WT’s Kacee Hockenberry
named Player of the Year
After leading Wayne Trace to its third consecutive Green Meadows Conference championship, the Raiders’ Kacee Hockenberry has been named 2009-10 Paulding County Girls Basketball Player of the Year by the Paulding County Progress in voting by county coaches and media members.
Hockenberry led the Raiders to a 15-6 record while also claiming the schools’ third GMC title in Wayne Trace history. Hockenberry was also second in the GMC in scoring at 14.1 points per game in league play.
As a junior, she was Wayne Trace’s point guard and also the team’s leader in scoring (12.4 ppg), steals (47), assists (46), three-pointers made (25) and free throw percentage (80.3).
“Kacee was obviously a very important player to our team,” noted Raider head coach Greg Davis. “I think the biggest thing in Kacee’s game came from the extra time she put in the gym. She would stay after practices, come early and put a lot of time in the summer into improving her game.”
Hockenberry tied for the county lead in steals with Paulding’s Taylor Hatcher at 47.
Named to the All-County First Team are Raider teammates Jo Ellen Fickel and Sarah Feasby.
Jo Ellen Fickel, a junior center, bucketed 10.7 points per game while grabbing 7.2 rebounds a night. Fickel also dished out 28 assists while recording 34 steals on the season.
Sarah Feasby, a sophomore forward, scored 6.9 markers a night but picked up 6.4 caroms per game as well.
Paulding’s Shelby Erford also is a First Team selection. The senior guard led the county with 14.4 points per game and hit a school record 37 treys during the season. Erford also connected on a county high 81.3 percent at the charity stripe and added 39 assists and 40 steals on the year.
“Shelby is a phenomenal player and extremely coachable,” noted Panther head coach Lyndsi Shininger. “Her attitude and commitment to the sport is unmatched. She has developed and improved more than I could have hoped since the start of the season. When her shot wasn’t falling, she picked up her defensive pressure and brought the rest of the team up with her. She brought both sides of her game every night we played. She was the leader of our team, on and off the court.”
Panther teammate Jessica Farr also garnered First Team honors.
“Jessica has come a long way since the beginning of the season,” noted Shininger. “She has realized that she can be as good as she wants to be; it’s completely up to her. She realized the team had confidence in her, and it completely changed the way she played. She is a force inside.”
Farr, a sophomore center, scored 10.3 points per game and tied for the county lead in rebounds at 7.2 per night.
Rounding out the First Team is Antwerp junior Jessie Arnold. Arnold led the Archers at 7.9 points per game and dished out a county high 66 assists on the season. The junior point guard also contributed 22 steals for Antwerp and led the Archers in free throw shooting (72.5 percent).
Picking up Honorable Mention are Antwerp’s AJ Stuck along with Paulding’s Taylor Hatcher and Ashley Myers. Wayne Trace’s Jenna Stoller and Janelle Davis also were named honorable mention.
AJ Stuck bucketed 7.2 points and grabbed 3.7 rebounds a night for the blue and white.
Taylor Hatcher recorded 5.6 markers a game while adding 4.6 boards per game. Hatcher also had 53 assists and 47 steals on the year.
Ashley Myers chipped in 6.9 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per contest.
Jenna Stoller, the lone senior on the Raider squad, closed her career averaging 6.9 points per game while grabbing 2.9 rebounds a night.
Janelle Davis chipped in 6.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per night for the Raiders while also adding 34 assists and 33 steals.