MARSHALL — The Minneota and Marshall girls basketball teams each received a pair of first-team selections while Westbrook-Walnut Grove earned another in the Independent’s All-Area teams, announced on Friday.

The sophomore backcourt duo of Taleigha Bigler and Reese Drake led the way for Marshall this season. Drake was a prolific and efficient scorer, scoring a team-high 14.7 points per game on 53.6% effective field goal percentage (eFG). Bigler also averaged double figures and knocked down a team-high 49 3-pointers. Bigler’s 3.6 assists and 6.8 rebounds per game were both team-highs.

Bigler and Drake were also very effective on the defensive end with 3.9 steals per game for Drake and another 3.5 for Bigler.

For the Vikings, forward Kenadi Arndt and guard Grace Hennen each got the nod. 

Hennen was named the Camden Conference South MVP as the Vikings’ leading scorer with 12.4 points per game while Arndt averaged a 13.4-rebound, 10.2-point double-double on the season. Arndt was also the Vikings’ primary rim protector with 1.8 blocks per game and tied Hennen with a team-leading 3.0 steals per game.

Izzy Klumper was the area’s most prolific 3-point shooter. Earning her second consecutive first-team nod, Klumper averaged 17.6 points per game while setting a new school scoring record with 1,583 points. She also set school records for single-season 3-pointers (9), single-season 3-pointers (102) and career 3-pointers (250).

Beyond the volume, Klumper was efficient; she shot 38.8% from beyond the arc for a 50.2% eFG.

Marshall, Minneota and Westbrook-Walnut Grove were the three winningest programs out of the Independent’s 12 area schools this year, each surpassing the 20-win mark. 

Marshall finished its season as the No. 10 team in Class AAA, going 21-9 and falling to St. Peter in its section championship game. St. Peter went on to finish in fifth at the Class AAA state tournament.

Minneota went 27-4 and finished as No. 9 in Class A after falling to Southwest Minnesota Christian in its section championship game.

Westbrook-Walnut Grove put together another solid season, going 23-5 and earning the No. 2 seed in the Section 3A south bracket before falling to No. 3S Edgerton by just one point, 52-51, in the subsection semifinals.

Westbrook-Walnut Grove’s Leah Carter and Minneota’s Dakoda Hennen each received second-team honors while Marshall’s Reese Graven and Minneota’s Kiersyn Hulzebos were both acknowledged as honorable mentions.

Dawson-Boyd seniors Allison Estling and Ayiana Hastad both received second-team honors. Estling was the area’s second-leading scorer while Hastad’s 9.1 rebounds per game were second only to Arndt.

Brynn Kockelman rounded out the second team with 11.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per game for Canby. The sophomore guard was one of just four non-seniors to make the first or second team alongside fellow sophomores Bigler, Drake and Carter.

The Independent will announce its girls basketball Player of the Year and Coach of the Year on Friday, April 5. The boys All-Area team will be announced in tomorrow’s edition of the Independent with the boys Player of the Year and Coach of the Year being announced in the following Weekender.

(listed in alphabetical order)

Kenadi Arndt, F, Sr., Minneota

10.2 PPG, 40.7% eFG, 13.4 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.8 BPG, 3.0 SPG

Taleigha Bigler, G, So., Marshall

10.6 PPG, 38.9% eFG, 49 3PM, 3.6 APG, 6.8 RPG, 3.5 SPG

Reese Drake, G, So., Marshall

14.7 PPG, 53.6% eFG, 48 3PM, 3.0 APG, 5.1 RPG, 3.9 SPG

Grace Hennen, G, Sr., Minneota

12.4 PPG, 42.4% eFG, 30 3PM, 2.4 APG, 6.1 RPG, 3.0 SPG

Izzy Klumper, G, Sr., WWG

17.6 PPG, 50.2% eFG, 102 3PM, 3.5 RPG, 1.6 SPG

Independent All-Area Second Team

(listed in alphabetical order)

Leah Carter, F, So., WWG:

7.8 PPG, 53.4% eFG, 7.0 RPG, 0.5 BPG, 0.7 SPG

Allison Estling, G, Sr., Dawson-Boyd

14.8 PPG, 36.5% eFG, 4.9 RPG, 3.3 SPG

Ayiana Hastad, G, Sr., Dawson-Boyd

7.5 PPG, 32.4% eFG, 9.1 RPG, 3.5 SPG

Dakoda Hennen, G, Sr., Minneota

10.0 PPG, 49.0% eFG, 3.6 RPG, 2.9 SPG

Brynn Kockelman, G, So., Canby

11.8 PPG, 46.5% eFG, 3.2 APG, 3.3 RPG, 2.8 SPG