All-County Girls Basketball Team

Player of the Year Gianna Messina, Academy of the Holy Names

By SCOTT PURKS
Published April 8, 2007

Player of the Year Gianna Messina, Academy of the Holy Names

First team

Catriana Messina, Sr., G, Academy of the Holy Names

Messina, who signed with the University of Tampa, averaged 15 points, a county-high eight assists and 4.5 steals.

Paris Moore, Jr., G, Bloomingdale

Consistent and dynamic, averaging 17 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three assists a game.

Chanele Patton, Jr., F, Blake

Averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds for a team that went 21-4 before losing in the second round of the playoffs.

Shawnta Snakovsky, Jr., G, Sickles

Snakovsky was sharp from the outside, averaging 17 points a game, often scoring from beyond the 3-point line.

Coach of the Year

Casey Higgins, Academy of the Holy Names

Higgins led the Jaguars to a 27-4 record and to its biggest victory in many years, a 40-39 buzzer beater over St. Petersburg Catholic in the region final. Before that victory, SPC had won eight of nine previous meetings between the teams, including a 55-33 victory in the district final.

Second team

Shalisia Hall, So., G, Hillsborough

Christine Raffoul, Sr. F, Wharton

Samara Shepherd, Jr., F, King

Michelle Taylor, Fr., F, Plant

Ayala Wasser, So., G, Tampa Prep

Honorable mention

Academy of the Holy Names - Katie Davis; Alonso - Meranda Maley, Lisette Perez; Armwood - Megan Fitzpatrick, Asia Goodman, Alexis Walker; Blake - Jade Givens, Robyn Williams, Bernisha Wilson; Bloomingdale - Chelsea Edwards, Anna Sleyzak; Cambridge - Caitlin Deboer, Amber James; Chamberlain - Sierra Crawley, Jessica Mouse; Citrus Park Christian - Rachael Bode; East Bay - Albanie Gant, Taja Robinson; Freedom - Barbara Battle, Charlet Davis, Kelley Maronic; Gaither - Jamie Kamps-Duac, Becky Newman; Hillsborough - Khai Grubbs; King - Shardrecka Collins, Brittany Crawley, Nicole Hensel, D'arra Williams; Leto - Maryssa Clark; Middleton - Quinette Johnson, Roneisha Reid; Plant - Kiersten Hanna, Kaitlyn Ostroski; Plant City - Sade Dunkley; Riverview - Belle Benitez, Marissa Trugillo; Seffner Christian - Arielle Jadlowski, Jenny Moorer; Sickles - Stephanie Green, Katie MacKenzie, Melissa Ramsey; Tampa Bay Tech - Andrea Bridges; Tampa Catholic - Katelyn Bruns, Eule Colette, Michelle Gingras, Alexa Trafficante; Tampa Prep - Clara Arrington; Wharton - Alycia Honeyghon, Angel Perez.

Did you know?

Messina carried a 4.9 GPA and scored 28 on the ACT - which, though she didn't necessarily need it because she earned a full basketball scholarship, qualified her for a Bright Futures academic scholarship, which she can now use as cash for school expenses. "It was really nice to get rewarded for the academics," Messina said. "I plan on majoring in finance and becoming an adoption lawyer. The Bright Futures can help me down the line."

College plans

Messina will attend South Florida, a place she believes is on the rise when it comes to women's basketball. "We have a great class coming in," Messina said. "I'm looking forward to seeing how the talent will come together at the next level."

They said it

"I will really miss playing with my (identical twin) sister (guard Catriana). Not many people can say they played with their sibling for four straight years. And you know, I loved every minute of it. I can never say enough good things about my sister and what she's meant to me." - Gianna Messina.

Without a doubt, Messina was the county's most dynamic, durable and determined player, averaging 24 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and three assists a game. The senior guard also helped lead her team to a 27-4 record and to the Class 3A state semifinals. Along with this honor, Messina was named Florida's Class 3A player of the year, and two weeks ago, she received the Hillsborough County School's girls basketball player of the year award. Most impressive accomplishment: "Most definitely reaching the state final four as a team," Messina said. "I think all the other individual awards branch off the team's accomplishments. My team really came together at the end of the season, and that was really something we could all be proud of."

Ashley Milian, Sr., F, Riverview

Milian averaged a double double (18 points and 13 rebounds), but also averaged nearly four steals a game.

[Last modified April 8, 2007, 07:29:33]