Members of the All-East Texas basketball teams take a selfie. In front (from left) are Laneville boys coach Hosea Lee, Aston Francis (All Saints), Verlo Levels (Grace Community), Jordan Gray (Lindale) and Brownsboro boys coach Tobin Reid. In back (left to right) are Brooke Lee (Bishop Gorman), Macie Arrington (Alba-Golden), Kassidy Wilkerson (Canton), Ashtyn Beal (John Tyler) and Dana Irvin (Canton HC). photo by Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph

Cheyenne Brown can dominate games.

The Martins Mill junior can score 40 points, pull down 20 rebounds or block 10 shots any given night.

Brown was a major reason the Lady Mustangs went 33-3 and spent time as the top-ranked team in Class 1A Div. I and for that she is the Tyler Morning Telegraph and ETFinalScore.com’s All-East Texas Player of the Year.

But Brown didn’t do it alone. Throwing the ball to her in the post was freshman point guard Hailey Celsur.

After a standout season running the Martins Mill offense, Celsur is the 2014 All-ET Newcomer of the Year.

The duo helped Martins Mill reach the regional final for the ninth straight year, though the Lady Mustangs just missed out on a ninth straight trip to state.

“Our season went really good,” Brown said. “To be a young team as we were, we played really well. I’m proud of the way we executed and the way we played together as a team and not just one person did something, everybody on the team did something.

“It didn’t end as we had wanted it to but we have next year and we will definitely go out there and get what we want and what we need.”

Brown, who follows Bishop Gorman’s Michelle Obach as Player of the Year, scored 23 points per night while putting up nearly 12 rebounds and three blocks per game to power Martins Mill on both ends of the court.

Playing under coach Doug Barncastle, Brown said she’s progressed immensely since winning Newcomer of the Year honors as a freshman.

“When I was a freshman I knew I was good, I knew God gave me the ability to play the way I did, my family worked me hard,” she said. “But playing under Barncastle was a great experience. I learned to be mentally tough and that was something that was needed.”

Now a dominant force who already has offers from Louisiana Tech, Stephen F. Austin and Northwestern State, Brown was able to help Celsur in her freshman year.

“She helped me a whole lot,” Celsur said of Brown. “I couldn’t have done it without her and with her being out there with me it gives me confidence knowing I can do it.”

Celsur, the District 17-1A Div. I Newcomer of the Year, follows Bullard’s Lexi Kirgan as the honor’s recipient.

Brown said she expected Celsur to take time to adapt to the varsity game but after the first quarter of the first game, she played like she belonged.

“I could not have asked for a better point guard to play with,” Brown said. “She’s a great player. She sees the court like no one else. She’s a great point guard and to be a freshman she took on a huge responsibility starting as our freshman point guard. She took everything so calmly.”

The Lady Mustangs will graduate one senior and the bulk of their team returns, though Barncastle will not.

Coach Laura Jenkins will look to lead Martins Mill as the school moves into Class 2A next year.

Celsur has already pointed out areas she wants to improve to help her team.

“I’m looking forward to being a whole lot better with handling the ball and shooting and being able to make the pass and the shot and I’m expecting a lot more out of myself,” Celsur said.

Brown said missing out on state this year motivates her and her teammates more than anything to get back to Austin.

“It really did hurt not going back to state; it was a shock to everyone,” Brown said. “But it motivates everyone on the team. We want this just as bad as anything now. We want to go back to state, we want to start that new tradition as a 2A team.

“I’m looking forward to the chance of gaining our name back, going back to state, being with the girls my last year to play as a Lady Mustang.”

— Staff Writer Chris Parry contributed to this report. 

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Girls Coach of the Year

Irvin leads hometown Canton to 3A regionals

Chris Parry, cparry@tylerpaper.com

Dana Irvin came home to Canton and delivered the Lady Eagles somewhere they hadn’t been in a decade.

Irvin, a former Canton player herself, piloted her girls to the Class 3A Region II semifinals where they were stopped by eventual state runner-up Argyle. Canton finished with a 27-7 record.

The Lady Eagles tied for the District 15-3A title and Irvin shared district Coach of the Year honors.

This time she has the honor all to herself. Irvin has been chosen Coach of the Year for the Tyler Morning Telegraph and ETFinalScore.com’s 2014 All-East Texas Girls Basketball Team. She follows last year’s co-coaches Brad Gipson of Alba-Golden and Clayton Harris of Mineola.

Irvin’s first year at Canton was 2012-13, with the Lady Eagles posting a respectable finish and reaching the area round of the playoffs.

Irvin felt the next year’s group was going to be able to produce something special.

“I knew this was a special group of girls,” Irvin said. “We have some young girls who are really dedicated to the game and spend a whole lot of time in the gym. We also had a couple seniors that were eager to accomplish more than they had in the previous years.”

One of those seniors was Kassidy Wilkerson. Wilkerson went on to be chosen MVP of District 15-3A and was named to the All-ET team as a first teamer. Joining her on the all-district team were sophomores Holly Raitz and Lilly Nelson.

“They were hungry and capable,” Irvin said. “I wasn’t sure they were capable of getting to the regional tournament, but that was these young girls’ goal — from Little Dribblers on they wanted to get to Austin. First you have to get to regionals and once you get there, you know anything can happen.”

The playoffs began with a 10-point win over Spring Hill. Then was a matchup against Quinlan Ford, a team that had been Canton’s nemesis in earlier years. This time, however, Canton prevailed by two points, 47-45.

Irvin said the team used the momentum from the win over Quinlan Ford to roll past Pleasant Grove 53-34 in the regional quarterfinals, reaching the regional tournament for the first time since 2004.

The journey stopped there, but Irvin envisions another long playoff run next season.

“The girls still want to go to back. They know someone has to step up and take Kassidy’s spot, but we are young,” Irvin said. “I have my two (all-district) sophomores and two sophomores who would’ve started, but missed this whole season because of injuries. We’ll still have a good core (back).” 

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Girls All-East Texas Basketball

Superlatives

Player of the Year: Cheyenne Brown, Jr., Martins Mill — Brown averaged a double-double, scoring 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds per game while helping the Lady Mustangs reach the Class 1A Div. I Region III final.

Newcomer of the Year: Hailey Celsur, Fr., Martins Mill — Led Lady Mustangs as starting point guard to 33-3 season.

Coach of the Year: Dana Irvin, Canton — Led the Canton Lady Eagles to the regional tournament for the first time in 10 years.

 First Team

Ashtyn Beal, Soph., John Tyler — Averaged about 18 points per game with 3.5 assists and 3.2 steals for the Lady Lions; named District 16-4A MVP.

Macie Arrington, Jr., Alba-Golden — Was chosen MVP of District 14-2A and averaged 17.3 points and 3.4 steals per game. Named to Texas Girls Coaches Association All-State Team.

Kassidy Wilkerson, Sr., Canton — Chosen MVP of District 15-3A after leading the Lady Eagles to a co-district championship and to its best playoff run since 2004.

Natasha Malone, Sr., Lindale — The post was chosen Offensive MVP for District 16-4A and a first-team player for the Texas High School Basketball Coaches Associated All-Region Team.

Brooke Lee, Sr., Bishop Gorman — The senior guard was named to the TAPPS all-state team after she averaged 17.2 points per game and led TAPPS 4A with 81 3-pointers.

 Second Team

Sky-Lynn Holmes, Jr., Pine Tree

Jacy Lloyd, Sr., Harmony

Tony Burks, Sr., Kilgore

Alexes Bell, Jr., Tatum

Danielle Mabry, Sr., Winnsboro

 Third Team

Bridgette Taylor, Sr., Bullard

DaJah Thompson, Sr., Robert E. Lee

Jasmine Parson, Sr., Jacksonville

Amia Wickware, Jr., John Tyler

Madison Spears, Jr., Cayuga

 Girls Honorable Mention

Alba-Golden — Corlie Lennon, Kaylee Bizzell, Caitlin Lennon, Shelby Wright, Gracie Pendergrass; All Saints — Kelcee Harwood; Alto — Carenza Johnson; Athens — Cari Aguilera; Big Sandy — Suhmer Mitchell; Brownsboro — Sydney Hightower, Tamaria Manning, Briana Warren; Bullard — Lexi Abercrombie, Lexi Kirgan; Bullard Brook Hill — Charlie Niles, Avery Langemeier, Morgan Moss; Canton — Holly Raitz; Carlisle — Cece DeLeon, Hannah Hamilton; Carthage — Lauren Thompson; Cayuga — Kathleen Lackey, Aly Jenkins, Britney Longmiles; Chapel Hill — Dai-Jaishnae Maddox, Shay Ross; Crandall — Brooke Wyble, Alex Harris, Demi Frazier, Tara Woodham; Cross Roads — Pepper Norwood, Paulette Burgess; Cushing — Mackenzie Tucker, Kayla Moore, Sammi Jo Brashears; East Texas Christian Academy — Amanda Walston, Emily Hearn; Edgewood — Demiya Warren, Hannah Jameson, Paige Parker; Frankston — Chasity Cooper, Latesha Gray; Gilmer — Destiny Brooks; Gladewater — Diamond Goodwyn; Grace Community — Megan Raborar; Grand Saline — Brooke Denton, Brittany Joslin; Grapeland — Cymone Davis; Hallsville — TaLure Wilder, Junesha Williams; Harmony — McKinna Seahorn, Cailee Davidson, Lexie Miller; Hawkins — Alisha Taylor; Henderson — Ja’Keyah Stewart; Jacksonville — DaMonica Franklin; John Tyler — Tameal Jones; Kilgore — Mar’Shalia Lollie, Annie Mehringer, Mikayla Thomas; Laneville — Tafoya Alexander; Lindale — McKenna Cox, Paige Murphy, Heather Gilbert; Longview — MiKayla Smith, Ravan Chism; Mabank — Madison Holyfield, Carson Marsh; Marshall — Brea Robinson; Martins Mill — Cassidy McCoy, Alyssa Pate; Mineola — Jordan Dawson, Kelsey Green; Mount Enterprise — Alexys Hammett, Alesha Townsend; Mount Pleasant — Shakyra Hutchings, Genesis Alvarez, Bresha Hargraves; Nacogdoches — Emauzja Johnson, Christy Whitaker; Neches — Kamryn Kinder; Overton — Heather Raney; Palestine — Kierra Wilson; Palestine Westwood — Mi’Kayla Benson, Natali Muniz; Pine Tree — Skylynn Holmes, Sheondra Clayton, Kabreshia Orange; Quitman — Alyssa Harris, Tori Houck; Rains — Charlotte Bradshaw, Molly Carista, Shye Meador-McCray; Rusk — Kelsey Blankenship; Sabine — Jayden Mount, Haley Stuart; Spring Hill — Mikai Brown, Ann Hollas, Audrey Popelar; Tatum — Kaylah Starling, Jakaylon Lee, Ronishia Simpson; Troup — Josee Ross, Paeton Nolan; Union Grove — Cheyenne Grubbs, Jenna Chambliss, Kassidy Kruse; Van — Hallee Carter; West Rusk — Jasmin Session, Tierney Reddic, Sarah Buckner, Tierra Wilson; Whitehouse — Aston Ates, Brooke Stewart; White Oak — Makenszie Goll, Cayman Sutton; Wills Point — Norma Cunigan, Mikayla Denton; Winnsboro — Bailey Swanner, Reagan Johnson, Logan Redding; Winona — Kawaii Gordon, Jamece Gulley.