High school basketball in northeast Arkansas hit a new high this season with four out of five teams bringing home a state championship for the 2018-19 season.
With so many championship teams from the area, the spotlight was on several talented players.
Voters from different newsprint and broadcasting agencies throughout Arkansas have chosen the finalist for the basketball Super teams with several from the northeast Arkansas region.
Players selected to the Girls First Team are as follows:
Isabella Higginbottom (pictured), a 5-8 sophomore guard, played for Batesville. “Izzy” averaged 16.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. For the season she shot 53 percent from the floor, 35 percent from behind the 3-point arc and 86 percent from the free throw line. Higginbottom helped lead the Lady Pioneers to a 30-3 record and the Class 4A State Championship and she was named the Class 4A State Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Elauna Eaton, a 6-0 junior guard, played for Nettleton in Jonesboro. Eaton averaged 16.2 points, 1.8 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. She helped lead the Lady Raiders to a 25-3 record and to the quarterfinals of the Class 5A State Tournament where they fell 64-60 to eventual state champion Little Rock Christian.
Whitlee Layne, a 6-0 junior guard, played for Norfork and scored her 3,626th career point this season which puts her in second place all-time in the state of Arkansas. She averaged 22.9 points per game and helped led the Lady Panthers to a 36-5 record where they fell in the quarterfinals of the Class 1A State Tournament to eventual state runner-up Rural Special.
Jersey Wolfenbarger, a 6-2 sophomore guard, played for Fort Smith Northside where she averaged 15.7 points, 2.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. Jersey helped lead the Lady Grizzlies to a state-best 28-1 record and the Class 6A State Championship where she was named the Class 6A State Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Amber Brown, a 6-0 senior guard, played for Little Rock Christian. She averaged 16.5 points, 2.3 assists, 8.2 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. Amber helped lead the Lady Warriors to a 29-2 record and a Class 5A State Championship. Brown has signed with the University of Pittsburgh and will continue playing basketball as she furthers her education.
Players selected to the second team in the girls division are senior Taylor Griffin from Batesville, senior Kaley Shipman from Mountain View (who was named the Class 3A State Tournament’s Most Valuable Player), sophomore Reagan Rapert from Melbourne (who was named the Class 3A State Tournament’s Most Valuable Player), junior Destiny Salary from Jonesboro, and senior Sara Bershers from Fort Smith Northside.
Honorable mentions go to Sasha Goforth from Fayetteville, Reagan Bradley from Little Rock Christian, Faith Byers from Wonderview, Wynter Rogers from Little Rock Christian and Kalifa Ford from Brookland.
Players selected to the Boys First Team are as follows:
Justus Cooper, a 6-5 junior forward, played for Izard County Consolidated. He averaged 22 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocked shots per game. Cooper helped lead the Cougars to a state-best 42-4 record and the Class 1A State Championship. He was also named the Most Valuable Player of the Class 1A State Tournament.
Avery Felts, a 6-2 senior guard, played for Jonesboro Westside where he averaged 22.4 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Felts helped led the Warriors to a 23-9 record and to the semifinals of the Class 4A State Tournament where they fell to eventual state champions, Magnolia.
Isaac McBride, a 6-1 senior guard, played for Baptist Prep and helped lead the Eagles to a 30-4 record and to the quarterfinals of the Class 3A State Tournament where they fell to eventual state champions, Ashdown.
Jaylin Williams, a 6-10 senior, played at Fort Smith Northside where he helped lead the Grizzlies to a 21-11 record and the Class 6A State Championship, and he was named the Class 6A State Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Chris Moore, a 6-8 forward, played for West Memphis and helped lead the Blue Devils to a 25-6 record and to the semifinals of the Class 5A State Tournament where they fell to eventual state runner-up Little Rock Hall.
Players selected to the second team in the boys division are senior Allen Flanigan of Little Rock Parkview, senior Kevin Cross of Little Rock Mills, freshman Derrian Ford of Magnolia, senior Maalik Cartwright of Clarendon and junior Detrick Reeves of Marion
Honorable mentions go to Collin Moore of North Little Rock, Tray Brown of Marked Tree, Kalen Robinson of Bryant, Marcedus Leach of Jonesboro, Tim Ceasar of Marion and Payton Brown of Waldron.
To be eligible for the Arkansas Sports Media Super Team, players must have been chosen to the All-State Team.
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