lead the KMAC in steals (by a wide margin) and is just a nightmare for guards when she's on them.”
Kennedi Glenn was named All-KMAC honorable mention, as well. Abner said she not only shot extremely well this season, but she also expanded her game on the defensive end. Clara Johnson was KMAC All-Academic and a key piece of the team this season. Abner said she was integral in leading the team in the latter parts of the season, especailly after coming back from her concussion.
One player who didn’t receive an accolade was Evie Stowe, but her play at point guard was undeniably great as Abner said she was a huge part of the success for the Lady Trojans.
“These awards are what they are and I understand that you're not going to get everyone an award but Evie Stowe is absolutely, positively, an all league player for us,” Abner said. “There’s no way we're league champs without her.”
Having this many accolades on one team shows just how special the season was for the Trojans. Abner said his head coach honors, and having multiple All-KMAC and All-District 11 players certainly says something about the work the Lady Trojans put in.
“For me as a coach it means I have good kids,” Abner said. “I think coaching is as much about relationship building as it is about strategy and tactics. For the program, it is my hope that it generates some excitement about girls basketball in Centerburg. We have a good young core group and we had a lot of young kids come to the games this year which is great to see. Programs are not built overnight or in one season. We still have work to do.”
COMPLETE All-KMAC TEAM:
Player of the Year: Kayla Larimore (Centerburg)*
Coach of the Year: Bill Abner (Centerburg)*
First team: Abigail Hardwick (Cardington-Lincoln)*; Tiara Sheppard (Centerburg)**; Ella Proper (Danville)*; Kylee Hess (Danville)**; Sydney Opfer (East Knox)*; Cally Carpenter (Fredericktown)*; Faith White (Mount Gilead)*
Second team: Jill Bertke (Cardington-Lincoln); Kenlee Fairall (Centerburg)***; Jaylyn Smith (Danville)***; Ella Bouton (Fredericktown)**; Aubrey Thomas (Mount Gilead)**; Shelby Cooper (Northmor)**
Honorable Mention: Madison Caulkins (Cardington-Lincoln)***; Kennedi Glenn (Centerburg); Grace Gronberg (Danville); Isabelle Bostic (East Knox)***; Mya Bryant (Fredericktown)***; Greer Simpson (Mount Gilead)***; Madison Simpson (Northmor)***
All-Academic: Genevieve Longsdorf (Cardington-Lincoln); Clara Johnson (Centerburg); Broegan Staats (Danville); Jayden Annett (East Knox); Emily Feeney (Fredericktown); Aubrey Thomas (Mount Gilead)**
*denotes All-District first team
**denotes All-District second team
***denotes All-District Honorable Mention
