Area Girls Basketball Players Earn All-State Honors

Neoga High School's Sydney Richards, a 6-foot senior guard/forward, made the Class 1A First Team.

Richards is a two-time Associated Press All-State, named to the second team in 2022 and honorable mention in 2021. She was the National Trail Conference Player of the Year. She was the team's leading scorer with 18.5 points per game and also averaged 9.2 rebounds, 3.1 steals, 2.8 assists and 1.5 blocks. She was All-Tournament at the Monticello Holiday Hoopla and National Trail Conference Most Valuable Player. She was named to the National Trail All-Conference First Team and earned the IHSA Pork Power Player of the Week honor. In her career she went over 1,600 points.

Other members of the First Team include Amiah Hargrove (Christopher), Alayna Krause (Okawville), Gracie Furlong (Galena) and Shelby Bowman (Biggsville West Central).

Named to the Second Team from the area were Lucy Fearday from Effingham St. Anthony and Grace Nelson from Altamont.

Fearday is a 6-foot senior forward-center. She was Associated Press All-State honorable mention last season. Fearday averaged 18.8 points 9.2 rebounds and two assists for a 27-6 regional champion and unbeaten conference titlist ranked No. 6 in the final AP state poll. She shot 51 percent from the field and 38 percent from three-point range. She was All-Tournament at the Robinson Thanksgiving, Mattoon Holiday and National Trail Conference tournaments. She is the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,643 points.

Nelson, a 5-foot-9 junior guard, was named to the AP All-State First Team in 2022 and Second Team in 2021. She averaged 31.3 points in 13 games before suffering a season-ending injury in December. Her team was 10-2 at the time and finished 11-19. She was All-Tournament at the Bob Kerans Tournament in Newton. She was All-State First Team last season.

Others members of the Second Team were Sheridan Harris of Chicago Morgan Park Academy, Addie Hefel of Galena and Carly Foster of Gallatin County.

An area player named Honorable Mention was Gracie Heckert (Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City), 5-foot-10 senior guard. Heckert was AP All-State Second Team last season. She was the team's leading scorer with 17.7 points a game for a 21-11 squad losing in the regional finals to state-ranked Neoga. She also averaged 7.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 3.8 steals. She scored 1,600 points in her career.

Also receiving a single vote from the area were Haylee Campbell (Neoga) and Nancy Ruholl (Effingham St. Anthony).

In Class 2A, Teutopolis High School's Kaylee Niebrugge earned Second Team honors. The 5-foot-9 senior forward, was AP All-State honorable mention last season. She was the leading scorer for the Shoes with 18.5 points a game and leading rebounder with seven a contest. The Shoes were regional champs and tied for seventh in the final AP state rankings. The Shoes finished with a 26-6 record. Niebrugge also averaged 1.5 steals, and one assist per game. She was All-Tournament at the Centralia Holiday, Charleston Holiday and Highland Invitational. She surpassed 1,000 points this season.

Other members of the Second Team were Ashlyn May (Minonk Fieldcrest), Megan Sanaj (Chicago Latin), Anna Beyers (Pana) and Xyanna Walton (Chicago Butler).

Named to the First Team were Abbey Schreacke (Quincy Notre Dame), Xamiya Walton (Chicago Butler), Ellie Cahill (Eureka), Amayah Doyle (Carterville) and Ava Kultgen (Byron).

T-town's Emily Konkel received a single vote.

The Class 3A First Team were Kloe Froebe (Lincoln), Janae Kent (Oak Forest), Jordan Wood (Mundelein Carmel Catholic), Grace Carstensen (LaGrange Nazareth) and Aaliya Guyon (Peoria).

Named to the Second Team were Denali Craig Edwards (Peoria), Amalia Dray (LaGrange Nazareth), Claire McDougall (Washington), Aubrey Galvan (Deerfield), Lexi Kerstein (Deerfield) and Sophia Loden (Mascoutah).

Named to the Class 4A First Team were Skylar Jones (Chicago Whitney Young), Katy Eidle (Arlington Heights Hersey), Lenee Beaumont (Lisle Benet), Sophie Swanson (Barrington), Shannon Dowell (O'Fallon) and Alyssa Latham (Homewood-Flossmoor).

Second Team members were Emily Fisher (Libertyville), Ella Todd (Palatine Fremd), Angelina Smith (Bolingbrook), Brooke Carlson (Batavia) and Emory Klatt (Lincolnshire Stevenson).