Published: March 18, 2008 11:14 pm      

Lady Hornets Rake in Postseason Honors

Thomas voted District 18-4A’s MVP, all-state; Major tabbed Newcomer of the Year, all-region

After one of the most successful seasons in school history, several Huntsville girls basketball players picked up some postseason honors recently.

Led by senior Jaleesa Thomas, the league’s Most Valuable Player, and freshman Ronisha Major, the Newcomer of the Year, the Lady Hornets landed five on the All-District 18-4A squad.

“Jaleesa being named the Most Valuable Player of the district is quite an honor,” Huntsville head coach Devin Gabbard said. “It is such a special honor and I’m not sure that she realizes that just yet.

“Ronisha also came up big for us so many times this season. She is just a freshman so she has a lot more coming her way in the future.”

Thomas was named to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 4A All-State team and received All-Region III honors. Major also made the all-region team for the Lady Hornets, who advanced to the Region III semifinals in 2008.

“Those are even bigger honors for those two,” Gabbard added. “By making the all-state team, Jaleesa was one of the top 20 players in the state. That’s saying something right there about how special she was this season. And Ronisha, she is one of the top players in the region, and this was a tough region full of some pretty talented players.”

Lady Hornets senior Nicole White was selected to the 18-4A first team. Senior Scottie Ward landed on the second team and junior Destini Henderson received honorable mention all-district honors.

“It just shows the depth we had this season with those five making the all-district team,” Gabbard said. “We accomplished a lot this season and the rest of the coaches in the district showed us a lot of respect in the voting. The kids worked hard and they were rewarded for it.”

Perhaps the most impressive thing was that the Lady Hornets had eight players named to the 18-4A all-academic team, which tied with Livingston and Caney Creek for the most in the district. Rebekah Ray, Amanda Spivey, Carolyn Johnson, Candice Pace, White, Henderson, Ward and Lori Johnson all took care of business in the classroom as well as on the court for Huntsville this season.

“I think we had eight on the all-academic team and that was better than most of the schools in the district,” Gabbard said. “That shows how much leadership we had. It’s tough when you have to keep up with grades and progress reports during the season, but I didn’t have to worry. All our players were making A’s and B’s, and I’m proud of that.”

Huntsville finished second in District 18-4A this season with a 10-2 record and went 20-9 overall to finish ranked No. 19 in the TABC’s final state rankings. The Lady Hornets won three playoff games, claiming a bi-district, area and regional quarterfinal championship before falling to Dickinson in the semifinals.