The 2010 Austin Achievement Awards (Girls Basketball)

Here is my inaugural edition of the 2010 Austin Achievement Awards for girls basketball in the St. Louis area. Player of the Year: Jazmin Hitchens (Incarnate Word) - The 5'11" senior forward (pictured) dominated games on both ends of the floor with her height and versatility as she led the Red Knights to their second state championship.

Coach of the Year: Dan Rolfes (Incarnate Word) - Rolfes guided the Red Knights to their second Class 5 state championship and a national ranking throughout the season. Rolfes' teams are annually among the best defensive squads in the state, but this year's team went to another level in keeping the opposition off the scoreboard. Special mention goes to Edwardsville's Lori Blade in leading the Tigers to a 31-3 record and a berth in the IHSA Class 4A Supersectionals.

  Team of the Year: Incarnate Word - Yes, this seems to be a pattern forming here. Incarnate Word was far and away the best team in the St.

Louis metropolitan area and they proved it every night en route to the state championship.

  Special mention goes to Edwardsville after its 31-3 season and Breese Mater Dei for its undefeated regular-season performance.

  Freshman of the Year: Sydney Stipanovich (St. Joseph's) - The 6'3"

center was an impact player right away for the Angels. She scored 26 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked six shots in her high school debut against perennial state power Columbia Rock Bridge. For the season, Stipanovich averaged 11 points, 10 rebounds and an area-leading five blocked shots a game. Another impressive debut was turned in by Edwardsville’s 6’2” freshman Emmonnie Henderson, who was big down the stretch as the Tigers won 31 games and advanced to the Supersectionals of the IHSA Class 4A state tournament.

  Breakthrough Program: North County Tech - The Golden Eagles made history in 2010 by winning the school's first ever district championship during a 20-6 campaign. In the Class 3 sectional playoffs against No. 1 Bowling Green, North Tech rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to pull of a shocking upset in the first round of the state playoffs. Coach George Merritt's Golden Eagles were led by the excellent junior duo of Yelena Rosado and Angie Randall plus inside player Brittany McNutt.

  Comeback Player of the Year: Mary Beth Mathias (Nerinx Hall) – The 5'11" senior forward was enjoying an excellent junior year in 2009, but she suffered a season-ending knee injury which caused her to miss the entire postseason. Mathias came back healthy to enjoy a stellar senior year in leading the Markers to a Class 5 district championship. Mathias averaged a team-high 15.2 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 48 percent from the field.

  Dynamic Duo: Jordyne Crunk and Jazmin Hill (Althoff) - This metro east tandem formed one of the top starting backcourts in the state of Illinois over the past three years. Together, they led the Crusaders to the IHSA Class 3A Supersectionals in 2009 and 2010. This season, the 5'10" Crunk averaged 13.6 points, 3.6 assists and 2.2 steals while shooting 48 percent from 3-point range. The 5'6" Hill averaged 12.8 points, 3.1 assists while shooting 82 percent from the free throw line.

Both players are headed to the Division I level with Hill signing with Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and Crunk signing with Eastern Illinois. A special tip of the cap also goes to the Parkway South duo of Caitlin Wagner and Brittany Willis, who led the Patriots to a district championship.

  Game of the Year: Incarnate Word-Chicago Whitney Young- These two nationaly-ranked teams met in a big showdown in St. Louis at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Girls Basketball Shootout at North County Tech. Both teams were ranked in the USA Today Top 10 at the time of the meeting.

Incarnate Word controlled the game for more than three quarters, but Whitney Young mounted a furious fourth-quarter rally to escape with a 52-49 victory to hand the Red Knights their only loss of the season.

  Persistence Award (Belleville Althoff): For most of the 2010 season, the Crusaders had trouble trying to solve the riddle of the Mater Dei Knights. Althoff met Mater Dei three times during the season and lost all three games, including the championship games of the Alton Tip-Off and Mascoutah Holiday Tournaments. The fourth time proved to be the charm on Feb. 19 when the Crusaders finally defeated the Knights 52-43 in the Class 3A Regional championship at Mascoutah, which knocked Mater Dei from the ranks of the unbeaten.

     Best Pre-Game Moment: Moments before McCluer North was to take on top-seeded Hazelwood Central in the championship game of the Class 5, District 6 Tournament, they had a special visitor in the locker room. It was former McCluer North player Courtney Thompson, who was a member of McCluer North’s 1986 Class 4A state-championship team. She hit the game-winning shot to give the Stars a 50-48 victory over Hickman Mills in that state-title game. McCluer North Athletic Director Bruce Smith called Courtney and asked her to come speak to the team before they were to play against the Hawks, who were solid favorites. Courtney gave a great pre-game speech, plus she brought along her state-championship medal, which she allowed the girls to pass around amongst themselves. A fired up McCluer North team then went out and upset Hazelwood Central to win its first district championship in over a decade. By the way, Courtney Thompson happens to be my sister.

  Best Weekend Performance (Cor Jesu Academy): Outside of winning a state title, one would be hard-pressed to find a team that enjoyed a better weekend than the Chargers had in early February. On consecutive nights, Cor Jesu defeated Suburban North Conference champion Hazelwood Central, Metro Catholic Conference rival St. Joseph’s and perennial mid-Missouri power Columbia Rock Bridge to win the Webster Groves Winter Classic. Cor Jesu defeated St. Joseph’s 47-43 in the semifinals, then came back to upset Rock Bridge 47-42 in overtime to win the tournament in stunning fashion. The Chargers ended up winning a district title and advancing to the Class 5 state quarterfinals.