2018 All-Southwest

From left, DeRidder’s Randy Gladney,  Merryville’s Andrea Cournoyer, Hamilton Christian Academy’s Michael Thomas and Barbe’s Brandi Williams are the Most Outstanding Players on this year’s all-area basketball team.

American Press


SMALL SCHOOLS

One of the most prolific girls basketball scorers in state history, Merryville senior Andrea Cournoyer, and an up-and-coming sophomore guard, Hamilton Christian Academy’s Michael Thomas, were at the top of their game this season.

The duo have been selected as this year’s American Press All-Southwest Small School Most Outstanding Play.

Cournoyer led the Panthers to the Class 1A state final two of the last three years and averaged more than 34 points game. The Louisiana-Lafayette signee finished her career with more than 5,400 points.

It marks the third consecutive year that Cournoyer has won the MOP honor.

Thomas helped take a young Warriors team to the Division IV state semifinals for the second consecutive year, averaging 17 points, 8.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Small School Coach of the Year honors went to Singer boys basketball head coach Cary Collins and Lake Arthur girls basketball head coach Vickie Sketoe, her second in a row.

Collins led the Hornets to the semifinals for the first time in 45 years.

Sketoe took the Tigers to the state final for the first time since 1979.

Joining Cournoyer on the first team are speedy Lake Arthur point guard and District 6-2A MVP Jamaya Levy (17 ppg), who led the Tigers to the state final, Fairview senior Maddisen Martin (25.1 ppg), Oakdale junior KaMaesha St. Andre (16.1ppg, 9.4 rpg) and Rosepine senior guard Cheyanne Vander (10.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 5.8 apg) who led the Eagles to the state semifinals for the first time since 1979.

Other boys first-team honorees are Grand Lake senior Andrew Young (20 ppg), Pitkin sophomore Garrett Edwards (29.2 ppg), Singer senior Cameron Sandifer (27 ppg) and Hathaway junior Trey Blanchard (17.7 ppg).

On the girls second team are Kinder junior Brooklyn Fontenot (14 ppg), Oakdale’s Sanna St. Andre (21.3 ppg), Merryville freshman Maddie Mahfouz (14 ppg), Lacassine senior guard Kassi Thibodeaux (12.2 ppg) and Lake Arthur sophomore forward Diamond Brister (14 ppg).

The boys second team includes Lake Arthur’s Torrel Levias (16 ppg), senior Kevin Anderson (18.6 ppg) of Vinton, Merryville senior Peyton Day (18.8 ppg), Elton senior Derick Finley (20 ppg) and Hamilton Christian sophomore Adrian Brown (17 ppg).

  1. Cournoyer, Thomas play big at small schools

LARGE SCHOOLS

A pair of future Ragin’ Cajuns headline the American Press All-Southwest Louisiana Large Schools basketball team, with DeRidder’s Randy Gladney taking the Most Outstanding Player on the boys team and Barbe’s Brandi Williams repeating as the Most Outstanding Player on the girls team.

Both Coach of the Year winners are also repeat winners, with Washington-Marion’s Albert Hartwell winning the boys honor and South Beauregard’s Chris Greene taking the girls award.

Gladney, a 6-foot-7 senior forward led the Dragons to a share of the District 3-4A title, averaging 16.3 points, 13.0 rebounds, 3.2 blocks and 2.6 steals per game. 

Williams led the Bucs to a third consecutive undefeated District 3-5A title, averaging 16 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.

Both Gladney and Williams have signed to play at Louisiana-Lafayette.

Hartwell coached W-M to a perfect record in District 4-3A. Greene led South Beauregard, the 2017 state champion, to a return trip to the state tournament. The Lady K’s reached the semifinal round after winning the District 4-3A championship.

Joining Gladney on the boys first team are junior guard Raymond Guillory of Lake Charles College Prep (17.8 ppg), senior guard Bailey Hardy of St. Louis (17.0 ppg) and the W-M duo of senior forward Michael Thomas (16.3 ppg) and senior guard Jaylin Walker (19.1 ppg).

Comprising the second team are senior guard Dre Bagley of DeRidder (17.0 ppg), junior guard Troy Ford of Jennings (16.8 ppg), junior guard Colby Wilson of Iota (26 ppg), senior forward Micah Blackwell of South Beauregard (17 ppg) and senior center Christian Trahan (16 ppg) of Sulphur.

Joining Williams on the girls first team are senior guard Ashlyn Derouen of South Beauregard (18 ppg), junior guard Domonique Davis of DeRidder (20 ppg), junior guard Kyla Hamilton of Sam Houston (16 ppg) and senior forward Divine Tanks of Barbe (12.3 ppg).

On the second team are sophomore guard Nadailyn Carrier of LaGrange (16 ppg), Madaline Gatte of Iota (16 ppg), Alyx Hardy of St. Louis (13.2 ppg), Claralee Richard of Sulphur (13 ppg), and freshman forward Jeriah Warren of LaGrange (12 ppg).

  1. Future Cajuns Gladney, Williams take top honors

      78d46282-0561-11e8-a1f0-b735df191ced2018-01-30T02:01:00Znews/national,newsCalifornia Senate approves medication abortion on campusesAssociatedPresshttps://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/847f947e4dcdd64d23ee1a5459357331?s=100&d=mm&r=gSACRAMENTO, Calif. — California would be the first state to require public universities to offer medication abortion under legislation approved in the state Senate Monday, a bill that if signed into law would mark a vast expansion of a service that’s rare on college campuses.

      None of the 34 University of California or California State University campuses currently offer abortion services at their health centers, instead referring students to outside providers. A group of private donors, some of them anonymous, plan to pay for up to $20 million in startup costs, including ultrasound equipment and training for both medical and billing staff.

      The bill, SB320, still needs Assembly approval.

      It would require all university campuses to offer the service by 2022, assuming the donors come through with the money. Medication abortion can be administered up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy.

      “I firmly believe that all students should be able to decide what to do with their own bodies and when to factor a family into their life,” said Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, the bill’s author. “After all, women do not lose the constitutional right to end a pregnancy simply because they are a college student.”

      One medication is administered in the clinic and a patient is given a second drug to take later at home. The medications induce bleeding similar to a miscarriage, according to legislative records.

      The bill’s supporters say time is of the essence for women seeking a medication abortion, which must occur within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. Dispensing the medication on campus will ensure that women have access, even if they don’t have a car or have trouble fitting an outside appointment into their school schedule, Leyva said. Outside providers also may not accept student health insurance plans.

      But CSU officials worry the mandate would impose severe costs for liability insurance, safety improvements, medical training and round-the-clock phone support for medical emergencies, said Toni Molle, a spokeswoman for the CSU chancellor’s office.

      “Currently our CSU health centers offer basic health services, however, the administration of medications still requires a level of expertise that our health center staff may not have,” Molle said.

      It’s unclear how many colleges outside California offer access to medication abortion on campus. Marj Plumb, chief strategist for the Women’s Foundation of California, said no other state requires campus health centers to offer medication abortion.

      A 2015 survey by the American College Health Association found that just one of the 139 schools that completed the survey offered medication abortion services on site, said Joanne Brown, chair of the organization’s Sexual Health Education and Clinical Care Coalition.

      “We believe that if they just learned what was required and were trained that they would realize that it’s very straightforward and a huge, huge value to their patients,” said Dr. Ruth Shaber, an obstetrician/gynecologist who heads the Tara Foundation in San Francisco.

      The foundation, which funds health and wellness programs for women, the Women’s Foundation of California and another donor have agreed to cover implementation costs estimated between $14 million and $20 million, Shaber said. She and Leyva declined to identify the other donor, saying the organization wished to remain anonymous.

      The bill’s sponsors estimate that 10 to 17 women would seek a medication abortion per month on each UC campus, and nine to 15 at each CSU school.””

      In this April 22, 2015 file photo, Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, works at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. Leyva’s bill SB320 would require all university campuses to offer medication abortion by Jan. 1, 2022. California public universities would be required to offer medication abortion on all 34 campuses under legislation approved in the state Senate on Monday, Jan. 29, 2018, a vast expansion of a service that is rare on college campuses nationwide. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

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