Girls Basketball Second Team

Published online on Friday, Apr. 03, 2009

Ebone Brown

School: Tulare

Year: Senior

Position: Forward

Need to know: The best player that few knew outside of Tulare County, she averaged 18.4 points, 13.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.5 steals while just missing the East Yosemite League Player of the Year honor for the 21-7 Redskins. “She’s the most extraordinarily athletic girl I’ve seen in 13 years,” Tulare coach Doug Pitkins said. “She stacks up favorably with the players in the Valley.”

Kortani Brown

School: Edison

Year: Junior

Position: Forward

Need to know: Shared the County/Metro Athletic Conference Player of the Year award with teammate and Bee first-teamer Linda Murray. Brown averaged 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals. “She knows how to run the floor, drive to the hoop and has a quick first step,” Tigers coach Sue Mahackian said. “She’s one of the best players in the Valley, she truly is. She has very natural ability. In the blink of an eye, she does a spin move and is done with you. And she knows how to pass.”

Veronica Gines

School: Sanger

Year: Senior

Position: Guard

Need to know: Respected by coaches throughout the Central Section, the two-time All-County/Metro Athletic Conference selection averaged 12.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 4.6 steals for the 23-6 Apaches. She’s also a section finalist in track and field, where she holds school records in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles. And she has a 3.8 grade-point average.

Larissa Hensley

School: Fresno Christian

Year: Senior

Position: Guard

Need to know: Two-time West Sequoia League Most Valuable Player and four-year player led the Eagles to an 8-0 league record, a Central Section runner-up finish in Division V, into the Southern California Regional semifinals and 22-7 overall mark. She averaged 14 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 4.6 steals. She nearly willed the Eagles to the D-V title, delivering 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and seven steals in a 44-42 loss to Coast. A 4.1 grade-point average boosts her “ultimate goal” of playing college basketball.

Taylor Spikes

School: Hanford

Year: Junior

Position: Guard

Need to know: One of the most feared long-range shooters in the Central Section made 79 3-pointers with 42% accuracy from behind the arc while averaging 10.5 points on a 26-5 team that had 10 players average at least 5 points and routinely pulled starters with big leads. Finishing strong, she made 21 points on 7-of-10 3-point shooting as the section’s Division II champion routed Beverly Hills 90-65 in the Southern California Regional.

Tabby Torres

School: Corcoran

Year: Junior

Position: Guard

Need to know: A year after leading the Central Section in scoring (24.0), the repeat Bee second-team All-Star averaged 21 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.4 steals as the Panthers roared through the East Sequoia League (8-0), captured the section D-IV crown and finished 28-8. She delivered 18 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and five steals while controlling a 63-58 win over Kingsburg for the section title at Selland Arena.

She already has 1,853 points in a three-year career.

“I think a good case could be made for her being in the top five players in the Valley,” Panthers coach Doug White said. “When you talk about a season that had 140 assists, 120 steals and 7 rebounds a game, you have one of the greatest all-around seasons in the history of the section.

“Also, I would be willing to bet she has already been to the line more than any girl in section history. She averaged 10 free throws a game. She is on track to rewrite the section history book and the scary thing about her is that she works harder in the offseason than any kid I’ve ever coached.”