Alyssa Austin, sophomore, Cedar Crest — One of just two sophomores to grace our first team picks, Austin popped in 14.8 points and was a rebounding and shot-blocking machine for the Falcons, who won their seventh L-L League championship and reached the second round of the PIAA playoffs. The low-post matchup nightmare will enter her junior campaign with 618 career points

Manheim Twp. coach Sean Burkhart on Cedar Crest’s Alyssa Austin — “I like her ability to rebound the ball and score on put-backs. She has really good hands and she does a good job of keeping the ball high, which allows her to draw a lot of fouls, as well as getting conventional three-point plays. Prepping for her is a double-edged sword because if you help off of her on their guards, she would destroy you inside. And if you don’t help off her and stay with her, she opens up the lanes for their guards to penetrate. The scary part about her is that she’s only a sophomore, and she’s just coming into her own."

Cecily Carl, senior, Mechanicsburg — Major inside-outside threat capped her career in style, averaging 15.8 points with 20 3-pointers, helping the Wildcats win 24 games and make a return trip to the PIAA playoffs. American University recruit finished her run with 1,265 career points, most in school history — boys or girls. Carl is a repeat first-team selection.

Palmyra coach Ron Berman on Mechanicsburg’s Cecily Carl — “I think Cecily has been the most dominating player in the Mid-Penn Keystone the past two years, due to her combination of size, her defensive ability to control the lane, and her offensive skills both around the basket and stepping out to shoot the 3. We constantly had to adjust to covering her when we played Mechanicsburg due to her ability to dominate both ends of the floor for extended periods of time. We frequently had to change our defensive coverage to mix up what we were doing that game because she had the complete game to score in a variety of ways.”

Jen Falconer, senior, Cumberland Valley — Eagles’ jet-quick guard was dynamite in transition and even better on the defensive end, continually bottling up the opposition’s top sniper. Chipped in with 4.7 points while helping CV win the Mid-Penn Commonwealth, the conference title, the District 3 crown, and successfully defend its PIAA championship. Also a soccer standout, Falconer will play Division I hoops for Radford University.

Harrisburg coach Dwan Lee on Cumberland Valley’s Jen Falconer — “Jen is the perfect point guard for that team because she’s so selfless. She took on the task of guarding the opponents’ best perimeter player every game, and she still was able to push the tempo for them, and direct traffic during the course of a game.”

Jenay Faulkner, sophomore, Greencastle-Antrim — Blue Devils captured their second Mid-Penn Colonial title in a row, and won their first District 3-AAA championship, and Faulkner was a key cog, bucketing 17.1 points while drilling a midstate-best 75 3-pointers. Superb in the open court, talented defender and wow, can she score the basketball. Faulkner, who is getting Division I interest, will begin her junior season with 833 career points.

Big Spring coach Randy Jones on Greencastle-Antrim’s Jenay Faulkner — “Jenay is a smooth criminal: She makes the game look easy with her finesse around the basket — and her ability to see the floor is sometimes mouth-dropping. Jenay not only is dangerous from the perimeter, where I feel her game exploded this year, but she also understands how to allow things to open up with her screen-setting, low-block positioning and floor-general capabilities. Where she has taken her game as a sophomore is unbelievable.”

Michaela Gelbaugh, senior, CD East — Panthers had a super 24-3 season with a trip to the PIAA playoffs, and Gelbaugh was the catalyst, directing traffic from the perimeter, getting through traffic and shooting from deep. The University of Maryland (Baltimore County) recruit pocketed 14.3 points and canned 26 3-pointers, using her size advantage at the top of the circle to dribble-drive and make teams pay in the lane with her passing prowess. Gelbaugh, a repeat first-team pick, finished her prep career with 1,038 points.

Cumberland Valley coach Bill Wolf on CD East’s Michaela Gelbaugh — “Michaela was an outstanding 4-year starter for CD East. She was a very tough competitor who was difficult to defend because she could beat you with the 3-pointer, as well as beat you with the dribble and scoring in the paint. Late in the game, when East had a lead, it was pretty much game over with the ball in her hands when East spread the floor. Michaela’s name should be mentioned when talking about the top guards in the state.”

Kelly Jekot, junior, Cumberland Valley — Reigning Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of the Year and Villanova recruit popped in 18.8 points and knocked down 50 3-pointers for the Eagles, who won Mid-Penn Commonwealth, conference, District 3 and PIAA championships in a glittering 32-1 season. CV’s playmaker du jour will open her senior season next winter with 1,482 points, after being named first-team Big 15 for the third year in a row.

Carlisle coach Bob Smetana on Cumberland Valley’s Kelly Jekot — “I love her game; she’s basically a 6-foot point guard playing girls’ basketball. Most boys’ teams don’t even have that. She can do everything and play any position. She has the skill set of a point guard, shooting guard, forward or center, so she’s an offensive threat from anywhere on the court. She can score from in the paint, beyond the arc, driving to the basketball. And she can out the occasional assist. It’s almost impossible to prep for her. If you defend the 3, she’ll drive. If you play her to drive, she’ll shoot the 3. If you put someone small and quick on her, she’ll post them up.”

Miranda Hoover, senior, Susquenita — Incredibly dominant senior campaign in the post for Hoover, who led the Tri-Valley League in three key statistical categories: points per game (21.2), rebounds per game (16.2) and blocked shots (47). She also shot 75 percent from the line, poked away 16 steals and dished off 16 assists in 13 league games. Hoover finished her Blackhawks’ career with 1,067 points.

Juniata coach Kevin Kodish on Susquenita’s Miranda Hoover — “Miranda was a major force for Susquenita this season, and Tri-Valley opponents struggled to come up with an answer for her. She was quite difficult to prepare for because it’s tough to simulate a player of her height and athletic ability — and her tremendous drive to win — in practice. A lot Tri-Valley coaches will be smiling this June when Miranda receives her diploma. I know we at Juniata certainly with her well in her future endeavors and we thank her for being such a great competitor.”

Kyla Irwin, junior, State College  — Make that three Big 15 first-team appearances for the UConn commit, who enjoyed another big season for the Little Lions. Irwin paced the midstate in scoring, averaging an even 20.0 points on 52 percent shooting from the floor, and she led State College with 21 3-pointers. But Irwin is so much more than scoring; she grabbed a team-best 13.1 rebounds per game — including 100 offensive boards — dished off 71 assists, and she led the Little Lions in steals (52) and blocked shots (52). The multi-purpose threat will begin her senior season next winter with 1,397 career points.