Top high school players honored on the 2023 Wichita Eagle girls basketball All-Metro team

The Wichita Eagle announced its 19th annual All-Metro girls basketball team on Wednesday, recognizing some of the best high school players in the state of Kansas from the 2022-23 season.

The All-Metro team features the top players and the top coach from Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties based on statistics, team success, postseason recognition and area coaches’ feedback. Derby senior Addy Brown was named the Player of the Year after earning McDonald’s All-American status and leading Derby to a third-place finish in the Class 6A state tournament.

Here is the full look at the 2023 Wichita Eagle All-Metro girls basketball team:

Maddi Amekporfor, Andover Central senior

The only player in the storied history of the Andover Central program to reach the state tournament in all four seasons of a career. Amekporfor averaged 12.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 4.3 steals and 1 block while shooting 50% from the field for an Andover Central team that finished with a 17-6 record and won a share of the AV-CTL Div. II championship. The 5-foot-11 forward, who has signed to play at Washburn, compiled an 82-14 career record as a four-year starter with the team reaching the state finals in 2021 and finishing third last season.

Andover Central coach Stana Jefferson on Amekporfor: “I don’t even think Maddi is close to reaching her potential. She’s still growing as a basketball player. This year was really special because prior to this year we had her playing inside, but her game developed enough where she could handle the ball and shoot threes and she’s gotten a lot better on the 15-foot jumper. As she continues to develop those different parts of her game, I think she is going to make a major impact at Washburn.

“Off the court, Maddi is a great leader and a great person to be around. Anybody who was on the court with Maddi always played their best because they knew she was there to back them up. She was so great at involving everybody and trying to make everybody else around her better.”

Amekporfor on her favorite memory: “Making it to state all four years was special, but also the relationships that I made on and off the court with my teammates. All four years they have been my best friends.”

Addy Brown, Derby senior

Only the third female from Kansas to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game, the Iowa State signee was also named Player of the Year in Kansas high school basketball this season. The 6-foot-3 do-everything player led Derby in every statistical category, averaging 20.3 points on 55% shooting, 10.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.3 blocks. As a four-year starter, Brown compiled an 84-12 record at Derby with four state appearances, three semifinal appearances and a runner-up finish in 2022. She ended her career on a win with a third-place game victory at the Class 6A state tournament this season.

Derby coach Dan Harrison on Brown: “Addy has this sixth sense about what’s about to happen. She sees where the next opening is going to be, where the next cut should be. She’s always one play ahead. Not only did she create shots for herself, but she also created a lot of shots for her teammates by recognizing when the defense was shifting to her. She always did what she had to do to win the game.

“She never asked anybody to do anything that she wasn’t willing to do herself. She held herself accountable. She was constantly encouraging others and empowering others through her belief in them. I think that really made a difference in a lot of the girls this year.”

Brown on her favorite memory: “Making it to state four times in all four years and just being able to finish on a good note with a win in the third-place game.”

Landon Forbes, Bishop Carroll senior

Forbes became a two-way force in the City League as a senior, spearheading Bishop Carroll’s tenacious defense and also serving as the engine to its offense. The 5-foot-7 guard helped lead Carroll to its first Class 5A state championship game appearance since 2018, a 22-3 record and a City League title. Forbes, who is uncommitted, averaged 13.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 4.1 steals this season.

Bishop Carroll coach Taylor Dugan on Forbes: “Defensively, we pressed a lot and she would steal the ball so many times. And if you pressed us, she could dribble right through it. Landon is hard to guard with the way she’s able to attack and pass the ball and get others open. She had the ball in her hands the most out of anybody on our team and led us in assist-to-turnover ratio, which is absolutely awesome.

“She’s a natural leader. I know all of the girls really looked up to her this year on and off the court. When we were playing really well, it was because Landon was playing really well and being a leader. We had a great year and she was a big reason for that because of her leadership. She worked her tail off every game, every practice and set a great example for all of our underclassmen.”

Forbes on her favorite memory: “What stands out to me is just how good of a relationship that I had with my teammates and my coach. We weren’t really expected to go as far as we did this year and I think that’s really what meant the most to me is how we had so many girls step up and play a huge role in our success this season.”

Campbell Hague, Cheney senior

After Cheney lost seven seniors from last season’s team, Hague was the leader who not only helped propel the Cardinals back to the state tournament, but all the way to the Class 3A state championship game. Hague blossomed into an all-around player in her senior season, averaging 11 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 3.1 steals and 3 blocks for a Cheney team that finished with a 23-3 record. The 6-foot-2 post, who is signed to play Division I volleyball at San Diego State, guided Cheney to its fourth state final appearance in the last seven seasons.

Cheney coach Sarah McCormick on Hague: “The first thing that stands out about Campbell is she is just a very intelligent player. She had to play in two separate systems (at Cheney) and sometimes that’s difficult for kids, but Campbell never had a problem. She’s up for valedictorian in the senior class and she brings that intelligence to the game, but that also exemplifies what type of leader she is too.

“She’s not your typical 6-2 kid. If we needed her to guard on the perimeter, she could have done that for us. She’s got an inside game and an outside game and there were several times this season where I told her to get a rebound and go coast to coast because she can do that. I coached Campbell when she was in grade school and she used to be a point guard. She can handle the ball and shoot it from three, but is also so hard to handle inside and that’s what made her really difficult for people to guard her.”

Hague on her favorite memory: “Winning the state championship my sophomore year was definitely my favorite. But also another thing that I hold special in my heart is coming into this year we lost seven seniors and we didn’t really know what this season would look like. To be able to go all the way to the state championship, I think we stunned a lot of people and that was an awesome experience.”

Avery Lowe, Maize South senior

The two-time AV-CTL Div. I Defensive Player of the Year, Lowe used her 6-foot-3 frame to become one of the most disruptive defenders in the state. She averaged 15.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.6 blocks this season and helped Maize to a 16-6 record and sub-state final appearance. Lowe is signed to play college basketball for Kearney, a Division II program in Nebraska.

Maize South coach Ben Hamilton on Lowe: “Avery is a tough matchup for anybody. She draws double teams constantly and passes the ball really well out of the post. We got a ton of open looks from inside-out passes from her and she just makes everybody on the court better.

“She’s a phenomenal kid as far as leadership goes. She’s a great teammate, a very hard worker. She led us in every major statistical category and that’s a credit to how hard she works.”

Lowe on her favorite memory: “Making it to state my freshman year was special, but also just my whole senior year because we had a really successful year. This was by far my favorite year because I liked being the leader on the team and I really liked my teammates. We all got along really well.”

Brooke Walker, Andover junior

A scoring dynamo who led Andover to its first win at the state tournament since 1996 with a fourth-place finish in Class 5A. Walker averaged 17.5 points on 48% shooting, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.6 steals on the Trojans, which finished with a 21-4 record and a share of the AV-CTL Div. II championship. The 5-foot-8 guard is one of the state’s top recruits in the class of 2024.

Andover coach Hannah Alexander on Walker: “Brooke is the kind of leader that you want in the hallways. She is great off the floor with the girls working with them after practice and even during practice. She does a great job of sharing her basketball knowledge with everybody around her.

“And then she just does a little bit of everything for us offensively and defensively. She passes the ball well and she can find ways to score depending on what defense she is up against. We try to get screens set for her to make it easier, but she has her change of speed and she can get open by herself. She’s a great floor leader and does a lot of things by example for us. She pushes the girls and elevates the game of everybody around her.”

Walker on her favorite memory: “Being able to get to state for the first time this year was a really fun week and a really fun experience. I want to do it again next year.”

Kristin Wiebe, Berean Academy coach

Berean Academy left no doubt who the best team was in Class 2A this season, capping off a 25-1 season by winning three games at the state tournament by an average of 15 points en route to the championship. Wiebe guided Berean to a second state championship in her 18-year career and did it coaching her daughter, Avery, who was 2 years old when Berean won its first title in 2008. The team was led by all-state players in seniors Lillie Veer and Tayton Smith, while fellow seniors Alexa Timken, Kelsey Koontz and Lindsey Edgren fulfilled their roles, as did Flora Morgan, Leah Mullins and Taylor Balzer.

Berean Academy coach Kristin Wiebe on her team: “It was such a great experience with a great group of girls. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun. This group of girls just really enjoyed the game of basketball and they enjoyed each other and they enjoyed playing together. If I said the gym was open, they wanted to be there. It was just a group that really bought into everything and really enjoyed playing with each other and had fun doing it.”

All-Metro second team

Kendal Brueggen, Hesston sophomore

Zion Butler, South junior

Carli Carlson, Clearwater senior

Carly Dameron, Eisenhower junior

SaMiyah Ellis, Independent sophomore

McKenzie Fairchild, Andale senior

Kaleigh O’Brien, Remington senior

Dominique Schutte, Halstead junior

Tayton Smith, Berean Academy senior

Lillie Veer, Berean Academy senior

Taylor Dugan, Bishop Carroll coach

All-Metro third team

Kamyra Barber, Northwest sophomore

Nyah Chandler, East junior

Marayah Coleman, Goddard sophomore

Leah Durr, Cheney senior

Sophia Gimino, Kapaun Mt. Carmel senior

Leah Henke, Bishop Carroll sophomore

Ma’Khiya Jones, Southeast junior

Sophie Hurley, Maize South junior

Sydney Puetz, Garden Plain senior

Alana Shetlar, Andover junior

Destiny Smith, Derby junior

Hayden Snodgrass, Andover Central junior

Elizabeth Tjaden, Clearwater junior

Camryn Winter, Andale senior

Donald Dixon, Southeast coach