Fantastic feats: Geibel Catholic All-State star Larkin, LH coach Davis highlight All-Area Girls Basketball Team
Emma Larkin gained great notoriety as her freshman basketball season unfolded a year ago and she picked up plenty of accolades along the way while finishing as the area鈥檚 second-leading scorer.
One honor that eluded her was a spot on the All-State Team.
Following a stellar sophomore season that proved last year wasn鈥檛 a fluke, Larkin can now cross that prestigious accomplishment off her list.
The versatile guard was named to the Pennsylvania 缅北禁地 Writers All-State Girls Basketball Class 1A First Team. She was the lone local player to be chosen.
Larkin is also the 缅北禁地 All-Area Girls Basketball Team Player of the Year for her outstanding all-around performance during the 2023-24 season.
The 缅北禁地 Coach of the Year has been the architect of one of the all-time great turnarounds among local girls basketball programs.
Laurel Highlands second-year coach Stewart Davis has taken a team that had trouble winning a game and fashioned it into one of the area鈥檚 elite squads.
Davis inherited a one-win team and guided it to 11 wins and into the postseason in 2022-23 and then steered them to even greater heights this year.
The Fillies went 21-5 overall, finished second to a superb Elizabeth Forward team in the Section 3-AAAA standings, reached the WPIAL semifinals for only the second time in program history and also recorded their first ever win in the PIAA tournament.
How much of an impact has Davis had?
Laurel Highlands had won 32 total games in the eight years before he arrived. Since then the team has gone a combined 32-17 in two years while playing smothering defense, and Davis has his entire team returning.
Larkin, who was the All-Area Player of the Year Runnerup last season, was pleased to see the immense amount of time she puts into her craft pay off.
鈥淢aking All-State means everything to me,鈥� Larkin said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so cool to see the years of dedication, hard work, and passion for the game transfer to accolades like this.鈥�
The Lady Gators finished second to Monessen in Section 2-A and qualified for the playoffs for the second year in a row after they had missed the postseason the six previous years.
Geibel is coached by Emma鈥檚 mother, Sara Larkin, and she was just as thrilled as her daughter when she heard of the All-State honor.
鈥淚 was so happy. I definitely felt a rush of adrenaline with a huge smile across my face,鈥� Sara Larkin said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an honor to be able to savor the moment of achieving this milestone that few ever get. I want to say thank you to the Pa. 缅北禁地 Writers. It鈥檚 truly an honor for Emma to be named First Team All-State. Emma wasn鈥檛 on the list last year, so to go from that to First Team, it was a pleasant surprise, and I couldn鈥檛 be more proud of her.鈥�
Sara Larkin pointed out the significant difference between this year and last year.
鈥淎fter a strong freshman season, Emma knew she had to work even harder coming into her sophomore year,鈥� Sara Larkin said. 鈥淲e expected teams to prepare to stop her, but she is a fierce competitor, so I knew she would rise to the challenge.
鈥淪he鈥檚 a gym rat and watches a lot of gamefilm. That鈥檚 the one thing I appreciate most about Emma as a player, she is mature and committed. She sets goals for herself and her team and does whatever it takes to achieve them.鈥�
Larkin, the area鈥檚 leading scorer and second in the WPIAL during the regular season, averaged 29.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 4.0 steals per game while upping her career point total to 1,209.
The Player of the Year Runnersup are seniors Kaley Rohanna of Waynesburg Central and Rakiyah Porter of California.
Rohanna averaged 16.6 points and 4 assists per game while leading the Lady Raiders to a third consecutive section title. Rohanna finished her stellar career with 1,510 points.
Porter was the area鈥檚 second-leading scorer behind Larkin at 19.0 points per game.
The Coach of the Year Runnerup is Monessen鈥檚 Janine Vertacnik who guided the Lady Greyhounds to a 20-6 overall record, first place in Section 2-A, a 3-1 mark in the WPIAL postseason and a spot in the PIAA tournament.
Other coaches who won section titles were Noah Yarkin in his first year at Elizabeth Forward and Chris Minerd at Waynesburg Central. Also of note was West Greene second-year coach Austin Crouse whose Lady Pioneers won a playoff game for the eighth consecutive season, the longest current streak among local teams.
Other coaches who guided their teams into the postseason were Sara Larkin, Brownsville鈥檚 Patty Columbia, Mount Pleasant鈥檚 Scott Giacobbi, Beth-Center鈥檚 Scott Bower, California鈥檚 Melanie Greco and Mapletown鈥檚 Katlyn Novak.
Joining Emma Larkin, Rohanna and Porter on the All-Area First Team are Elizabeth Forward senior Alyssa Terza and Laurel Highlands juniors Miya Harris and Ayrianna Sumpter, Brownsville sophomore Skyler Gates, Yough senior Autumn Matthews, Charleroi senior Bella Carroto and Monessen senior Hailey Johnson.
Second Team members are Laurel Highlands鈥� Aierra Jenkins, Elizabeth Forward鈥檚 Chloe Zombek and Michelle Jellison, Beth-Center鈥檚 Lauren Brown, Monessen鈥檚 Sidney Campbell, Waynesburg Central鈥檚 Josie Horn, Uniontown鈥檚 A鈥檏ira Dade, Brownsville鈥檚 Ava Clark and Albert Gallatin鈥檚 Mya Glisan and Grayce Panos,
The area鈥檚 top regular-season scorers, according to statistics from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, were Larkin (29.8), Porter (19.0), Gates (17.7), Matthews (17.0), Rohanna (16.8) and Carroto (16.3).
The complete 缅北禁地 All-Area Girls Basketball team is listed below:
Player of the Year: Emma Larkin, Geibel Catholic
Coach of the Year: Stewart Davis, Laurel Highlands
First Team
Emma Larkin, Geibel Catholic
Kaley Rohanna, Waynesburg Central
Rakiyah Porter, California
Skyler Gates, Brownsville
Miya Harris, Laurel Highlands
Ayrianna Sumpter, Laurel Highlands
Alyssa Terza, Elizabeth Forward
Autumn Matthews, Yough
Bella Carroto, Charleroi
Hailey Johnson, Monessen
Second Team
Aierra Jenkins, Laurel Highlands; Ava Clark, Brownsville; Chloe Zombek, Michelle Jellison, Elizabeth Forward; Mya Glisan, Grayce Panos, Albert Gallatin; A鈥檏ira Dade, Uniontown; Josie Horn, Waynesburg Central; Laurel Brown, Beth-Center; Sidney Campbell, Monessen.
Third Team
Amber Sallee, Bentworth; Addison Blair, Waynesburg Central; Haley Gibson, California; Kendra Tharp, Kasie Meek, West Greene; Makenna Lotspeich, Mapletown; Taylor Schwertfeger, Taylor Irwin, Laurel Highlands; Allie Yauch, Frazier; Zhariah Reed, Brownsville.
Honorable Mention
Kayla Larkin, Jefferson-Morgan; Megan Voithofer, Carmichaels; M鈥檏inli Baker, Uniontown; Elizabeth Painter, Whitney Bobish, Connellsville; Malana Burton, Chloe Harger, Frazier; Ava Henderson, Ava Partridge, Geibel Catholic; Leah Hartley, California; Peyton Cowell, Avery Davis, Waynesburg Central; Kayla O鈥橠ell, Bentworth; Violet Thump, Beth-Center.