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Northern Control: Lady Bulldogs dominate all-district honors
By Richard C. White, rwhite@starlocalnews.com
The McKinney North girls basketball season ended two weeks ago in the area round, but the accomplishments from the Lady Bulldogs' record-setting season keep rolling in.
The Lady Bulldogs, who were ranked No. 8 in the state for much of the season and finished with a program-best 30 wins this year, were recently honored with eight all-district selections.
"I'm very pleased," said Michael Oldham, North head coach. "They were all very deserving with their hard work. I'm very excited to have all five starters in the first team and have several reserves make the team as well."
"It shows a lot of the respect she has around the district," Oldham said. "That's the highest compliment you can get as a player. It's a huge show of respect from the other coaches."
Mason credits her teammates for helping her win the award.
"This is amazing," Mason said. "It feels good to receive this. I'm blessed. I've worked hard to earn this and all of my hard work has paid off. And my teammates, they helped me out so much. They'd push me in practice to compete harder. They were encouraging and supportive, everyone on the team was."
In addition to MVP, North was also honored with a Coach of the Year distinction for Oldham.
"I'm so happy for him," Mason said. "He's a great, hardworking coach. All the dedication he's put into our team, he deserves it."
Oldham, though, was quick to defer credit to his players and coaching staff.
"That should be 'Team of the Year' award, not 'Coach of the Year,'" he said. "You get that because your team plays well and performs for you. I'm very appreciative of that. It's a coaching staff award, too. I share this with them."
North nabbed a third superlative with Jocelyn Scott dubbed Newcomer of the Year.
"Jocelyn had a great freshman season," Oldham said. "I could always count on her to play hard and take good shots."
Other top honors for North were first team selections for juniors KK Connor and Amy Kleynhans.
"KK had a great year," Oldham said. "She was one of the best defenders in our area. She always shut down whoever we matched her up against."
Kleynhans' honor was earned after she switched positions this season.
"I've got a lot of respect for Amy," Oldham said. "She went from playing post last year out to the perimeter this year. That says a lot that she earned this honor in her first season at this new position. She stood out amongst the coaches."
Sophomore Chanterria Jackson was also honored as a first-team selection.
"Chanterria, offensively, was one of the most solid players in our district," Oldham said. "She was a real high-percentage shooter and her offensive rebounding was strong."
Mason wasn't surprised her four fellow starters earned the highest distinctions.
"They got those awards because they're so talented and they're not even seniors," she said. "They've performed really well and always put in the time to get better, even when they're outside the court."
The Lady Bulldogs hauled in addition honors with senior Viona Vraniqi and junior Ali Michalak tabbed as second team selections, bringing North's overall count to eight.
While North will lose Mason to graduation, the Lady Bulldogs have their four other starters returning, something Oldham said speaks volumes about the potential that next year's team holds.
"I'm already excited about next year and what next year promises," he said. "Having all of these girls coming back and knowing they're going to work hard over the summer and come back better than they left this year makes it a very exciting time to be a North Bulldog."
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