By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor 

MONTGOMERY – After stellar seasons competing against one another, including nods to the All-County First Team, Spain Park’s Sarah Ashlee Barker and Oak Mountain’s Hannah Edwards joined forces on Tuesday, July 16, to lead the North All-Star team to a 65-46 victory at Alabama State University’s Dunn-Oliver Acadome.

Both Barker and Edwards finished the 2018-19 basketball season as not only two of the top players in the state, but two of the top players in the country to earn spots on the All-State basketball team.

Barker went on to be named the Shelby County Player of the Year this season as a junior after leading the Jaguars to their third consecutive Elite Eight appearance. The University of Georgia commit averaged the most points in the 7A classification at 20.2 points per game, while finishing third in the classifications in rebounds per game at 9.5. She also added 2.5 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game as well.

Edwards’ season was also special after finishing second in the 7A classifications with 9.7 rebounds per game, which earned her a spot on the All-County First Team alongside Barker. She also averaged a double-double thanks to 15.1 points per game, while posting 68 blocks, which were also second in the classification.

In the North-Sotuh All-Star game, the two standouts showed what we can expect during the upcoming 2019-20 season with impressive performances.

Barker didn’t have her best shooting night at 1-for-7 from the field and 1-for-4 from beyond the arc, but she did make three of her five free throw attempts to total six points in 15 minutes.

She also added an impressive six rebounds and posted a game-high four assists with one steal. Her six rebounds were second on the team and third in the game.

Edwards only got to play six minutes, but in that time, she posted two points and more impressively four rebounds. She also added one block and shot 1-for-4 from the floor.

The North team came out of the gates on fire and sprinted out to a 36-16 lead in the first half, before coasting the remainder of the way for the easy 65-46 victory behind coaches Kim Nails of Southside-Gadsden and Rand Smith of Southside-Selma.

The North now leads the all-time series between the two teams 19-3.

Barker and Edwards are both high-profile recruits competing in Class 7A, and each will be highlights for girls basketball across Shelby County during the upcoming season.