On Friday at 9 a.m. from Rupp Arena in Lexington, the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches will announce regional players of the year and the 2024 Miss Kentucky Basketball finalists. The Miss Kentucky Basketball honor recognizes the top high school female senior basketball player in the state. The winner goes public at the Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Awards Ceremony March 17 at the Griffin Gate Marriott Resort in Lexington.
Miss Kentucky Basketball has been announced since 1976. There have been six local winners including the first, Newport’s Donna Murphy in 1976. Other winners: Jaime Walz (Highlands) 1996, Katie Schwegmann (Bishop Brossart) 2001, Erica Hallman (Holmes) 2002, Sydney Moss (Boone County) 2012 and Maddie Scherr (Ryle) 2020.
In anticipation of Friday’s announcement, here are this season’s top 10 senior girls basketball players in Northern Kentucky. There is a clear top six, with coaches’ comments added to their entries.
Sarah Baker, Ryle, Center
Sarah Baker is a team-first player who impacts the Raiders from endline to endline. She’s averaging 12.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Baker began playing varsity basketball in the seventh grade. She was fifth on the team in rebounding as an eighth grader. She has grown into a 6-foot-2 post player with the ability to hit high-percentage shots. She’s approaching 1,300 career points and 800 rebounds in more than 140 career games. Baker is an all-Northern Kentucky and all-9th Region selection. She has accepted an offer to play at Youngstown State University.
Coach Katie Haitz: “Sarah brings a blue-collar, workman-type approach to her game with a constant motor on the court. She’s a versatile player. We can play her inside or outside.”
Quinn Eubank, Ryle, Forward
Quinn Eubank plays bigger than her listed height of 6-feet because of superior conditioning and skill. She’s also a very experienced player who has been with Ryle since she was a seventh grader. She’s been a double-double threat in scoring and rebounding since she was a freshman. Eubank is averaging a double-double this season with team-highs of 16.4 points and 10 rebounds per game. She also averaged a double-double her freshman season. She’s leading Ryle in rebounding for the fourth straight year. She has scored over 1,600 career points and is the program’s all-time rebounds leader with over 1,200. Eubank is an all-Northern Kentucky and all-9th Region honoree. She is a 2024 McDonald’s All-American nominee. She’s heading to Belmont University.
Coach Katie Haitz: “Quinn has been a part of three district championships, two regional championships and a state championship. She is in the career top 10 in every major statistical category of our program.”
Liz Freihofer, Cooper, Guard
Liz Freihofer is comfortable at point guard and shooting guard and has enough size to mix it up in the paint. A 6-foot-1 player with state tournament experience, Freihofer has been a key cog for Cooper since she was in the eighth grade. She is second on the team in scoring for the second straight season with 11.4 points per game and third in rebounds with 4.5, continuing a long trend of production. Friehofer was second in scoring and third in rebounding as a sophomore. She has more than 1,300 points and 700 rebounds in her career. She’s been an all-Northern Kentucky and all-9th Region pick and will play college basketball at Eastern Kentucky University.
Coach Justin Holthaus: “She is a versatile player. We can play her in the post and on the perimeter. She played point guard for three years. Now she plays the 2. But she still has a 3.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.”
Anna Hamilton, Conner, Guard
Anna Hamilton is Conner’s point guard, leading scorer and top lockdown defender. The 5-foot-7 whiz is an intelligent, disciplined and rugged player who is willing to take a charge from a much bigger opponent. She’s also an excellent help-side defender who can rebound. On offense, she can create her own shot and score with an average of 17 points per game. She creates shots for others, and she’s an outstanding transitional player. Hamilton has more than 1,600 points in her career and she is an all-Northern Kentucky and all-9th Region honoree. She is committed to Northern Kentucky University.
Coach Michelle Gambrel: “Anna not only excels on the court as a true point guard, an unselfish teammate, and our leader in scoring, assists and steals, but off the court you won’t find a better student athlete in the classroom.”
Julia Hunt, Holy Cross, Forward
Julia Hunt is an imposing 6-foot-3 player and a multi-skilled athlete capable of scoring, rebounding and blocking shots at a high level. She could play Division I college basketball but instead will play volleyball at the University of Washington. Hunt led Holy Cross to back-to-back All “A” Classic state championships. She was tournament MVP both times, adding to a long list of awards including all-Northern Kentucky and all-9th Region honors. She has more than 1,800 points and 1,300 rebounds in her career, which began in the seventh grade. Hunt has more than 600 blocks, making her the 9th Region’s all-time leader. She’s averaging 13.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game and leads the team in those categories for the third year in a row.
Coach Ted Arlinghaus: “Julia is one of the most unselfish players we have had in our program. She puts team first and leads by example.”
Logan Luebbers-Palmer, Cooper, Guard
Logan Luebbers-Palmer is one of the area’s most improved players thanks to an evolving skill set and a tough-minded work ethic. She has nearly doubled last season’s scoring average of 8.6 with 17.1 points per game this season. She has scored more than 1,500 points in her career, which began in the eighth grade. The 5-foot-10 guard is an all-Northern Kentucky and all-9th Region honoree. She helped lead Cooper to the Sweet 16 state tournament semifinals as a sophomore and scored a team-high 22 points, more than double her average, in the opening-round win against Pikeville. She has committed to play college basketball at Evansville.
Coach Justin Holthaus: “We have a lot of weapons and Logan is one of our top producers. She has a natural ability to score. Logan takes pride in everything she does and she’s really tough.”
Bella Deere, Cooper, Forward
Bella Deere plays with teammates heading to NCAA Division I programs, but she’s an integral part of the plan on one of the best teams in the state. Deere, a 6-foot forward, is third on a very deep Cooper team in scoring (8.5 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (3.3). On another lesser talented squad, Deere could be a focal point capable of doubling her averages. She scored a season-high 18 points against Ashland Blazer during an eight-game stretch when she averaged 14 points per game. She is heading to Division II Gannon.
Sierra McCoin, Lloyd Memorial, Guard
Sierra McCoin has been Lloyd Memorial’s leading scorer two straight seasons. She’s averaging 14.1 points per game this season. The 5-foot-4 shooting guard has scored more than 1,400 points in her career, which began in the eighth grade. She has received all-Northern Kentucky and all-9th Region honors.
Kayla Unkraut, St. Henry, Guard
Kayla Unkraut is St. Henry’s leading scorer for a third consecutive season despite missing nine games this season. An all-Northern Kentucky and all-9th Region honoree, the 5-foot-9 guard is averaging 14.2 points per game and has scored more than 1,200 points in her four-year varsity career.
DeAyjah White, Newport, Forward
DeAyjah White has been a rebounding force for Newport since she was a freshman and this season became a bona fide scoring threat with 16.3 points per game. She is averaging 10.8 rebounds. This is the fourth season in a row she is leading the team in rebounding, despite missing half the schedule last season. With an all-9th Region selection on her career highlight list, she has averaged more than 10 rebounds per game each of the last four seasons. She recently joined the 1,000-point club and 1,000 rebound club.