Abby Rice represented Silver Creek on the First Team All-Stars in CCAA Division 1 East, while Miya Scanlan represented Gowanda. They were joined on the First Team by Franklinville’s Abby McCoy, Randolph’s Sydney Hvizdzak, and sisters Karly and Mallory Welty of Portville.

The achievement for Abby Rice was even more special, considering there were questions surrounding her health even before the season began. However, by the time the games rolled around, Silver Creek’s star scorer looked as healthy as ever.

“When we started the year, she wasn’t even cleared to play,” said Silver Creek coach Tammy Rice, Abby’s mom and coach. “She rehabbed a lot, but she couldn’t play the game of basketball. … With the caliber of players our league added, with the addition of Falconer and Frankliville new to our league, I wasn’t sure how things would go for Abby this year. I’m really proud of her for being a First Team All-Star.”

The CCAA Division 1 East Player of the Year was Danielle Haskell, who graduates as the all-time leading scorer in Section VI with over 3,000 career points. Haskell, who has committed to play NCAA Division-I college basketball at Canisius, finished her senior season with 657 points, with an average of 31.2 points per game. She also averaged 7.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 3.7 steals per game.

Gowanda’s Miya Scanlan is pictured after scoring her 1,000th career point during a game at Salamanca earlier this season. Scanlan was named a CCAA East 1 Division First Team All-Star. OBSERVER File Photo.

Abby Rice was one of three 20 points per game scorers listed in the division, with an average of 20 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game, 5.3 assists per game and 2.1 steals per game. Randolph’s Hvizdzak was second in the league in scoring at 23 points per game, along with 8 rebounds per game, four assists per game and two steals per game. Gowanda did not provide statistics.

Silver Creek was selected as the Team Sportsmanship Award winner, while Abby Rice earned the Individual Sportsmanship Award from Silver Creek. Nicole Whalen was Gowanda’s Individual Sportsmanship Award winner, while Megan Jackson (Franklinville), Mallory Welty (Portville), Allison Ames (Randolph) and Rachael Harper (Falconer) also took home Individual Sportsmanship Awards.

“I think that’s one of the proudest accomplishments I’ve had in coaching,” said Tammy Rice. “When teams don’t see a lot of success on the court, it’s hard to stay positive. We started to convince the girls that our opponents are our competitors, but not our enemies. … We’ve gained a lot of ground in making the girls proud of themselves, but also in becoming competitors.”

Co-Coaches of the Year were Franklinville’s Allan Dunlap and Portville’s Inga Welty. Franklinville went 10-0 in league play this season, while Portville went 7-3, with two losses to Franklinville and a buzzer-beating loss to Silver Creek.

Haskell’s senior teammate, Abby Burrell, earned Second Team honors, along with Portville’s Shayla Wilhelm, Randolph’s Kyra Pence, Falconer’s Sarah Disbro and Ava Fenton, and Silver Creek’s Kiera Brennan. As a senior co-captain for Silver Creek, Brennan averaged 10.6 points per game this season.

“Kiera Brennan had a great season this year. She worked really hard to improve her game,” said Tammy Rice. “She was a great leader this year and played really well running the floor with Abby. … I’m really proud of her for making the Second Team.”

Receiving Honorable Mention in CCAA Division 1 East were Silver Creek’s Jade Bouvier, Gowanda’s Nicole Whalen, Franklinville’s Gabby Milligan, Portville’s Lilly Bentley, Randolph’s Peyton Morrison and Tyra Clark, and Falconer’s Grace Lundmark and Rachael Harper.