Sellers, Joens headline all-MVC teams

Cedar Rapids Kennedy's Lela Sellers and Iowa City High's Ashley Joens have been named Mississippi Valley Conference divisional players of the year in girls' basketball.

The MVC released its all-conference teams Wednesday afternoon.

A Liberty University signee, Sellers led the Cougars to an 18-5 season. The Cougars won 14 games in a row in a stretch that ended in late January. They held the No. 1 ranking in Class 5A for two weeks.

Sellers averaged 18.7 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, and also led the team in steals and blocks. She shot 53.2 percent from the field.

Joens, a sophomore, posted 19.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game for City High (19-4), the champion of the Mississippi Division. The Little Hawks were ranked No. 2 in the final 5A rankings.

City High's Bill McTaggart and Cedar Falls' Gregg Groen are divisional coaches of the year after leading their teams to titles in their respective divisions.

Mississippi Division

First Team (*unanimous)

*Ashley Joens, soph., Iowa City High; *Courtney Joens, sr., Iowa City High; *Anne Visser, sr., C.R. Washington; *McKenna Andersen, sr., C.R. Xavier; *Olivia Usher, sr., C.R. Prairie; Tahya Campbell, jr., Waterloo West; Joniqua Clark, sr., C.R. Washington.

Player of the year — Ashley Joens, Iowa City High

Coach of the year — Bill McTaggart, Iowa City High

Second Team

Kenya Earl, jr., Iowa City High; Na'Tracia Ceaser, fr., Waterloo West; Kerris Roberts, fr., Waterloo East; Jayla Johnson, soph., C.R. Washington; Lexi Noonan, jr., C.R. Xavier; Megan Gronau, jr., Dubuque Hempstead.

Honorable Mention (Metro/Iowa City only)

Lynsey Altenhofen & Sarah Schmitt, C.R. Prairie; Payton Bruner & Jessi Puk, C.R. Washington; Meghan Joens & Kylie Brown, C.R. Xavier; Sydney Schroder & Rose Gamamou, Iowa City High.

Valley Division

First Team (*unanimous)

*Emma Gerdes, sr., Cedar Falls; *Kennedy Dighton, jr., C.R. Jefferson; *Lela Sellers, sr., C.R. Kennedy; *Amanda Ollinger, Linn-Mar; Kiana Barney, soph., Cedar Falls; Charlotte Flynn, sr., Dubuque Wahlert; Rachael Saunders, soph, Iowa City High.

Player of the year — Lela Sellers, C.R. Kennedy

Coach of the year — Gregg Groen, Cedar Falls

Second Team

Sydney Hayden, sr., C.R. Kennedy; Emily Mott, soph., Dubuque Senior; Kamryn Finley, soph., Linn-Mar; Cynthia Wolf, soph, Cedar Falls; Kylie Wise, jr., C.R. Jefferson; Hailey Dolphin, soph., C.R. Kennedy; Logan Cook, soph., Iowa City West; Maddie Huinker, jr., Iowa City West.

Honorable Mention (Metro/Iowa City only)

Avery Guy & Emily Oler, C.R. Jefferson; Carly Langhurst & Linden Runels, C.R. Kennedy; Lauren Zacharias & Emma Koch, Iowa City West; Brittney Lancial & Alie Akers, Linn-Mar.

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