By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor 

Girls basketball in Shelby County was as impressive as it has possibly ever been during the 2018-19 season with Shelby County’s girls losing just two games, Spain Park’s girls making a run to the Elite Eight, Westminster at Oak Mountain making it to the Final Four for the second time in three years and the Oak Mountain Eagles having a turnaround season in their first year under head coach Beth Parmer.

All four of those teams were as talented as anybody this year despite not winning it all, and each had at least one player named to the 2018-19 All-State basketball team for their respective classification.

Sarah Ashlee Barker (Spain Park), Ahrielle Parks (Spain Park), Hannah Edwards (Oak Mountain), Maggie West (Shelby County) and Morgan White (Westminster at Oak Mountain) each were named to either the first, second or third team, after the remarkable numbers they were able to post this season, and the craziest part about it—four of those five are juniors.

While the county itself didn’t have the most representation on the team this year as it has in the past with no boys making the team, those five girls were five of the best players in the state from both the boys and girls side of things, and they still have a year left to come back and make even more noise.

In the highest classification of basketball at the high school level in Alabama, Barker didn’t just come close to averaging a double-double during her junior season, she led the classification in scoring by averaging the most points per game at 20.2 to earn a spot on the Class 7A First Team.

The University of Georgia commit paired that 20.2 points per game with 9.5 rebounds per game, which was third behind only to Hannah Edwards of Oak Mountain (9.7) and Ariel Thompson of Theodore (11.9).

Barker not only has a chance to be named the top girls basketball player in the 7A classification as a junior, but also Miss Basketball after proving herself as one of the top players in the most difficult classification.

Heading into her senior season, Barker will hope to lead her Spain Park Jaguars on a redemption path to the Final Four after this year’s tough Elite Eight loss to Hewitt-Trussville.

Barker’s teammate Parks was also a key part of Spain Park’s team this season as one of two seniors alongside Bailey Bowers and earned a spot on the Class 7A Third Team.

Parks was a trustworthy senior from the point guard position and had a very balanced attack posting 13.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

She also had the ability to go off on any given night and had several nights where she scored 20-plus points throughout the season. Filling her shoes as a true point guard that understands the floor will be a tall task for the Jags next season.

For the Oak Mountain Eagles, Edwards was a key in the post and she just got better as the season went along.

She averaged the second most rebounds in the 7A classification with her 9.7 rebounds per game, and also posted 15.1 points per game with 68 total blocks defensively this season to earn a spot on the Class 7A Second Team.

As a junior for the Eagles, Edwards made her presence known in the post and heading into her senior season, she should be one of the best players in the state with hopes of leading Oak Mountain back to the Sweet 16 for the first time in a while.

In the 5A classification, people across the state may not know the name Maggie West during the season, but after earning a spot on the second team, they will now.

A player that will head into her senior season as one of the best in the state, West has been playing the last two years with the Wildcats and during her junior season averaged 21.2 points and seven rebounds per game.

As a junior, she already has 1,583 career points and can score 20-plus points every time she steps on the court. She averaged the fourth most points in Class 5A this year and helped lead the Wildcats to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.

Shelby County made the Elite Eight during her sophomore year, making the Sweet 16 finish a heartbreaking one this year, but heading into her senior season, she will return as a leader as do many of her teammates, which is a scary thought for what this motivated team can accomplish.

The final player from the county to earn a spot on the All-State team this year was Westminster at Oak Mountain’s White, who played a major role in leading the Knights to their second Final Four in the last three years.

White’s averages of 10.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game weren’t the most in their category, but they were consistent, and what those numbers don’t show is the help she was to her teammates and the leader she was on the floor.

Having been a member of the team since her freshman year at Westminster, she was basically an extension of the four seniors on the team this season.

She was also capable of dropping as many points as needed if her team was in trouble, and that’s what happened in the Final Four loss this year when she posted 25 points and 12 rebounds.

Next year, she’ll return along with several other teammates with the hope of redeeming that second loss in the Final Four in the last three years.