Warrior Basketball
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Juniors Cory Lange (left) and Justin Hedberg (right) were selected to the ALL-SSL 1st team. Photo by The Tehachapi News.
Twelve Warriors Selected To ALL-SSL Teams
Both the boys and girls basketball programs enjoyed winning seasons, and for their efforts a dozen players were named to the All-South Sequoia League first, second and honorable mention teams.
For the Warriors, Cory Lange was selected as the league's most valuable player along with collecting first team honors with teammate Justin Hedberg.
Also named were second team selections Nick Phillips, who averaged 9.2 points and 3.1 assists per game and Levi Garrett, who had 7.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Honorable mention went to Dallas Scaggs, who had 7.4 points and eight rebounds per game, and Kash Knudson with 6.8 points and 2.8 assists per game.
Lady Warriors taking first team honors were Paige Bennett and Danielle Simpson. Both also earned further prestige, with Bennett given most valuable player and Simpson rookie of the year.
Earning second team honors were MacKenzie Eberle and Rachel Duff, who had 6.7 and 6.2 points per game on the year, respectively. Eberle also had 4.0 assists, a team leading 21 blocked shots and 73 total rebounds, while Duff was the team leader in rebounds per game with 5.9.
Earning honorable mention for the Lady Warriors were Bre Farinas and Amanda Viselli. Farinas had 7.2 points per game and 54 steals on the year, while Viselli was tops in three-point field goals with 16, averaging 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Below is a breakdown of ALL-SSL 1st team honorees.
Cory Lange - Junior
After a stellar junior season, Kern County has joined the Tehachapi community in marveling in the Warrior guard's talent on the hardcourt. Selected as the SSL's MVP and maxpreps player of the year, Lange averaged 20.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, while also throwing down the occasional slam dunk to excite the home crowd. Lange will be looked upon to be one of the top collegiate prospects in the valley heading into next season.
Justin Hedberg - Junior
The talented forward-center was a staple fixture in the paint for Tehachapi, averaging 11.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Hedberg’s inside presence was virtually unmatched by the league's competition, staving off injury at the beginning of the year to enjoy a breakout junior season.
Paige Bennett - Junior
Bennett was the do-it-all Warrior this past season, providing leadership in the backcourt at both point and shooting guard. The talented junior led the team with 11.8 points and 3.3 steals, 3.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game. She was also selected as the leagues Most Valuable Player and was also selected as a MaxPreps player of the year.
Danielle Simpson - Sophomore
Simpson had a strong inside game that won the admiration of the SSL coaches, and for her effort she was selected as a first team honoree and rookie of the year. Simpson had 3.7 points per game and 129 total rebounds on the season, along with recording 18 blocked shots and 30 steals.