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by Stan Diamond / Observer-Reporter |
Amber Harris led the Little Prexies to
the PIAA Western final this season.
Amber Harris is simply the best
BY MIKE KOVAK, Staff writer
Team play and unselfishness have been two of the trademarks of the
Washington High School girls basketball team.
That team-first attitude helped make the Little Prexies one of the
PIAA's elite Class AA programs the last three years. Yet for all the
balance and talent Washington has, one player managed to stand above
the rest.
Wednesday, Washington senior Amber Harris stood above every other
Class AA
player in Pennsylvania. One day after being named first-team all-state
by The Associated Press, Harris was selected as the Class AA Player
of the Year
in a statewide voting by sportswriters and broadcasters.
It's the highest individual honor for the ultimate team player. As
a senior,
Harris averaged 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists as Wash
High
finished 25-5 and reached the Class AA Western Final, before losing
to
Girard for the third straight season.
"She's very unselfish. She often will pass up shots we think
she should be taking," Washington coach Bill Fleissner said.
"Defensively, we put her on the ball in our press. With her size,
reach and quickness, she creates a lot of problems there."
Harris is one of four WPIAL players to receive Player of the Year
honors. Monessen's Charel Allen, who is being recruited by nearly
every NCAA Division I Top 10 program, claimed the Class A award, while
Meg Bulger of Oakland Catholic (West Virginia) and Moon's Erin Wigley
(Illinois) claimed the Quad-A and AAA awards, respectively.
Harris, a 6-foot forward/center, has yet to make her college decision,
but is choosing from a list of schools that includes Duquesne, Robert
Morris - where Ringgold's Brittany Warren will play next year - and
Division II California University.
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