Slam-dunk finish for Gators, Warren, Sam first-team Class 4A all-state
Warren Arceneaux
The tandem of Jeriah Warren and Aasia Sam led LaGrange High School to a second consecutive Class 4A state championship this season and are repeat selections on the Louisiana Sports Writers Association all-state team.
Warren, a first-team pick last season, is the Outstanding Player on the girls team. She averaged 18.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.2 blocks per game.
Sam, a second-team pick last year, is a first-team choice this year. She averaged 16 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 5.0 steals per game. The duo helped LaGrange earn its second championship with a win over Huntington in the final, capping a 27-1 season.
Girls Coach of the Year is the late Kenneth Dixon of Ellender. The legendary coach led the Patriots to five state championships and 724 wins in 29 seasons. This year’s team finished 15-6 and reached the regional round of the playoffs.
Dixon died at age 70 on March 1 due to a brain aneurysm suffered on the day of Ellender’s first-round playoff game.
Joining Warren and Sam on the first team are Warren Easton’s Breanna Sutton (15 ppg), Liberty’s Haley Franklin (16 ppg) and Huntington’s Taylor Bell (18 ppg).
Carter Domingue of St. Thomas More is boys Outstanding Player after leading the Cougars to the Division II state title while averaging 18 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game. Joining him on the first team are Peabody’s Zytarious Morlte (20 ppg), Ellender’s Dionjahe Thomas (24 ppg), Shreveport Woodlawn’s Delatrion Moton (19 ppg) and Carver’s Solomon Washington (13 ppg).
McMain’s Steven Kelly is Coach of the Year after leading the Mustangs to the first state championship in program history.
LaGrange’s Jeriah Warren drives to the basket while guarded by Warren Easton’s Breanna Sutton during a Class 4A semifinal Wednesday night at Burton Coliseum.
LaGrange High School’s Aasia Sam (10) gets past Huntington High School’s Samantha Taylor (10) during Class 4A LHSAA State Girls Basketball Championship at the University Center in Hammond, La. Friday, March 5, 2021.(Staff photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)