Purdue signee Dee Dee Jernigan has been named the Region's Player-of-the-Year by the Northwest Times. Jernigan averaged 16.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.0 steals per game as a senior at East Chicago. The newspaper had the following quote on her...

"Proving that she could play anywhere on the floor, Jernigan solidified herself as the Region's best guard after three years of rising to power in the post. A monster behind the 3-point line, smooth with the jumper and a clever ball-handler, Purdue is getting the best the Region has to offer."

Daugherty gets Player-of-the-Year award

The mother-daughter team of Caroline Daugherty and Kristin Daugherty were named Co-Coach and Co-Player of the Year, respectively, by the Associated Press. The 2006 Associated Press named the two to the All-Eastern District Division II basketball honor teams.

Kristin Daugherty averaged 19 points and 8.8 rebounds per game this year. She also averaged 4.1 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.5 blocks per game and shot 53.3 percent from the field and 71.8 percent from the foul line.

On the AP second team was a third Daugherty. Freshman Kari Daugherty moved into a starting role midway through the season and went on to average 9.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 2.0 assists and nearly one block per game.

Illinois state recruiting update

Chicago Whitney Young sophomore D'Frantz Smart has two offers at the moment from St. Louis and Northern Illinois. She plans visits to Big Ten programs Illinois and Northwestern in the spring. Whitney Young was defeated by eventual Illinois state champion Bolingbrook by two points in an overtime game in the Class AA semifinals last weekend. Smart, a guard just a hair over 5-foot, averaged just 8.3 points per game this season, but exploded for 31 points in a sectional win over Crane. She also averages 6.1 assists and has hit 39-of-78 three-pointers this season.

While Smart is considering St. Louis, another Chicago area player has chosen the Billikens. Tatiana Ortiz of Von Steuben, a 5'9 junior guard, chose St. Louis over scholarship offers from Missouri, Marquette and Illinois according to the Chicago Tribune.

AP Class AA Illinois All-State

Total voting points are in parenthesis, with five points for a first-team vote, four points for second team and three points for third team.

FIRST TEAM: Amanda Thompson, Sr., Young (50); Theresa Lisch, Sr., Belleville Althoff (46); Latear Eason, Jr., Hope (43); Maggie Krick, Sr., Washington (Ill.) (42); Jennifer Juergens, Sr., Bishop McNamara (41).

SECOND TEAM: Brittany McCoy, Sr., Loyola (33); Ashley Thomas, Sr., Moline (31); Paige Fiedorowicz, Jr., Johnsburg (28); Allie Lindemann, Sr., Champaign Central (28); Alison Jackson, Jr., Fenwick (27).

THIRD TEAM: Teah Gant, Sr., Oswego (25); Maggie McCloskey, Sr., Riverside-Brookfield (23); Samantha Quigley, Sr., Joliet Catholic (20); Courtney Weibel, Sr., Rockton Hononegah (18); Amy Jaeschke, Jr., New Trier (15).

HONORABLE MENTION (RECEIVED AT LEAST TWO VOTES): Erica Carter (Sr., Naperville Central), Sarah Boothe (So., Warren), Jen Nichols (Sr., Woodstock), Lakhiyia Hicks (Sr., Rockford Jefferson), Devon Carbaugh (Jr., Sterling), Kylee Grant (Sr., Peoria Richwoods), Tracy Pontius (Jr., Morton, Ill.), Amanda Clifton (Jr., Rock Island Alleman), Kristen Fox (Sr., Ottawa), Devereaux Peters (Jr., Fenwick), Victoria Smith (Sr., East St. Louis), Brittney Thomas (Jr., Bolingbrook), Maggie Mocchi (So., Buffalo Grove), Kaci Baird (Sr., Bartlett), Kim Ebbesen (Sr., Bartlett), Ashley Tomzik (Jr., Maine South).