By GEORGE MAHL

Several area girls teams had good seasons in which they made the playoffs. Those teams also had great players to rely upon in order to carry them to the next level. Since it is almost impossible to name a starting five, L’Observateur would like to list players it feels are deserving of being on the 2002-2003 All-River Parishes squad.

There were two local teams that made it to the semi-finals of the state championship. East St. John High School, expected by many to make it deep into the playoffs, and Destrehan High School both represented the River Parishes in Hammond during the first week of March. Four players from those two teams combined are without a doubt players that are deserving of being on the All-River Parishes team.

Representing East St. John is junior guard Kojavona Hamilton and junior guard Erin Keller. Both were steady performers this season for head coach Troy Giordano. Hamilton finished the regular season with a 15.6 points per game average, while Keller finished with 12 points per game.

Over at Destrehan, center Ashley Sentimore, who will be attending Mississippi State University, was a force on the inside averaging almost 15 points a game. She was also a top rebounder in the River Parishes. DHS senior forward Megan Stock finished the regular season averaging 9.5 points a game and played well throughout the Lady Wildcats playoff run.

Like the Reserve Christian School boys team was well represented in the All-RP team, so are the girls. Guard/forward Trenell Smith and Trenese Smith led the Lady Eagles to the 12-B district championship. Trenell’s numbers appear to be almost unbeatable. She averaged 29 points per game, six rebounds, six steals and has scored 2,100 points in her short career. Trenese, likewise, finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals during a shortened season.

“What is amazing is she was able to have that type of season coming off an injury,” RCS head coach Kevin Branch said.

Finally, Crystal Rome, representing Riverside Academy, scored her 3,000 career point on February 7 against Fisher High School. Along with RA head coach Jenny Zeringue, Rome was inducted as a member of the 1,000 point club after the Fisher game. She finished the season averaging over 20 points per game and lead the Lady Rebels to a second place finish in 9-2A.