By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
She may not get to complete her senior season, but Maddie Scherr of Ryle was voted the top girls basketball player in Kentucky in two statewide coaches polls and remains the leading candidate for the 2020 Miss Kentucky Basketball title.
Scherr topped the all-state balloting in coaches polls conducted by the Louisville Courier-Journal and Lexington Herald-Leader newspapers. She was also named Gatorade’s Kentucky Player of the Year.
Maddie Scherr
A sprained ankle kept the Ryle senior guard from playing in the 9th Region championship game and her team’s first-round win in the state tournament on March 13. The state tournament was suspended one day later due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic and has remained on hold for the last four weeks.
Scherr, a University of Oregon recruit, has averaged 14.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.8 blocks during her senior season. She was selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American Games that were also cancelled due to the pandemic.
That’s the same reason the Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball awards ceremony that was supposed to take place this week has been rescheduled for June 28 at the Griffin Gate Marriott in Lexington.
Even if her high school career ends earlier than expected, Scherr has already set Ryle team records in total points (2,297), rebounds (1,094), assists (679), steals (535) and blocks (233). She was also named most valuable player at the 2019 state tournament after leading her team to its first state championship.
Scherr was also selected 9th Region Player of the Year by the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches this season. That would’ve made her eligible to play in the annual Kentucky-Indiana All-Star Games in June, but they have also been cancelled.
Other local players who received votes in the all-state coaches polls conducted by two downstate newspapers are listed below:
LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL ALL-STATE COACHES POLL
Girls second team all-state – Simon Kenton senior Maggie Jones.
Girls third team all-state — Brossart junior Marie Kiefer.
Girls honorable mention — Ryle junior Brie Crittendon, Notre Dame sophomore Lacey Bradshaw.
Boys second team all-state – Covington Catholic senior Grant Disken.
Boys third team all-state — Highlands junior Sam Vinson, Simon Kenton junior Kelly Niece..
Boys honorable mention – St. Henry junior Wyatt Vieth, Beechwood junior Scotty Draud.
LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER ALL-STATE COACHES POLL
Girls third team all-state — Brossart junior Marie Kiefer.
Girls honorable mention — Ryle junior Brie Crittendon.
Boys third team all-state — Highlands junior Sam Vinson.
Boys honorable mention — Covington Catholic senior Grant Disken, Simon Kenton junior Kelly Niece, Beechwood junior Scotty Draud.
