FAYETTEVILLE — Hardly anyone was surprised when the Most Valuable Player award was announced with 2:00 left in the Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star girls basketball game Wednesday night at Walton Arena.
Arkansas signee Melissa Wolff, who played for Class 7A state champion Cabot, took the honor after finishing with 9 points, a team-high 6 rebounds, 2 blocked shots and 1 steal in 15 minutes to help the East defeat the West 75-59.
“She can go right, go left, she can score and she’s savvy,” West Coach Jerry Chumley of Benton said. “She’s got all the tools, and we knew that.We knew she was going to be a hard guard for us. We did a good job on her sometimes, but she’s going to make plays.”
Wolff, whose Cabot team defeated Fort Smith Northside 51-41 in this year’s Class 7A state championship game, scored four points in a 9-0 run that gave the West a 67-50 lead with 5:24 left Wednesday night. She hit two free throws during the decisive run as the West made 11 of 12 free throws in the fourth period and 28 for 34 in the game.
“I’ve had great coaches throughout everything,” said Wolff, who chose Arkansas over scholarship offers from North Texas and Arkansas State. “I had a great team here. All the players were a lot of fun. It was a special way to end my high school career.”
Chelsey Rhodes of Monticello led the West with 10 points, but East Coach Rusty Garner of Harding Academy said Wolff was an easy choice for MVP.
“What she did today was what she’s done all week,” Garner said. “She competed. She always finds herself in the right spot. She shoots it when she should shoot it. She rebounds when you need her to. She’s going to get teammates open, and she knows how to play the game.”
The East led throughout the first period, but the lead changed hands six times during the second and third periods.
Michaela Thompson of Viola completed a three-point play with 3:17 left in the third period to give the East a 29-27 advantage, and the East led the rest of the way. Thompson added a layup with 2 seconds left in the third period on an assist by Little Rock Parkview’s Erin Peoples, giving the East a 35-31 halftime lead.
The game consisted of five eight-minute periods, with halftime coming after the third period.
The West cut the lead to three points twice during the fourth period but could get no closer.
“We went through a fouror five-minute dry spell where we didn’t knock down any shots,” Chumley said. “You do that against that team, and you’re going to dig a hole. They’re very good, and that lull we went through where they built the lead up to 15 or 16 did us in.”
Jessica Flanery of Mountain View scored a game-high 11 points in 16 minutes and earned Most Outstanding Player honors for the West. Flanery’s short jumper with 4:10 left in the third period gave the West its final lead at 27-26 before Thompson’s three-point play put the East back ahead for good.
Shabr’an Richardson of Dumas was named Most Outstanding Player for the East. Richardson, an Alabama A&M signee, finished with 5 points, 4 rebounds and a game-high 3 blocked shots in 13 minutes.
All-Star glance WHAT Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star Games WHERE University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ADMISSION $6 SCHEDULE MONDAY’S GAMES SPORT RESULT Baseball East 4-8, West 1-7 Softball East 8-11, West 5-10 TUESDAY’S GAMES Girls soccer West 2, East 1 (PK) Volleyball East 3, West 2 Boys soccer West 2, East 1 WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Girls BB East 75, West 59 Boys BB East 84, West 69 TODAY’S GAME Football Razorback Stadium 7 p.m.
Sports, Pages 26 on 06/21/2012