Top female hoopters in Union County

I just want everyone to know, I put some thought into my list of the top female basketball players in Union County over the past 20 years. I’m hesitant to publish this only because there were so many outstanding girls, I know I’ll leave someone out. I tried my best, though. First, my criteria for consideration is the player had to graduate from Union County. The senior year is too important not to be included in my examination. So, I have to exclude players like Destinee Rogers, Desiree Rogers, Brittany Johnson and Jasmine Canser from Strong, Julie Smith from Union, Kristian Tester from El Dorado and Chasity Henry from El Dorado. For the rest of my criteria, see my previous blog post. Without further adieu, counting backwards, here are the best dozen girls basketball players in Union County over the past two decades. 12. Kendra Marsh - Smackover: Kendra had a solid career at UAPB after leading the Lady Bucks’ program from the cellar to the penthouse. The 5-3 point guard joined a Smackover team in the midst of a three-year losing streak. As soon as she arrived at the end of her freshman season, she led the team to its first win and into the regional tournament. Her 82.8 free throw percentage is still the best in the county. I’ve never seen anyone in any sport turn an entire program around so quickly. Kendra was a two-time News-Times Player of the Year because of her leadership in addition to her stellar guard skills. It helped she was part of an outstanding group of athletes, but she was the unquestioned leader. 11. O’Sheta Terry - Junction City: O’Sheta is a bit of an enigma for me. She never won Player of the Year and was underwhelming at times, especially in big games. At about 5-10, she was an incredible athlete and a robotic, pogo rebounding machine. In 1994, O’Sheta averaged 26.1 points and 13.5 rebounds. Incredible numbers but the Lady Dragons were just an average team. I, personally, questioned the validity of her rebounding statistics but, even if they were inflated, she was still one of the best offensive glass cleaners I’ve ever seen. She signed with Henderson State but never played for the Lady Reddies. 10. Maranda Parker - Strong: If I could build the perfect female player, she’d be about 5-foot-10 with guard skills, 3-point range, strong enough to play in the post and an unselfish attitude. Throw in some blonde hair and you have Marandalynn Parker. I’m partial to versatility and she epitomized that. She was a role player on Strong’s back-to-back state championship squads. As the lone returning starter, she led the Lady Bulldogs to the state quarterfinals in her final season. It was her senior year that she showcased her overall skills, both on the court and as a leader. Maranda went on to enjoy a solid career at OBU. 9. Mary Beth Gilmore - Union: What can I say? I have a soft-spot for self-made players. No one, except maybe Dana Hodges, got more out of her ability than Mary Beth Gilmore. At about 5-8, she was a dominant post player who re-tooled her own game to become a dynamic 3-point shooter. It’s not her skills and certainly not her athletic ability that puts Gilmore on this list. She’s simply the most hard-nosed player I’ve covered. Relentless, opposing coaches told me off-the-record their players, literally, feared her. Strong as a bull and about as a nice, no one enjoyed physical contact on the court as much as Mary Beth, who owned the state record for free throws made in a game (28-of-31 vs. Stephens) and in a season (271-344, 78.7 percent) in 2003. After leading Union to the state finals, she signed with SAU but never played after ankle surgery. 8. Jamie Floyd - Smackover: Another 5-foot-10 athlete, Jamie had the luxury of playing beside Kendra Clark for her first two years. The two of them formed an incredible, athletic post duo for the Lady Bucks. Jamie made a living with her athletic ability, chewing up rebounds like Skittles, but she was also money from about 12 feet and in. Jamie went the JUCO route out of high school but finished her career at the Division I level at Southeastern Louisiana. 7. Latasha Smith - Strong: I like versatile players but Tasha Smith was too good in the post to leave out of the conversation. She was only about 5-foot-10 but her strength under the basket made her a feared foe during her four-year career. But, I think Smith’s athletic ability is over-looked. She wasn’t much of a leaper but her footwork and stick ‘em hands made her tough to deal with. Tasha was plagued by knee troubles throughout her career but still led the Lady Bulldogs to four state tournaments. She signed and played at SAU. 6. Sharonda Davis - Union: Give Tootie credit for both her success and the success of Mary Beth Gilmore, who had to revamp her game and change positions or sit on the bench behind Davis. Tootie, a 5-10 athletic forward, was blessed with off-the-charts leaping ability. But, she was also skilled with a turnaround jump shot as good as anybody’s I’ve covered. She always turned to her right, over her left shoulder. Everybody knew which way she was going to turn but her shot was impossible to block once she rose into the air. And, it was cash money from about 15 feet. As a senior, she showed the clutch gene, hitting incredible game-winning or game-tying shots. She went on to have an outstanding career at SAU. 5. K.J. Smith - Strong: Oh, what could have been. I say this but K.J. never did. She tore her ACL in the first game of her freshman year. She tore the other ACL in the last game of her senior year. In between, she won a couple Player of the Year awards. The 5-8 point guard was the ultimate winner. K.J. could score. She scored over 50 points in the final Union County Tournament game in 1998 and averaged 19.5 points. She could pass, defend, rebound and, most importantly, she could lead her team. It didn’t hurt her career that she played for legendary coaches Ron Triplett and Betty Burge. She went on to play at SAU. 4. Savanna Langston - Parkers Chapel: Simply, the best, most skilled post player I’ve had the pleasure to cover on a daily basis. Savanna could’ve relied on the fact that she was 6-foot-2 and the tallest player on the court. But, she didn’t. She became a deadly 3-point shooter, better than average ball handler and passer and developed a myriad of go-to moves in the post. Savanna’s personality was also a strong suit. Unassuming, she treated accolades the same way she did triple-teams - with a shrug of her shoulders. She led the Lady Trojans to their first-ever state finals appearance before signing with Louisiana Tech. 3. Creshuana Tate - Norphlet: Creshuana was sort of the LeBron James of her time. A lot of folks liked to nit-pick at some of the things she didn’t do well. She didn’t go to her left a lot and, at 5-5, was very thin and could be bumped off balance. I’ll tell you something she did better than anybody I’ve covered - the girl could put the ball in the hole. She could put the biscuit in the basket. She could flat-out score. Creshuana averaged 34.5 points per game in 1992. She’s the only player to score a thousand points, finishing with 1002 in 29 games. Gilmore is next with 756 points in 39 games. Those numbers don’t lie. As for her ability to go left, if nobody’s quick enough to force you left, I guess it doesn’t really matter, does it? Her jump shot was about as pretty as they came, too. Creshuana signed with Arkansas State before finishing her career at SAU. 2. Ashley Harrell - El Dorado: People who only saw Ashley at El Dorado might question this choice. Even she’d probably admit, the Lady Wildcats’ system wasn’t conducive to her overall skills. But, at 5-11, Ashley was one of those rare five-position players I like so much. I saw her at Harmony Grove use all of her skills - scoring, passing, ball handling, defense and just running the team. That was probably the skill she didn’t get to show at El Dorado. Ashley could set teammates up as well as anyone. Her creativity didn’t flourish in the Lady Wildcats’ system, which was too bad. But, she was still a bad girl. She signed with Southern Mississippi and made the all-freshman team before finishing her career at Oklahoma Baptist. 1. Whitney Frazier - El Dorado: Prisoner of the moment, you say? Nope. Whitney graduated high school as the most ready-made college player I’ve covered. At about 5-10, okay, I’ll give her 5-11, she was always the most athletic girl on the court. But, she worked her butt off and sharpened her skills, developing as a ball handler, stretching out her perimeter shot and adding to her low-post move-set. But, Whitney’s leadership vaults her to the top spot. The Lady Wildcats won a state championship for several reasons. But, the main reason was because Whitney wasn’t going to let them lose. I love a leader, especially one who is willing to spit out an expletive to a teammate and demand they give her the ball at that crucial moment. Whitney went on to earn the WAC All-Freshman Team last year at Louisiana Tech. Tech fans believe she might be an all-conference, perhaps even conference player of the year candidate before she leaves Ruston. We’ll see about that. For now, I hope she’s content with topping my list of best players I’ve covered in Union County.