WOLSEY — A pair of players, who were instrumental in helping the Wolsey-Wessington girls’ basketball record a third-place finish in the Class B State Tournament this season, have received all-state honors from the South Dakota High School Basketball Coaches Association.
Senior Mallory Miller was named to the first team for the Lady Warbirds, while senior Leah Williams was named to the second team.
Miller is a repeat selection to the Class B all-state team after being named to the second team in 2022. The 6-foot, 4-inch forward/center averaged 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game this season.
“Mallory Miler is a basketball player that doesn’t come around often. She was a big part to the team’s success we had this year,” Wolsey-Wessington coach Josh McGillvrey said. “Being able to shoot the ball like she can, handle the ball, pass the ball and seeing the floor, while being 6-4 is remarkable.
“Her presence took a lot of pressure off the other girls on the team and gave her teammates more opportunities to succeed.”
In addition to her strong numbers on the offensive end of the floor, McGillvrey said Miller’s presence was equally felt on the defensive end of the floor.
“Averaging almost three blocks per game, she was a force for us in the paint defensively as well,” he said. “Her wingspan on top of her height made it very difficult for teams to score in the paint on us.”
Miller will continue her basketball career in the fall at the NCAA Division I level with Arizona State.
Joining Miller on the Class B first team were Viborg-Hurley senior teammates Coral Mason and Denae Mach, who are both repeat selections to the Class B team. Mason, who averaged 18.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in leading the Cougars to the Class B title during her senior season this year, was named as the Class B Player of the Year.
Also named to the first team were junior Ava Lingemann of Ethan, senior Avery Broughton of Corsica-Stickney and senior Mallory Valburg of Jones County.
Williams is making her first appearance on the Class B all-state team for Wolsey-Wessington. The senior guard averaged 18.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game this season.
“Leah Williams has been the heartbeat of this team since I’ve been coaching here,” McGillvrey said. “She has worked extremely hard and has put a lot of time in to be where she is today and it’s awesome to see her get recognized and rewarded for that.”
As the main ball handler this season for the Lady Warbirds, Williams was instrumental in helping the team get established on the offensive end of the floor.
“She controlled the tempo offensively and defensively for us this season,” McGillvrey added of Williams. “We didn’t see a lot of pressure defenses this season because of her ability to handle the ball and getting it up the court.
“Every game she wanted to take on the challenge of guarding the opponent’s best player and we had a lot of success with that,” he said. “Leah really knows how to use her body to get positioning on offense and defense that really made her stand out and gave her a lot more opportunities to succeed.”
Also named the the Class B second team were senior Maddie Horn of Castlewood, senior Jadyn Jensen of Jones County, junior Abby Aslesen of Howard, senior Lydia Hill of Sully Buttes and senior Kate Connor of Howard.
Third-team honors went to junior Skylar Volmer of Lyman, junior Courtney Sees of Avon, senior Mackenzie Everson of Castlewood, junior Stevie Wittler of Sully Buttes, senior Ella Griffin of Dell Rapids St. Mary and senior Jessy Jo VanDerWerff of Gregory.
CLASS B
First Team
Coral Mason, Viborg-Hurley, 5-10, sr., F (18.1 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 3.4 apg)
Mallory Miller, Wolsey-Wessington, 6-4, sr., F-C (18.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.7 apg)
Ava Lingemann, Ethan, 5-6, jr., G (20.6 ppg, 6.2 apg)
Avery Broughton, Corsica-Stickney, 5-11, sr., G-F (17.4 ppg, 9 rpg, 3 apg)
Mallory Valburg, Jones County, 6-0, sr., F (18.2 ppg, 11.3 rpg)
Denae Mach, Viborg-Hurley, 5-9, sr., F (16.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.5 apg)
Second Team
Maddie Horn, Castlewood, 5-11, sr., G (17.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 3.1 apg)
Leah Williams, Wolsey-Wessington, 5-8, sr., G (18.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 5.7 apg)
Third Team
Skyler Volmer, Lyman, 5-9, jr., G (18.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 3.5 apg)
Courtney Sees, Avon, 5-6, jr., G (18.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.2 apg)
Mackenzie Everson, Castlewood, 5-7, sr., G (16 ppg, 6.5 apg, 3.8 rpg)
Stevie Wittler, Sully Buttes, 5-7, jr., G (15 ppg, 4 apg)
Ella Griffin, Dell Rapids St. Mary, 5-8, sr., G (18.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3 apg, 4 spg)
Jessy Jo VanDerWerff, Gregory, 5-7, sr., G (15.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.9 apg)
• Repeat Selections — 2022 (Broughton and Mason, first team; Miller and Mach, second team; Horn and VanDerWerff, third team); 2021 (Broughton, first team); 2020 (Broughton, first team); and 2019 (Broughton, second team).
• Player of the Year — Mason.
