All-state selections announced for girls basketball include Herkimer, Montgomery athletes

Jon Rathbun, Times Telegram
·5 min read

With the weather clearing and spring sports up and running, the time has come to close the book on the 2021-22 high school basketball season with the naming of New York’s all-state girls teams.

Herkimer and Montgomery counties each had one player honored in Class B while three Herkimer County players were selected in Class C and one in Class D. There were several others chosen from the Center State and Western Athletic conferences, the area’s primary high school leagues.

Weedsport's Sarah Carroll, Cooperstown's Dani Seamon, West Canada Valley's Lydia Reimer and Reese Fellows, and Eleanore Collins from Waterville (from left) were selected for Section III's Class C tournament all-star team, and Waterville's Natalee Collins (right) was the most valuable player. Fellows and the Collins sisters are also among the Class C all-state honorees.

The all-star girls are selected in cooperation by the New York State Sportswriters Association and the New York State Coaches and Sportswriters Organization for Girls Sports. Twelve teams were selected for classes B and C, and seven for Class D.\

Sports: Herkimer County well represented among state basketball all-stars

Sports: Here are your Winter 2021-22 All-Mohawk Valley all-star teams

Class D

Logan Cookinham from Poland, Section III’s Class D runner-up, was the highest selection from the immediate area, a second-teamer as a junior.

Poland junior Logan Cookinham has added a second-team all-state basketball selection to the Class D Player of the Year award she won for soccer in the fall.
Poland junior Logan Cookinham has added a second-team all-state basketball selection to the Class D Player of the Year award she won for soccer in the fall.

Already NYSSCOGS’ Class D player of the Year in soccer in the fall, Cookinham averaged 24.5 points and 8.4 rebounds for the 18-4 basketball Tornadoes and reached 1,000 career points during the season while also leading the team in assists (87) and steals (129). She had high games of 37 points against Morrisville-Eaton and 22 rebounds against Sauquoit Valley. Her season also included back-to-back triple-doubles against Sauquoit Valley and Little Falls, and a pair of 20-point, 20-rebound games. She reached 20 points in all but two games and was in double figures in both points and rebounds 18 times.

Section IV’s Tri-Valley League placed two players among the Class D all-staters and had Franklin senior Kayla Campbell picked as the Player of the Year. Cherry Valley-Springfield junior Joleen Lusk was a second-team selection and Gilbertsville-Mt. Upton junior Hannah Bonczkowski received honorable mention.

The first team was Charli Carroll from Section III champion Copenhagen, Karlee Nims from Section II champion Hartford, Brooke Tillotson from Marathon, Vanessa Hall from Andover/Whitesville and Emma Cole from Fillmore. Reagan Dalrymple, a second Copenhagen player, joined Cookinham on the second team.

Class B

In Class B, Kyla Smith from Section II Fonda-Fultonville was picked for the fifth team and Kylie Kress from Section III Little Falls was selected for the seventh.

Little Falls Mountie Kylie Kress sets up to shoot in front of coach Pam Munger (left) and a group of students during a Section III playoff game against Jordan-Elbridge. Kress is among the all-state selections for Class B basketball.
Little Falls Mountie Kylie Kress sets up to shoot in front of coach Pam Munger (left) and a group of students during a Section III playoff game against Jordan-Elbridge. Kress is among the all-state selections for Class B basketball.

Kress, a senior, was the leading scorer for a balanced Little Falls team that won its first 22 games on the way to an appearance in the sectional semifinals as the No. 1 seed. Kress averaged 13 points and hit 36 three-point shots. Her high game was 27 points against Holland Patent and she scored 15 points in a playoff win over Hannibal when she matched another season high with five three-pointers.

Smith averaged 14.7 points as the high scorer for Fonda-Fultonville as senior.

Putnam Valley junior Eva DeChent was selected as the Player of the Year in Class B while the first all-star team included Payton Graber from Schalmont, Lindsay Hogan from Locust Valley, Kaylee Krysztof from Depew, Morgan Tompkins from Red Hook and SophIe Auer from Lewiston-Porter.

Class C

The Western Athletic Conference had two first-team selections in Class C where Mary Ashley Groot, a junior from Dalton, was the Players of the year. Seniors Madison Meyer from Duanesburg and Alexis Wright from Berne-Knox-Westerlo were named to the first team along with Natalie Fox, a sophomore from Millbrook, and two more seniors, Carle Place’s Amanda Leary and East Rochester’s Samantha Lewis.

West Canada Valley Indian Reese Fellows (22) attempts a shot with fellow all-state honoree Natalee Collins of Waterville trying to block it during Section III's Class C championship game at SRC Arena in March.
West Canada Valley Indian Reese Fellows (22) attempts a shot with fellow all-state honoree Natalee Collins of Waterville trying to block it during Section III's Class C championship game at SRC Arena in March.

Locally, West Canada Valley Indian Reese Fellows was picked for the eighth team, and Mt. Markham Mustang Caroline Entwistle and Frankfort-Schuyler Maroon Knight Skye Simmons were picked for the ninth.

Fellows, a junior, averaged 11.8 points and 8.5 rebounds for a West Canada Valley team that advanced to Section III’s all-Center State Conference, all-Indians Class C final against Waterville. Fellows also led the 19-5 Indians with 25 blocked shots and had 68 steals. She had 12 double-doubles, including a 23-point, 20-rebound game against Dolgeville. Her highs were 24 points against Oriskany and 23 rebounds against Westmoreland.

Entwistle, also a junior, led 16-6 Mt. Markham with averages of 15.5 points and 8.1 rebounds and also led the Mustangs with 109 steals. She recorded 12 double-doubles with highs of 25 points against Holland Patent and 15 rebounds, a total she reached twice.

Mt. Markham Mustang Caroline Entwistle (10) attempts a shot during a game against Central Valley Academy at the Richfield Springs Holiday Tournament. Entwistle was the most valuable player at that tournament and has finished the season as a Class C all-state selection.
Mt. Markham Mustang Caroline Entwistle (10) attempts a shot during a game against Central Valley Academy at the Richfield Springs Holiday Tournament. Entwistle was the most valuable player at that tournament and has finished the season as a Class C all-state selection.

Simmons, a senior, averaged 18.7 points for Frankfort-Schuyler (12-10) and led the Maroon Knights in steals, assists and three-point baskets. She recorded a pair of double-doubles with a season high of 12 rebounds against Morris and a 23-point, 11-rebound performance against West Canada Valley; her high scoring performance was 26 points in a sectional playoff win over Sandy Creek.

Waterville sisters Natalee and Eleanore Collins were selected for the sixth and 12th teams, respectively. Natalee Collins, a junior, averaged 15.7 points and 12.8 rebounds while Eleanore Collins, a senior, averaged 12.1 and 11.8.

A deep group of Western Athletic Conference honorees included Duanesburg sophomores Alison O’Hanlon and Alex Moses third and seventh teams, respectively, Mayfield sophomore Cloey Dopp and senior Kelsey Meca on the fourth and 10th, and Schoharie senior Jessica Meade on the eighth.

Jon Rathbun is a sportswriter for the Times Telegram. Email Jon at sports@timestelegram.com.

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: 2021-22 girls basketball all-state selections announced