by Malcolm Butler, Kyle Roberts and Scott Boatright
A pair of point guards took home the top honors on the All-Lincoln Parish Journal Girls Hoops Team as Simsboro’s Ikeia Brown and Cedar Creek’s Allie Furr earn some additional hardware.
Brown is the All-LPJ Offensive MVP while Furr is the All-LPJ Defensive MVP. Cedar Creek’s Gene Vandenlangenberg is the Coach of the Year for the parish for the second straight year.
Joining Brown and Furr on the five-member team is Ruston junior guard Jaliyah McWain, Cedar Creek senior forward Lizzie McAdams and Ruston sophomore forward Kiersynce McNeal.
Brown earns the Offensive MVP honor after guiding the Lady Tigers to a 15-12 record and the District 2B title and the first round of the Non-Select School Division V playoffs. The 5-foot-2-inch senior jitter-bug averaged 25.2 points and over 5.0 rebounds, assists and steals per game for Simsboro. The Lady Tigers were a perfect 6-0 in district play with an average margin of victory of over 25.0 points per game.
Furr is the recipient of the Defensive MVP for her efforts in leading the Lady Cougars to a 22-7 record and the co-District 2-1A title and the quarterfinals of the Select School Division IV playoffs. The senior multi-sport star — who has signed a college scholarship to play softball at Louisiana Tech — averaged 18.0 points, 7.1 steals, 5.2 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game this year after taking over the point guard responsibilities for the program.
Vandenlangenberg is the repeat winner of the Coach of the Year Award. Despite graduating all-state and all-LPJ MVP guard Sarah Adams from last year’s state runner-up team, the veteran girls coach guided his team to a 22-win season, a co-district title and the quarterfinals of the state playoffs.
McWain, who is only a junior for the Lady Bearcats and the early favorite to be the best girls players in the parish — and one of the best in the state — next season, and McNeal led a heavily-injured Ruston squad to the Non-Select School Division I playoffs. The duo and their teammates came within 60 seconds of leading the Lady Bearcats to a co-District 2-5A title but came up just short in the season finale against Alexandria Senior High.
McAdams, Creek’s top three-point threat, averaged double figures for the Lady Cougars during the season and was an integral part of the team’s success on the hardwood this season.
All-LPJ Girls Hoops Team
Senior Guard Ikeia Brown, Simsboro
Senior Guard Allie Furr, Cedar Creek
Senior Forward Lizzie McAdams, Cedar Creek
Sophomore Forward Kiersynce McNeal, Ruston
Junior Guard Jaliyah McWain, Ruston
Offensive MVP: Ikeia Brown, Simsboro
Defensive MVP: Allie Furr, Cedar Creek
Coach of the Year: Gene Vandenlangenberg, Cedar Creek
