MVI-BeeGraphix Super 6 all-stars
By the Mon Valley Independent
While high school basketball season hasn’t officially come to an end just yet, it seems like the appropriate time to give local basketball standouts the recognition they deserve for their performances in 2019-20.
With that being said, the Mon Valley Independent sports department is pleased to announce its annual MVI-BeeGraphix Super 6 award winners and Super 6 first-team and best of the rest selections.
The awards are for boys and girls player of the year, coach of the year, breakthrough player of the year, defensive player of the year and the inaugural leadership award.
Players of the year
On the boys side, it was hard to find a player more valuable to his team’s success than Belle Vernon Area’s Devin Whitlock.
The sophomore, who transferred from Monessen before the end of his freshman year, had an impressive opening campaign in the green and gold, scoring 557 points and averaging just under 20 points per game.
Whitlock helped lead BVA to the WPIAL championship game for the first time since 1978 and helped the Leopards win a state playoff game for the first time since 1981.
In the process, Whitlock achieved something that not many high school sophomores have, scoring his 1,000th career point in the WPIAL title game.
The Leopards’ season ended with a heartbreaking 84-82 loss to Lancaster Catholic in a four-overtime classic.
The girls player of the year is Serra Catholic senior forward Rayna Andrews.
Andrews also scored her 1,000th career point this season with a career-high 33-point effort in a lopsided win over Jeannette in early February.
She averaged 16.6 points per game for an Eagles squad that won a section title and advanced to the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs.
Andrews was more than just a scoring threat, though.
She averaged a double-double with 13.7 rebounds per game and added nearly four assists per contest.
To read the rest of this story, please see a copy of Saturday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at https://e.monvalleyindependent.com.
