The 2017 Wichita Eagle/VarsityKansas.com All-Metro girls basketball team

HALEY ALBERS, CHENEY SENIOR

When the stakes raised, so did Alber’s game as the 6-foot-1 post helped lead Cheney (21-5) to five straight victories over winning teams in the postseason to reach the Class 3A championship game. Albers’ best game came in the sub-state semifinals, when Cheney outlasted Hesston in double overtime. Albers, who scored 29 points, came up with clutch shot after clutch shot to keep Cheney’s season alive. Albers finished averaging 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds. “She deserves all of the recognition she gets because I’ve never had a player at the high school or collegiate level that’s spent more time in the gym than Haley Albers,” Cheney coach Rod Scheer said. “Nobody realizes just how much times she spends in there … in the summer, on the weekends. She’s always there working on her game and it showed this season.”

KENNEDY BROWN, DERBY SOPHOMORE

Already one of the most exciting and highly-recruited prospects in the state, Brown, a 6-6 sophomore, helped lead Derby (20-5) to the Class 6A championship game after a 3-3 start. Brown had the ability to step out and make three-pointers and roam the lane as a two-way force. Brown finished the season averaging 16.4 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 4.5 blocks and also added two triple-doubles. “She’s a kid you can just do a lot of different things with because you’ve got a 6-6 girl in the paint,” Derby coach Jodie Karsak said. “We’re able to pressure the ball and get after it because we know we have Kennedy back there protecting the paint. She just impacts every phase of the game for us even if she’s not scoring and that’s what makes her a special, special player.”

TAYLOR HOLMES, MAIZE SENIOR

Maize (21-4) was carried by its defense to the Class 5A championship game and Holmes was the most tenacious defender, as she played in her third title game in the last four seasons. Holmes helped the Eagles set the 5A tournament record for fewest points allowed in their 51-17 victory over DeSoto and finished averaging 2.6 steals. After serving as as the team’s top perimeter defender the past three seasons, Holmes, a 5-8 guard who has signed with Pittsburg State, upped her offensive game in her senior season to lead Maize in scoring at 11.8 points. “Taylor is one of the most competitive players I’ve ever coached and you can just see the determination in her face every day in practice and in games and our team fed off that,” Maize coach Jerrod Handy said. “When your best player is also your hardest worker and most coachable player, then there’s no room for anybody else to slack off. She was a tremendous leader for us.”

TRE’ZURE JOBE, SOUTH JUNIOR

After losing Kendrian Elliott and Ericka Mattingly to graduation, it was the emergence of Jobe who helped South (22-1) complete a second straight undefeated regular season, a fifth straight City League championship, and extend its winning streak to 53 games. Jobe became the go-to scorer for a defensive-minded team and was able to give South the scoring punch it needed. Jobe finished averaging a team-high 13.7 points to go along with 4.2 assists and 2.1 steals. “She was valuable to our team because of her leadership,” South coach Antwain Scales said. “She put us in the right positions both offensively and defensively and she worked extremely hard to make sure she maintained her poise and fundamentals.”

BRIANNA JOHNSON, WEST SENIOR

The best scorer and defender on a team with the biggest turnaround, Johnson’s leadership was vital to the success of West (15-10) after the program had won nine games the last 13 seasons. Johnson led the Pioneers in the first 10 games before they had their complete team and then ramped up her play to help lead the Pioneers to their first state tournament since 1981 and knock off South in the quarterfinals to finish fourth in Class 6A. Johnson, a 5-7 senior who has signed with Pittsburg State, was the City League’s leading scorer at 15.6 points. “Brianna gave us that leadership we needed and that winning mentality she’s always had,” West coach Brian Johnson said. “She just has this intense will to win. She will pass out on the court trying to get us a win. Brianna leaves everything out there on the court every time.”

BRIAN JOHNSON, WEST COACH

After winning nine games in the last 13 years, West won 15 and reached the semifinals of the Class 6A tournament in Johnson’s first season. West experienced such a sudden turnaround thanks to multiple transfers, as six of the top seven scorers on the team transferred to West. But this season meant the most to four-year seniors like Shyanne Edgerle, Tatyana Cashaw, and Semaj Muldrow, who had been with West all four years. “To give those girls a chance to go out as a winner that was probably the most special part of the season to me,” Johnson said. “Some of them told me after the season it was like a dream come true and to see those girls crying and just happy to be apart of this their senior year, that meant more to me than anything.”

This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 3:57 PM with the headline "The 2017 Wichita Eagle/VarsityKansas.com All-Metro girls basketball team."