Kerns, Nearing Lead All-State Basketball Teams

Jennifer Kerns of Lake City and Jana Nearing of Bonners Ferry were named A-1 and A-2 players of the year, The Idaho Statesman newspaper in Boise announced today.

It’s the second player of the year honor for Kerns. Last fall, the Timberwolf senior was named A-1 player of the year in soccer as she led LC to a third-place finish at state.

It’s a fitting honor for the 5-foot7 point guard, who played a key role in LC’s drive for the state title this winter. Kerns averaged 14.3 points, 5.1 assists and 4 steals as LC finished the season 24-1.

The title was Kerns’ third in her four-year career. She played on two state championship teams and a third-place finisher in three years at Coeur d’Alene High.

Joining Kerns on the A-1 first team is senior teammate Melissa Dodge (6-0 post), Sandpoint junior Alli Nieman (6-1 post), Centennial senior Lynne Overly (5-9 forward) and Nampa senior Tonna Woolery (5-8 guard).

With Kerns, Dodge made the Timberwolves difficult to defend. Dodge dominated inside, averaging a team-leading 15.6 points and 10 rebounds.

Nieman averaged 22.9 points and 10 rebounds as Sandpoint failed to return to the state tournament after advancing to state for the first time in 10 years last season.

Nearing probably wrapped up player of the year honor with her impressive play at state, where she was clearly the best player in the tournament.

The Badger senior wing led the Intermountain League in scoring with 17.4 points per game and averaged 11.8 rebounds and 4.4 steals. She was joined on the first team by: senior Jaynee Paskins (6-0 center) of Preston; senior Jessica Davila (5-8 guard) of Payette; junior Melanie McCabe (6-0 post) of Shelley; and junior Cady Williams (5-10 forward) of Sugar-Salem.

Neither Kerns nor Nearing have decided where they’ll attend college next year. Kerns made a recruiting visit to Washington State last weekend and is being heavily recruited by several West Coast schools, including Portland and Idaho.

Here are the first teams for each classification, including North Idaho players honored on second team or honorable mention:

A-1

Player of the year: Kerns.

First team: Kerns, Dodge, Nieman, Overly, Woolery.

Honorable mention: Andrea Gomez, Lewiston; Ann Shepard, Post Falls; Shannon Riggs, Lake City; Nicole Nipp, Lake City.

A-2

Player of the year: Nearing.

First team: Nearing, Paskins, Davila, McCabe, Williams.

Second team: Amy Regehr, Bonners Ferry; Angie Sorbel, Moscow.

A-3

Player of the year: Alana Coulter, Clearwater Valley, 5-9 senior guard.

First team: Coulter; Margaret McCormack, Lapwai, 5-10 junior forward; Jill Hansen, Firth, 5-9 sr. guard; Tracy Arrossa, Kimberly, 6-0 sr. forward; Kally Lytle, CV, 6-0 jr. center.

A-4

Player of the year: Jennifer Stone, Highland-Craigmont, 6-0 sr. center.

First team: Stone; Lindsay Payne, Shoshone, 5-7 sr. forward; Rachel Ligtenberg, Nampa Christian, 6-1 sr. center; Nikki Solaga, Shoshone, 5-11 jr. center; Catherine Hale, Oakley, 5-7 jr. guard.

Honorable mention: Ruth Brand, Lakeside; Hailey Scofield, Clark Fork.