GIRLS ALL-STATE TOP 5 CAPSULES
ADDY BROWN, DERBY
6-foot-3 senior forward
2022-23
- 507 points (20.3 ppg), 270 rebounds (10.8 rpg), 107 assists (4.3 apg), 62 steals (2.5 spg)
Career
- 1,378 points (16.8 ppg), 750 rebounds (9.1 rpg), 274 assists (3.3 apg), 141 steals (1.7)
Worth Noting
Led Derby to a third-place finish at this year’s Class 6A state tournament and a runner-up finish at the 2022 state tournament. … Averaged 20.3 points per game in this year’s tourney to lead all 6A girls scorers. … Had 24 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists in semifinal loss to eventual champion Blue Valley North and added 19 points, 16 rebounds and 3 assists in third-place win over Blue Valley. … Named Ark Valley Chisholm Trail Division I League MVP as sophomore, junior and senior and was three-time first-team all-league selection. … Was first-team All-Class 6A last two seasons. … Is younger sister of former All-State Top 5 selection Kennedy Brown, who now stars for Duke. … Finished with 328 more career points than Kennedy, ranking her top 5 in career scoring for the Panthers. … Has been selected to play in the McDonald’s High School All-American game. … Named Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year. … Has signed with Iowa State.
Coach’s comment
“I tried to provide the framework, the direction we were going, and tell them these are the roles,” Derby coach Dan Harrison said. “But within that framework, I gave Addy permission that was sort of, ‘Hey, you’re out there, if you feel it and you see a mismatch, let’s run a play. You call it and let’s do it.’ She played all five positions, and we would move her around to make it difficult for people to double-team her and triple-team her, and that allowed her to be a great passer in addition to all the other great things she did.”
S’MYA NICHOLS, SHAWNEE MISSION WEST
6-foot senior point guard
2022-23
- 294 points (19.6 ppg), 92 rebounds (6.1 rpg), 58 assists (3.9 apg), 62 steals (4.1 spg)
Career
- 1,208 points (15.1 ppg), 298 rebounds (3.7 rpg), 214 assists (2.7 apg), 219 steals (2.7 spg)
Worth Noting
Came back from injury that forced her to miss early portion of season and averaged nearly 20 points per game. … Vikings were 1-6 without her in lineup and went 10-5 remainder of season, including a seven-game winning streak at the end of the season. … Averaged 16.5 points, 5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game last season. … Named the Sunflower League MVP as both junior and senior and was a four-time first-team all-league selection. … A first-team All-Class 6A selection each of the past two seasons and was a Top 15 selection last season. … Is a member of the US 18 National team and has been a finalist for the DiRenna Award given annually to the top player in the Kansas City Metro Area … Has signed with the University of Kansas.
Coach’s comment
“S’Mya is an elite athlete but even more impressively she is a better teammate, competitor, and selfless leader,” West coach Mark Rabbitt said. “She is an unreal basketball player; she can play and defend all five positions on the court … and do them all at an All-State Level. She is the best point guard that I have ever coached and she is also the best post player that I have ever coached, and her natural position is probably a wing. She makes every one of her teammates a better player. She can score single digits in a game, which seldom happened, and everybody will still go home knowing who the best player on the floor was. She can win and influence a game in a million different ways. I look for her to have a special collegiate career.”
TARYN SIDES, PHILLIPSBURG
5-foot-6 senior point guard
2022-23
- 611 points (23.5 ppg), 211 rebounds (8.1 rpg), 130 assists (5 apg), 139 steals (5.3 spg)
Career
- 2,166 points (22.3 ppg), 756 rebounds (7.9 rpg), 394 assists (4.1 apg), 502 steals (5.2 spg)
Worth Noting
Led Phillipsburg to a third-place finish at the Class 3A state tournament this season with the Panthers going 25-1. … Is repeat Top 5 All-State selection, earning the honor last season as a junior when she averaged state-best 27.8 points per game. … Holds every Phillipsburg scoring record including points in a career (2,166), season (640) and game (40). … She also is Panthers’ single-season and career assists and steals record holder and ranks No. 2 on the career rebound list and No. 3 on the single-season rebound list. … Averaged 21 points per game in this year’s state tourney. … Is a four-time first-team All-Mid-Continent League selection and three-time first-team All-Class 3A pick. … Finished her career ranked No. 15 on the girls’ all-time scoring chart in Kansas, one point ahead of Little River’s Nicky Ramage and 29 points behind No. 14 Sarah Klaassen of Remington. … Has signed with Kansas State.
Coach’s comment
“Taryn had an amazing senior year to cap off an incredible high school career,” Phillipsburg coach Rachel Miller said. “She is the most decorated player to go through Phillipsburg High School and is arguably one of the best to play in the state of Kansas. Taryn's leadership on and off the floor combined with a high basketball IQ make her a very special player. Taryn impacts the game just as much defensively as she does offensively, her future at Kansas State is very bright!”
TALEXA WEETER, GOODLAND
6-foot senior guard/forward
2022-23
- 608 points (23.4 ppg), 187 rebounds (7.2 rpg), 75 steals (2.9 spg)
Career
- 1,639 points (16.9 ppg), 550 rebounds (5.7 rpg), 221 steals (2.3 spg)
Worth Noting
Led Goodland to back-to-back Class 3A state championships with Cowgirls going 26-0 this season. … Averaged 27.7 points per game in the state tournament this season, including 31 points and 8 rebounds in the 59-37 win over Cheney in the championship game. … Also scored 32 points in 54-51 semifinal win over Silver Lake. … Had a season-high of 40 points this season and also posted season highs of 14 rebounds and 7 steals. … Shot 82.8% from free throw line and 33.3% from 3-point range during her career, hitting 192 career 3s. … Finished career as Goodland’s all-time leading scorer and ranks in the top 10 in rebounds and steals. … Averaged 14.7 points per game in last year’s state tourney as Goodland won first title since 1980. … After being second-team All-Great West Activities Conference pick as freshman was three-time first-team selection and this year was named MVP in conference that boasts two Division I players and three Division II signees. … Has signed with Fort Hays State for basketball. … Also was a first-team All-Class 3A selection in volleyball and led Goodland to 3A state appearances the past two seasons.
Coach’s comment
“Talexa has done such a great job of expanding her game throughout her four years at Goodland High School,” Goodland coach Bill Biermann said. “Always a tremendous shooter, she has become our leading rebounder this year and has developed the ability to drive the ball and finish at the rim. We rarely ran specific plays for Talexa nor ran isolation. She got all her points through our regular offense and what she created on her own. A fantastic team player who developed into a tremendous leader her senior year. And yet when we needed her the most, she stepped up every time in leading our team to back-to-back state titles.”
JADYN WOOTEN, BLUE VALLEY
5-foot-6 junior guard
2022-23
- 501 points (20 ppg), 165 rebounds (6.6 rpg), 113 assists (4.5 apg), 50 steals (2 spg)
Career
- 1,259 points (17.2 ppg), 352 rebounds (4.8 rpg), 306 assists (4.2 apg), 166 steals (2.3 spg)
Worth Noting
Has led Tigers to top-four finishes at Class 6A state tournament each of the past two seasons, with Blue Valley taking fourth this season and third in 2022. … Averaged 19.2 points per game as a sophomore and 12.1 as a freshman. … Has had 4 games of 30 or more points in her career and 4 with at least 9 assists. … Has already set Tiger’ career scoring record and her 501 points this season broke her own single-season scoring mark. … She also is Blue Valley’s single-season and career assist record holder and has the career steals mark as well. … Currently ranks second in 3-pointers made in a game and career and is second in assists in a game. … Is a two-time first-team All-Eastern Kansas League selection and was named MVP of the league this season. … Also was a first-team All-Class 6A pick last year. … Has committed to Oklahoma State and is ranked as the No. 1 player in Kansas for the Class of 2024 by Prep Girls Hoop publication.
Coach’s comment
“Jadyn is not a player who is worried about her stats,” Blue Valley coach Bruce Erickson said. “She does an outstanding job getting the ball to her teammates, very unselfish and is the best ball handler I have ever had. She is our best team rebounder and ia a point guard who goes and gets the ball. A great team leader who understands the game as good as any player I have had in 41 years.”
BILL BIERMANN, GOODLAND
Coach of the year
2022-23
- 26-0 Class 3A state champions
Career
- 84-34, Back-to-back Class 3A state champions
Worth Noting
Has led Goodland to back-to-back Class 3A state championships. … 2022 state title was first for Cowgirl program since 1980. … Is 131-95 in his career, including 50-2 in the last two seasons. … Previously coached at his alma mater, Wichita County, from 1999-2004 and led the Indians to the 2003 Class 2A state tournament. … Also played on three state-tournament teams at Wichita County, including 1990 Class 3A state championship team. … Began coaching/teaching career at Santa Fe Trail and was assistant coach on Chargers’ 1997 undefeated Class 4A state championship team. … Has been superintendent at Goodland for past 12 years and returned to coaching five years ago when school couldn’t find a coach for the girls’ program, which was coming off 1-20 season. … Cowgirls went 4-17 in first season, then improved to 12 and 18 wins before back-to-back title seasons.
Coach’s comment
“Hats off to the girls,” Biermann said. “They’re the ones that deserve all the credit for everything they accomplished. I knew we could be good. Did I know we’d be 50-2 in the last two years and 26-0 this year, back-to-back state champions in a 3A field that’s loaded? I don’t know that I would have said that. I knew we had some special players, but that doesn’t happen without them putting the time and the effort in and believing in each other in everything they do. They’re an incredible group of kids.”