Senior showcase

Basin's best girls basketball players will be at Big Bend All-Star Classic

MOSES LAKE - Not quite ready to give up on the high school basketball season?

Big Bend Community College has the cure.

The first annual Big Bend All-Star Classic will pit some of the Columbia Basin's top senior girls' basketball players against each other, with the teams coached by Big Bend assistant coaches Lucy Char and Aaron Hansen.

The game is at Big Bend's DeVries Activity Center on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students and free for children. A 3-point contest will take place at halftime, and Most Valuable Player awards will be given to the top players from the North and South squads.

Char will coach the North team, which is comprised of Moses Lake's Lorin Montgomery, Vanessa Brischle and Ann Noyes, Quincy's Tashia Zamarron, Soap Lake's Ariel Wernex and Michelle Marthini, and Ephrata's BreAnne Duff.

Hansen heads up the South squad, which features Othello's Courtney Kirkwood, Warden's Brandi Kisler and Kelsey Garner, Connell's Julie Hawkins and Kourtneigh Eppich and Reardan's Brooke Ferderer.

Additionally, some of the Lady Vikings' potential recruits for next year will be on hand.

Megan Howerton, a 5-foot-8 guard from Touchet who averaged 14 points and four assists per game, will play for the South squad. Howerton led Touchet to a third-place finish at the 1B state tournament, where she was named a first-team all-tournament player. Howerton was also a first-team choice to the All-Blue Mountain League squad.

Lacey Nordby, a 5-8 guard from West Valley-Spokane, joins Howerton on the South squad. Nordby's squad wrapped up an appearance at the 2A state tournament last week, and she was a first-team selection to the All-Great Northern League team after averaging eight points per game.

Cheney's Kyle Miller, who scored 16 points per game and shared the GNL's Most Valuable Player award, will play for the North squad. Miller is a 5-8 guard who played in the 2007 2A state tournament under head coach Hal Sautter.

Moses Lake's threesome of Noyes, Brischle and Montgomery keyed the Chiefs' first-ever trip to the 4A state tournament, where they finished second to three-time champion Lewis and Clark. Noyes, a 6-3 forward, averaged eight points a game during the season.

Zamarron was the leading scorer for a young Quincy squad, averaging 18 points per game en route to a selection on the All-Central Washington Athletic Conference second team.

Wernex and Marthini led Soap Lake to a second-place finish in the North Central 2B League. Marthini, the Eagles' 5-10 forward, averaged 13 points and 13 rebounds per contest and a was a first-team all-league choice. Wernex, a 5-6 point guard, averaged 14 points a game and was chosen to the league's second team.

Duff was perhaps the biggest highlight for an Ephrata team that won just one game last season. The 5-4 guard averaged 11 points per game and earned honorable mention status for the All-CWAC team.

The 5-10 Kirkwood was a stalwart scorer and defender for coach Doug Boyer's Othello team, which placed seventh at last weekend's 2A state tournament. Kirkwood averaged 16 points per game and earned All-CWAC first team honors.

Kisler and Garner were the two senior co-captains for coach Todd Kisler's Warden Lady Cougars, combining for 10 points per game. Kisler is a 6-foot forward and Garner is a 5-8 guard.

Hawkins and Eppich teamed up to averaged 19 points and 16 rebounds a game for the Connell Lady Eagles, champions of the South Central Athletic Conference East Division. The 5-10 Hawkins and 5-9 Eppich helped the Lady Eagles earn a 1A state tournament spot.

Ferderer, a 5-8 guard, averaged 17 points a game for Reardan during her senior campaign, earning first-team honors on the All-Bi-County League rosters.