AHOSKIE n The 2006-2007 All-Roanoke-Chowan Girl’s Basketball Team was announced earlier this week.

Seven players from Bertie, Hertford and Northampton counties were honored as member of the First Team All-Roanoke-Chowan squad. There were eight members of the Second Team.

Leading the way were two young ladies who were named co-Player of the Year. They are Hayes Bryant of Ridgecroft School and Kenya Cofield of Hertford County High School.

Both players were the undisputed leaders of their squads and were the go-to players.

“First of all, I’d like to congratulate Kenya on being selected co-Player of the Year,” said Joan McCullough, who was the Head Coach at HCHS during Cofield’s senior season. “This is a great honor for her.

“Kenya had the knack of making coaching challenging yet enjoyable at the same time,” McCullough continued. “She meant a lot to our team.”

Ridgecroft Head Coach Doug Cobbs was equally pleased with Bryant being honored.

“Hayes was our go-to person on the offensive end,” Cobbs said. “Whenever we needed a score, we got the ball to her. She was aggressive taking the ball to the hole.

“Hayes is a team player, an excellent passer and a good rebounder,” he said. “Best of all, she’s a junior.”

Cofield and Bryant were members of the All-Roanoke-Chowan Second Team in 2005-2006. Bryant was a Second Team member during the 2004-2005 season as well.

The Best Offensive Player in 2006-2007 was Northeast Academy’s Jeanie Hargrave. The leading scorer for the Lady Eagles in both her junior and senior seasons, Hargrave was one of the most prolific scorers in the region.

She was named to the All-Tarheel Independent Conference in 2007.

Hargrave was perhaps the best player in the region at picking off passes and turning those steals into easy points on the other end. Her quickness and effort got the attention of both her teammates and opposing coaches.

A season ago Hargrave was a member of the All-Roanoke-Chowan Second Team.

The Best Defensive Player in 2006-2007 is also a senior: Bertie High School’s Shanelle Foster.

“Whenever we had an opposing player with a hot hand and needed to shut her down, I put Foster on her,” Lady Falcon mentor Alice Lyons-Bennett said. “Most of the time she prevailed. Shanelle will be missed.”

The final individual honoree is Bertie High School’s Lyons-Bennett. The long-time coach of the Lady Falcons won her second consecutive Coach of the Year honor.

Lyons-Bennett entered the season without two-time All-Roanoke-Chowan Player of the Year Jessica Breland. Most of the area’s media indicated the success of this year’s team would depend on Lyons-Bennett.

She answered the call by molding a team dominated by youngsters and keeping them among the top tier teams in the Northeastern Coastal Conference. She also led them to another News-Herald Holiday Classic sponsored by United Country Joe Murray Realty tournament title.

All seven players on the First Team were new to the squad. Four of them n Bryant, Cofield, Hargrave and Bethel Christian Academy’s Mindy Miller n were Second Team selections last year.

This year’s team consisted of Bryant, Cofield, Hargrave, Miller, Bethel Christian Academy senior Kayla Overton, Lawrence Academy junior Kendall Street and Bertie High School’s Equalia Vines.

This year’s Second Team was headlined by Foster. She was joined by teammates Laquetta Leary, Tierra Brown and Satora Swain.

The All-Roanoke-Chowan Second Team also included Ridgecroft Senior guard Jo Revelle Murray, Lady Ram teammate April Piland, Ahoskie Christian School’s Sarah Calderado and Bethel Christian Academy’s Kelli Hoggard.

Rounding out the 2006-2007 honorees were Honorable Mention selections Northeast Academy teammates Joanna Boone and Brittany Wade along with Hertford County High School’s Ashley Fountain and Raquetta Moore, Ridgecroft’s Lauren Lilley, Lawrence Academy’s Jessie Harden, Bertie High School’s Yashanti Bridgers and Ahoskie Christian’s Shanee Ross and Amanda Hall.

Notes…Northeast Academy and Ridgecroft School have each had players win all three individual awards after this season. Northeast had Shannon Jenkins (Player of the Year), Lyndal Brown (Best Defensive Player) and now Hargrave (Best Offensive Player). Ridgecroft had Best Defensive Player (Kathryn Vick), Best Offensive Player (Sarah Beth Greene) and now Player of the Year (Hayes Bryant)… In four years only two coaches have won the Coach of the Year Award. They are Alice Lyons-Bennett and Doug Cobbs… Previous Players of the Year included Shannon Jenkins and Jessica Breland… Previous Best Offensive Players were Jessica Breland and Sarah Beth Greene… Previous Best Defensive Players were Kathryn Vick, RonGina Wilder and Lyndal Brown.