All-Metro girls basketball: Meet the Wichita-area’s top 5 players
Every year, hundreds of girls take to the high school basketball courts of the Wichita area.
Only five can be named to the Eagle’s annual All-Metro Team. They’re the top players from Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties.
Here’s the 2019-20 squad.
Brittany Harshaw - Andover Central
Sophomore, Forward, 6-0, 10 PPG
Andover Central was one of the most well-balanced teams in Kansas this year, but when the Jaguars needed a bucket, they turned to Harshaw.
Only a sophomore, Harshaw showed outstanding versatility in the 2019-20 season. She often brought the ball down the court and went straight to the low post. She can drive to the hoop or shoot from beyond the 3-point line.
Harshaw averaged 10 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game for one of the top teams in Class 5A.
Andover Central finished its season 22-1 with a 5A sub-state championship over Goddard and Kade Hackerott, who was named to last year’s All-Metro team. The Jaguars rolled on into state as the No. 2 seed and beat De Soto 61-52. Harshaw finished with a team-high 19 points in the win.
Taylor Jameson - Wichita Heights
Senior, Guard, 5-5
Tiny but mighty, few players in Kansas came to play with the kind of fight Jameson showed every night.
At 5-foot-5, Jameson showed tenacity on defense while showing extraordinary court vision and an amazing understanding of spacing on the floor. She was Wichita Heights’ quarterback.
Heights fielded four future Division I players in its starting lineup this season, including Jameson, who is signed with George Mason. Sophomores Zyanna Walker and Cayanna Stanley and junior Laniah Randle made up a dominant core.
Each of the Falcons’ future D-I signings possessed a different ability on the floor, but without Jameson, none could have reached her full potential.
Heights finished its season with a Class 6A sub-state championship victory over last year’s champion, Washburn Rural. The Falcons lost 49-48 in the quarterfinal round to Olathe East. Jameson had 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and five steals.
Sydney Nilles - Derby
Senior, Guard, 5-10, 9.3 PPG
One of Derby’s greatest-ever athletes has played her final game in green.
Nilles was named to the Eagle’s All-Metro Volleyball Team in the fall after helping the Panthers to the state tournament. She earns that honor again after serving as the glue for Derby’s fifth straight state tournament appearance.
Nilles averaged only 9.3 points per game, but her senior presence was paramount to the Panthers’ success. She was an outstanding defender and the conductor of the Derby offense. She added 5.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and three steals per game as a senior as the Panthers finished 21-2.
She was a four-year starter. She earned three state trophies in basketball and was a win away from a fourth after she helped Derby beat Shawnee Mission Northwest 44-39 in double overtime. Nilles had eight points, six rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
Nilles is signed with Newman for basketball.
Kylee Scheer - Cheney
Junior, Guard, 5-8, 24.1 PPG
Outside of Central Plains’ Emily Ryan, few players in Kansas can score like Scheer.
At an outstanding 24.1 points per game, Scheer was the motor that pushed Cheney into the Class 3A state tournament for the third time in four years.
Scheer helped Cheney to a final four spot at state with a 66-53 victory over Phillipsburg in the 3A quarterfinals. Scheer and Phillipsburgs’ Taryn Sides scored a combined 42 points with Scheer going for 19, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Cheney finished its season 21-3. The Cardinals were a win against undefeated Nemaha Central away from a second straight state championship game appearance.
Scheer is verbally pledged to Emporia State.
Katie Wagner - Maize South
Senior, Forward, 5-11, 18.1 PPG
Many of the pieces from last year’s undefeated Maize South team were gone in 2019-20, but Wagner held it together.
Averaging 18.1 points per a night, Wagner pushed the Mavericks back to the Class 5A state tournament after beating Eisenhower 44-30 for the third time. It was Maize South’s second trip to state in school history.
Maize South finished its season 18-5 after a 65-35 loss to five-time defending 5A champion St. Thomas Aquinas.
Last year, Wagner earned All-Metro honors as the shining piece on a team that featured several eventual college athletes. Soon, Wagner will be one as well as she is signed with Fort Hays State.
Stana Jefferson - Andover Central
All-Metro Coach of the Year
Andover Central won nine more games than it did last year.
The Jaguars went 13-8 in 2018-19. They caught fire this season, earned the No. 2 seed at the Class 5A state tournament and finished 22-1 after a 61-52 quarterfinal victory against De Soto. It was the school’s first state victory since 2014.
Jefferson won a pair of state championships in 2008 and 2010, and her 2020 team seemed to have a real chance. Andover Central’s lone loss of the season came in overtime against McPherson in the second game of the season. McPherson and St. Thomas Aquinas were the biggest contenders for the title, and the Jaguars wouldn’t have had to face either of them until the final.
Andover Central would have faced No. 3 Topeka Seaman in the semifinal round.
This year’s Jaguars team was known for its balance — not overly dependent on any one player too frequently. The good news: They bring back all but three role-playing seniors.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREPostseason honors selection
The Wichita Eagle’s postseason honors selection process is a combination of coaches’ comments, personal evaluation from sports reporter Hayden Barber and coaches nominations via All-State ballots. Postseason successes are heavily weighed.
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 5:05 AM.