The Chosen Few

Local players make All Conference Teams

The CSAA selected their all conference teams last week. The conference will change dramatically next year when Holton, Hesperia and Fremont take to the coast to join the soon to be 2 division West Michigan Conference.
But that’s another story. This story is written to honor the players in our coverage area who landed spots on the aforementioned all-conference teams.
Here are our local scholar/athletes that made the Silver and Gold squads along with a few words from their coaches.

Julie Ashbaugh, Grant
Coach Delamater: Julie could, at times, completely take over a game. She led us in points and rebounds and will be a force once she gets consistent.

Kaitlynn Bennett, Fremont
Coach Zerlaut: Kaitlynn was a third-year varsity player that has dealt with plenty of adversity during her career. Between the loss of an off-season due to COVID restrictions and an ankle injury that required surgery this past off-season, she didn’t get much opportunity to improve outside of the regular season. Then a knee injury this season caused her to lose some more practice time and a couple games, but she just kept bouncing back and working to get better. She led our team in rebounds, improved her shooting touch, and provided solid post defense this season. I felt that she continued to improve her game right up until the end of her high school career.

Abby Derks, White Cloud
Coach Wilk: There were multiple times this year when we needed Abby to be a force in the paint, and she was able to step up. She averaged 8 points a game, and she was a bully in the paint! This team will miss her grit and aggressiveness next year.

Kayla Fisk, Newaygo
Coach Thomasma:  5.5 ppg.  5.1 deflections per game. 3.5 rebounds per game.  2.5 steals per game.  Kayla was a three year starter for us.  She brought energy and tenacity to our team over the past three worms.  Called her the "worm" after Dennis Rodman.  She plays the game in a very similar way to him.  We will miss her toughness and edge on the court next year.

Abby Fowler, Holton
Coach Jordan: 5.5 ppg 4.5 apg 4.5 spg. Abby is a great athlete and really paced us this year, we tried to have the ball in her hands as much as possible as she has the ability to create for others, she made a ton of great passes this year and set her teammates up game after game with good looks , she was also an active defender.  She is only 15 with 2 years starting pg experience at the varsity level.  I’m expecting her to make a huge jump in the next few years as well as the game will slow down for her with that type of experience under her belt.   

Emmerson Goodin, Newaygo
Coach Thomasma:  15 ppg  8.1 rebounds per game.  4.6 steals per game. Scored 946 points in her career (9th all time in school history).  Emmerson was a four year starter for us.  Her athleticism and toughness were off the charts.  Very good hands in traffic (best I have coached).  We will miss her ability to affect games in many different ways (scoring, rebounding, steals, etc...).  Great leader.  She never wanted to settle to just be good when she easily could have.  She worked very hard to make herself a great basketball player.

Emma Joppich, Hesperia
Coach Grodus: Emma  was a vital part of our team this year. She was one of our captains and our undisputed leader. Emma played outstanding defense for us. She was our team leader in minutes played. 

Jaxi Long, Newaygo
Coach Thomasma: 19.4 ppg.  4.1 steals per game.  3.2 rebounds per game.  3.1 assists per game.  90% FT Shooter (5th all time in MHSAA history). 1,346 points (3rd all time in school history).  Jaxi was a four year starter for us.  Jaxi has the best basketball IQ I have coached.  She is also the best shooter and clutch shooter I've coached (GR Christian and Tri-County buzzer beaters and WMC game this year).  We will miss Jaxi's ability to impact the game on both ends of the court.  She was a better defender than most people give her credit for.  She is the definition of a gym rat.  Just loves the game of basketball.  Only negative I can say about her is that she is a Duke fan :).

Jaycee Rider, Grant
Coach Delamater: Jaycee was our most consistent player all season. She was second in rebounds, third in points, first in steals and consistently guarded one of the other teams top players. 

Ryann Robins, Holton
Coach Jordan: 10.5 ppg 10.1 rpg 44% fg  Ryann had several huge games for us this year and was our leading and most consistent scorer on the team, also led the team in rebounds. She gave us an inside presence and we were better as a team when she got post touches.  She doesn’t realize how dominant she can be, she is a gentle giant in many ways, but showed physical play at times.  When that physical play becomes consistent night in and night out she will be a force to deal with for the next few years

Carsyn Scarlavai, White Cloud
Coach Wilk: Carsyn  was able to fill up the stat sheet in multiple ways, but her contribution to our team goes way beyond statistics. She was our leader and a defensive standout for her entire basketball career. I asked Carsyn to step her game up a lot this year, and she exceeded my expectations. 

Lily Swinehart, Newaygo
Coach Thomasma: Averaged 3.7 ppg.  4.1 rpg  Lily was a great teammate and leader.  Super coachable.  Brought a consistent work ethic to practice and it translated to games.  An athlete who worked hard her entire career and she made the most of her Senior year.  We'll miss her effort, attitude and toughness next year.

Emmet Tinkham, Hesperia
Coach Grodus: Emmet was an offense and defensive force. She averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds per game. She was a co-captain for this year’s team as well.

Haley Zerlaut, Fremont
Coach Zerlaut: Haley had a very good year. She had to carry a large load for us and came up big in many games. She became a consistent scorer for us, averaging 13.8 points per game, including several games over 20, and twice recording 27 points  in games this season. She also improved her defense, leading our team in steals. She made the most of her senior season, her fourth on the varsity team.

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