ALL-STATE BASKETBALL: Voronenko makes Smithton great

Alina Voronenko signed with Kansas State, then led her team to the state quarterfinals and now has received all-state honors to cap her prep career.

The 6-foot-2 senior from Smithton was named to the Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Class 2 all-state girls basketball team last week.

Voronenko helped Smithton (26-3) finish the season ranked ninth in the state and reach the state quarterfinals for the first time in school history.

She averaged 23.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and 4.6 steals per game.

Smithton coach John Curry said that Voronenko was essential to his team’s success.

“Without her, we would’ve been a good team,” Curry said. “With her, I feel like we were a great team.”

Voronenko, already an all-stater, developed her game even more this season.

“I felt like coming in, if we could get her to develop an inside game, it would not only be good for her but for us, too,” the first-year coach said. “She worked very hard at it. She and Brittany Hotsenpiller would work together before school on post moves. She picks up things quick.”

Before this season, Voronenko shot only with her right hand, but developed a left-handed shot this season, according to Curry.

Marshall’s Courtney Henley, who made the Class 4 second team, was the go-to player for a team that finished 16-9 and won a district championship.

She was a big reason why the Owls made the playoffs for the first time since 2001.

“She had a very good district tournament,” Marshall coach Tom Hayob said. “She really came through. You could say she saved the best for last.”

Henley scored 25 points in the district championship game against Grain Valley. She had 19 in the semifinals against Kearney and 20 against Odessa in the first round.

She made two free throws with 3.5 seconds left to give the Owls a one-point win over Odessa.

Henley averaged 13.8 points and 6.1 rebounds and made 76 percent of her free throws this season.

The four-year starter finished her career with 1,103 points.

Kayla Thomas, a second-team Class 1 all-stater, has been a steady performer for Pilot Grove in all four years of high school.

She helped her team win three straight Cooper County Activities Association championships and reach the district title game in each of the past two years.

The first-time all-stater has averaged a double-double since her sophomore year. Her teams went a combined 82-20 in her four years as a starter.

In her senior year, the 6-foot senior averaged 13.1 points, 10.9 rebounds and 3.0 steals.

“Her ability to score either posting up or facing the basket made her a very dangerous threat to opponents,” Pilot Grove coach Terry Lorenz said.

“She runs the floor very well and attacks the basket with intimidating aggressiveness. Her size coupled with her good ball-handling abilities makes it tough for teams to defend her in the open floor or in the half court.”

Julie Teeple made the Class 3 second team after a record-breaking career at Versailles.

The 5-11 senior had over 1,800 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career.

She ranks first in school history in steals, points and rebounds. She averaged a double-double for her career.

“She is a tremendous player,” Versailles coach Linda Scott said. “She is great offensively and great defensively. I don’t know of too many players who have a career double-double average. She did it all four years. That’s incredible.”

Teeple was a four-time all-district and all-conference pick and made the all-state team twice.

Teeple, who averaged 20.5 points and 11.8 rebounds this season, will play volleyball at Columbia College next season.