Meet The Leaf-Chronicle's All-Area girls basketball teams, 2024 player of the year
One of Clarksville girls basketball coach Brian Rush's favorite moments this season happened in the District 13-4A championship game.
Rush's star, Imari Berry, had picked up a couple "ticky-tack" fouls, bringing her tally to four and forcing Rush to take her out of the game. She spent much of the third quarter on the bench as underdog Rossview kept pace with the undefeated Wildcats. When Berry finally came back in the game, she "just went loose."
"It was amazing to watch her," Rush said. "As a coach, you're not drawing anything up. You're watching a special athlete display her craft."
Berry's second-half surge powered the Wildcats to a 51-28 win and left her with 25 points for the game and 2,403 for her career, moving her ahead of former Tennessee Lady Vol Bashaara Graves for the program's all-time scoring record.
A loss to eventual state champion Bradley Central in the state quarterfinals two weeks later ended Berry's high school career but did nothing to dim the shine of her legacy at Clarksville. That legacy includes 2,510 career points, 327 3-pointers, three TSSAA Miss Basketball finalist selections, including winning the award this season and being named The Leaf-Chronicle's 2024 Girls Basketball Player of the Year, the second straight season Berry has received the honor.
Berry, a 5-star recruit, was signed with Clemson women's basketball, but decommitted after the firing of coach Amanda Butler last month. She's never been comfortable with the attention she's gotten due to her blue-chip status, even though she's used to it.
"I feel pretty normal," Berry said. "I don’t let that type of stuff shine on my head. At the end of the day, I’m me."
In Berry, Rush sees a player who gets joy not from racking up accolades but from simply being out on the court. Clarksville's practice two days before its state quarterfinal was one of its best, in Rush's opinion. It was basketball "in its purest form:" players diving for every loose ball, relentlessly trash-talking each other — and Berry was perfectly in her element.
"If we walk out now and there's a game in the parking lot, she'll stop and play," Rush said. "It's not about what stage you're on. For her, it's, I'm gonna play the game. ... You hear practices are hard, they're boring, they're long, and she came every day just, I'm ready to play. I'm ready to compete. Let's go."
Below is the Leaf-Chronicle's All-Area high school girls basketball team:
First Team
Imari Berry
Clarksville
Guard | Senior
Why chosen: Berry capped off her stellar high school career by averaging 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 4.1 steals, shooting 50 percent from the field and knocking down 102 3-pointers. A four-time Leaf-Chronicle All-Area first team selection, Berry won Class 4A Miss Basketball and the Gatorade Player of the Year award in Tennessee and was selected to the BCAT All-Star game and McDonald's All-American game.
Malon Smith
Clarksville
Guard | Junior
Why chosen: Smith averaged 13.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.3 steals while shooting 42 percent from the field to help the Wildcats repeat as district and region champions. The 5-6 point guard was named All-Area second team last season.
Malaya Woullard
Clarksville Academy
Guard | Senior
Why chosen: Woullard averaged 17.5 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, hit three 3-pointers per game on 34 percent shooting and shot 78 percent from the line. The 5-2 guard was named to the BCAT All-Star Team and is committed to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.
Lauren Hassell
Clarksville Christian
Forward | Freshman
Why chosen: Hassell, a three-time All-Area first team selection, averaged 19.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.2 blocks on 48 percent shooting. The 6-3 post led the Centurions to a 21-9 record against a challenging national schedule, as well as Tennessee State Independent Athletic Association and National Association of Christian Athletes championships for the third straight season.
Torri James
Rossview
Forward | Senior
Why chosen: James, a Western Kentucky signee, averaged 15 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.6 steals and shot 52 percent to lead the Hawks to an 18-11 record and Class 4A sectional appearance. The 5-11 forward was named a BCAT All-Star. This is James' second straight appearance on the All-Area first team.
Second Team
Guard: Madziyonna Calloway, West Creek, Sr.
Guard: Qimara Summers, Northeast, Jr.
Forward: Ellie Hankemeier, Rossview, So.
Forward: Ella Moore, Clarksville, Sr.
Forward: Kendall Myree, Northwest, Sr.
MORE: Meet The Leaf-Chronicle's All-Area boys basketball teams for 2024, player of the year
Coach of the Year
Brian Rush
Clarksville
Why chosen: Rush guided the Wildcats to a 31-1 record and back-to-back district and region championships to reach their second straight state tournament. Their only loss came to Bradley Central in the Class 4A quarterfinals. In his 19 seasons at Clarksville, Rush has posted a 396-169 record with 14 winning campaigns. The Wildcats have won eight district titles, five region titles and reached six state tournaments during that time.
This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: Clarksville high school girls basketball All-Area team, player of year
