The votes are in, and Manchester Essex senior standout Harper Brooks has been honored as the Cape Ann League Baker Division Player of the Year.
A versatile guard who gets it done on both ends of the floor, Brooks averaged a double-double to lead the Hornets in both points (14.6 ppg.) and rebounds (10.7 rpg.) per game. She also dished out 3.5 assists and swiped a team-high 2.4 steals per contest. All this after recovering from an ACL injury earlier in her high school career.
Brooks helped the Hornets find their groove down the regular season stretch, winning nine of their last 10 games to earn the No. 7 seed in the Division 4 state tournament. Manchester boasted a 12-8 record overall and was crowned CAL Baker Division champions.
In addition, Hornets’ head coach Lauren DuBois was chosen as the CAL Baker Coach of the Year. DuBois is in her 21st season leading Manchester.
Joining Brooks on the First-Team All-Stars was starting backcourt mate Lily Oliver. A fellow senior, Oliver proved herself as one of the area’s top 3-point shooters, knocking down 55 triples in total throughout the regular season. She averaged 13.5 points and shined defensively, too.
Earning a spot on the CAL Second-Team All-Stars for Manchester was junior guard Emerald Jakes. Jakes was one of the team’s top facilitators, handing out over three dimes per game.
Pentucket’s Amelia Crowe and North Reading’s Sophia Gallivan shared CAL Kinney Division Player of the Year accolades while North Reading’s Bob Romeo took home Kinney Coach of the Year. Lynnfield (Kinney) and Amesbury (Baker) received Sportsmanship Awards, while Pentucket’s Carly Foley, North Reading’s Allie Lanciani and Amesbury’s Shelby Massey snagged Courage Awards.
###
On the boys side, Manchester Essex grinded through a challenging regular season slate to finish with an 11-9 overall record heading into the Division 4 tournament.
The Hornets were rewarded with three total all-stars, highlighted by junior big man Alex Ste. Marie’s nod on the All-Conference squad.
Ste. Marie, a captain, enjoyed a breakout campaign, averaging a team-high 21.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. He knocked down 24 threes and swatted a team-best 14 shots.
Snagging Second-Team All-Star recognition was junior guard Graham Lewis and senior guard Jake Zschau. Lewis, also a team captain, handled the bulk of the ball-handling duties for head coach Tim St. Laurent, dishing out a team-high 3.5 assists per night. He also chipped in 15 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, drilling 32 3-pointers to boot.
Zschau, another team captain, got hot midway through the season and has carried that strong play throughout. He’s averaged 13.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while canning a team-best 36 shots from beyond the arc.
Newburyport’s Cal Atherton was named Kinney Division Player of the Year while Georgetown’s Brendan Loewen earned that same honor for the Baker Division.
North Reading’s Joe Casey (Kinney) and Ipswich’s Alan Laroche (Baker) were named the Coaches of the Year while North Reading, Triton and Ipswich took home Sportsmanship Awards. Courage Awards went to Triton’s Meteus Pinto and Georgetown’s Ryan Shahan.