Merced, Atwater stars named co-MVP by Central California Conference coaches
Merced High senior Khya Martin was surprised when she heard the news. Martin and Atwater junior Amoni Claiborne were named co-Most Valuable Players by the Central California Conference girls basketball coaches.
“I didn’t expect it,” Martin said. “I didn’t think I’d get it so I was surprised. I was honored and really excited to be chosen. To share it with Amoni is cool. She deserved it just as much.”
Martin led the Bears in scoring at 13.1 points per game and averaged 8.6 rebounds. Martin helped lead Merced to a 12-0 record and its first girls basketball CCC championship since 2014. Merced also finished as runner-ups in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs to Christian Brothers.
“It was a really special season,” Martin said. “We all wanted to do this since our freshmen year. When we won it, it was a dream come true.”
Merced coach Art Solis was also named the CCC Coach of the Year after guiding the Bears to a 27-5 record.
Claiborne credits a lot of her success to playing with the Valencia twins (Kelsey and Lexi) the past two years.
“I take after the twins,” Claiborne said. “My leadership, I took after them. They’ve been our captains the last two years. I hope me being picked as MVP makes them proud. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I would be playing high school basketball.”
Claiborne remembers watching the Valencia twins play before she got to high school. Kelsey was named the CCC Most Valuable Player last year after helping lead the Falcons to a CCC title. Lexi was an all-CCC first-team selection and both scored over 1,000 career points during their Falcons careers.
Claiborne averaged 13.2 points. 4.1 assists, 4.7 steals and 3.5 rebounds this past season to help Atwater finish with a 10-2 record in the CCC.
“I remember watching (the twins) play and the way they led the team,” Claiborne said. “I realized I can do some of those things. I try to be vocal on and off the court. If I’m on the bench, I’m calling out screens and plays in case the players on the court can’t hear our coaches.”
The all-CCC first-team selections were El Capitan’s Caly Curran, Merced’s Kaitlynn Perez and Sierra Smith, Patterson’s Kealo Tufono, Atwater’s Jessica Agundis and Golden Valley’s Charde Proctor.
The second team was comprised of Golden Valley’s Malaysia Lucero, Atwater’s Kiana Kainoa, Atwater’s Samantha Trejo, Buhach Colony’s Cassandra Gutierrez and Merced’s Amari Stamps.
The sportsmanship team selections were Aliene Lopez (Atwater), Skyler Dietz (Buhach Colony), Willow Vanderheiden (Central Valley), Rosealyn Delgado (El Capitan), Isela Gonzalez (Golden Valley), Anaya Seals (Merced) and Ranaye Manu (Patterson).
WAC Girls Basketball
After helping lead the Los Banos girls basketball team to the Western Athletic Conference championship, Tigers sophomore Anissa Sanchez was selected as the WAC Most Valuable Player by the conference coaches.
Los Banos senior Sienna Hampton was also named to the all-WAC first team. Hampton was joined by Lathrops’ Kiersten Constantino, Johansen’s Aminah Manning, Mountain House’s Lyric Moore, Cere’s Celeste Leon and Samariah James.
Second-team selections included Pacheco’s Lauren Greer, Los Banos’ Katie Aragona, Grace Davi’s Adryanna Ege, Lathrop’s Jasmine Denning and Mountain House’s Natalia Moore-Reygoza.
Pacheco’s Michelle Lopez was named to the all-defensive team. She was joined on the team by Ceres’ Lysaida Munoz, Mountain House’s Maya Gorman, Beyer’s Veronica Gines, Lathrop’s Isa Paniguia and Johansen’s Jodene Roach.
Los Banos’ Lorinda Sanchez was named the WAC Coach of the Year.
Southern League Girls Basketball
Le Grand junior Alexa Ultreras was named the Southern League MVP after averaging 16.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs this season.
Ultreras went over the 1,000 career point mark earlier this season.
Orestimba coach Scott Felber was selected as the Southern League Coach of the Year.
The all-SL first team members were Mariposa’s Lily Heavner, Denair’s McKenna Potter, Gustine’s Cynthia Casteneda, Orestimba’s Reagan Marroquin, Le Grand’s Samantha Gonzalez and Waterford’s Shiyenne Young.
The second team was comprised of Jade Robinson (Orestimba), Sarah Milan (Orestimba), Daleisy Garcia (Le Grand), Janet Castro (Le Grand), Evelyn Garci (Waterford), Tianah Vitornio (Gustine) and Giselle Rodriguez (Delhi).
This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 5:30 PM.
