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Smith lands on first team

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Shariah Smith of Iowa Central guard her sister Shareece Smith of Iowa Lakes inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

Shareece Smith was pretty sure she would earn all-region status after completing her freshman season for Iowa Lakes.

But the Fort Dodge Senior High graduate wasn’t expecting to see her name on the first team list.

Smith, along with Iowa Central’s Brittany West, were both honored recently by the ICCAC along with eight other players.

Avery Terwilliger was named to the second team and Shariah Smith to the third for the Tritons.

On the year, Smith posted 14.2 points per game with 8.2 rebounds, four assists and 2.3 steals as well. She was second on the team in scoring and finished first in the other three categories.

“Honestly, I expected to get honorable mention, so making (first team) means a lot,” said Smith, who is listed at 5-foot-5. “So I’m feeling pretty good and ready to work even harder during the offseason.”

Smith ranked fourth in the nation in free throw shooting with 170 makes and 243 attempts. She was also 33rd in assists, 50th in defensive rebounds and 52nd in total rebounds.

She had a season-high 27 points twice, with the first time coming in her return to Fort Dodge vs. Iowa Central. Smith scored over 20 points in nine games.

West, a two-year starter for Iowa Central, finished her career by helping get the Tritons to the Region XI semifinals. She earned a spot on the all-tournament team for her efforts.

“After making second team all-region last season, it was a goal of mine to get first team my sophomore year,” West said. “I knew I’d have to work at it to achieve this goal, so to see the work pay off was a really rewarding feeling.”

West led Iowa Central at 14.1 points per game this year, hitting 46 percent of her field goals, 37 percent of her 3-pointers and 87 percent of her free throws.

Over the past two seasons, West scored 813 points with 291 made field goals, 268 rebounds and 126 triples.

Terwilliger, a former all-stater at Humboldt, finished her two-year Iowa Central career with 410 points, 200 rebounds and 124 assists. She averaged 11 points per game this past season.

Smith, also a graduate of FDSH and the older sister of Shareece, transferred to Iowa Central after a season in Kansas at Neosho. She scored 8.6 points per game with 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals.

Samantha Hagedorn, a freshman at Iowa Lakes and former North Union standout, earned second team honors.

NIACC swept the season awards, as Todd Ciochetto was coach of the year and Mandy Willems earned player of the year honors.

ICCAC ALL-REGION WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

First Team

Aliyah Robinson, DMACC, soph.; Brittany West, Iowa Central, soph.; Breanna Wendland, Iowa Lakes, fr.; Shareece Smith, Iowa Lakes, fr.; Anasha Hurst, Kirkwood, soph.; Talia Paytiamo, Little Priest, soph.; Mandy Willems, NIACC, fr.; Jada Buford, NIACC, fr.; Autam Mendez, NIACC, fr.; Miah Shelby, Southeastern, soph.

Second Team

Grace Stalzer, DMACC, soph.; Ellie Horn, DMACC, soph.; Avery Terwilliger, Iowa Central, soph.; Samantha Hagedorn, Iowa Lakes, fr.; Haley Mullinix, Kirkwood, soph.; Ju Gaston, Kirkwood, fr.; Paige Bradford, Kirkwood, fr.; Tahya Campbell, NIACC, soph.; Andreisha Waller, Southeastern, soph.; Madelyn Moya, Southwestern, soph.

Third Team

Asia Mena, DMACC, fr.; Tayla Nulty, Ellsworth, soph.; Shariah Smith, Iowa Central, soph.; Safiyer Coleman, Iowa Lakes, fr.; Mackenzie Jenkins, Kirkwood, soph.; Leah Robinson, Kirkwood, soph.; Amaya Leon, Little Priest, fr.; Kelcie Hale, NIACC, fr.; Benedetta Murpurgo, Southeastern, soph.; Tina Lair-Van Meter, Southwestern, soph.

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