Other Articles in this Category
Most Viewed Stories
Most Commented Stories
No matches found.Sophomores rack up wins, awards
Group helped Lady Roadrunners win 47 games
State Fair Community College’s sophomores know a lot about winning.
The Lady Roadrunners’ six sophomores went 47-15 the past two seasons, leading the team to a long run in the national rankings this season.
For their achievements, four of the six sophomores were named to the All-Region 16 women’s basketball team this week.
Forwards Shytoria Davis and Alex Simpson, and guard Amber Mays were named to the first team.
Vanessa Koonce received second-team honors.
Mays, an honorable mention All-American last season, averaged 11.1 points, 4.5 assists and 3.3 steals this season.
“She didn’t start until the second semester of her freshman season, and she made All-American,” State Fair coach Darren Pannier said. “That says it all.”
Davis, who has signed to play basketball at Middle Tennessee State next season, averaged a team-high 12.6 points and 8.3 rebounds a game.
“You can’t teach 6-2 and aggressiveness,” Pannier said.
Simpson averaged 9.2 points and 5.8 rebounds for the Lady Roadrunners.
“Her athleticism is unbelievable,” Pannier said. “(It’s hard) to find a young lady who can go baseline to baseline like she does.”
Koonce finished the season ranked No. 7 in the nation in 3-point percentage. She averaged 8.5 points and was a 44.9-percent 3-point shooter and a team-best 82-percent free-throw shooter.
Koonce made several clutch 3-pointers during the season including one that helped State Fair win a late-season regional matchup against Moberly Area.
She made a 3-pointer to slice her team’s deficit to one point in the closing seconds Feb. 16. Davis won the game on a putback with 0.2 seconds left. State Fair won 61-60.
The Lady Roadrunners finished 15th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 54.3 points a game.
“The coaching staff’s very happy with that,” Pannier said, “and the sophomores were a big part of that.”
Alex Brockington and Trevonna Cannon complete the team’s sophomore class.
“I think the region really respects State Fair,” Pannier said. “The last two years, four were named to all-region. To my knowledge, it’s been a long time since that’s happened. I’m almost 100 percent it’s never happened before.”
