Twice as nice
Geibel无毛视频檚 Larkin first team All-State again; Brownsville无毛视频檚 Gates also named
Emma Larkin wasn无毛视频檛 taking anything for granted.
The Geibel Catholic girls basketball star was named to the Pennsylvania 无毛视频 Writers无毛视频� All-State Class A First Team a year ago but that didn无毛视频檛 mean a repeat was a sure thing.
无毛视频淵ou don无毛视频檛 get it for what you did last year,无毛视频� Larkin said. 无毛视频淵ou have to work for everything every season.无毛视频�
Larkin certainly did enough to warrant that honor again 无毛视频� averaging 26.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 4.2 steals per game as a junior for the Lady Gators 无毛视频� and the Pa. 无毛视频 Writers agreed, naming Larkin to the 2024-25 Class A First Team for the second consecutive year.
无毛视频淣o, I don无毛视频檛 want to say it was a surprise but you never know,无毛视频� Larkin said. 无毛视频淓ven the second time, it无毛视频檚 still a great feeling to be named First Team All-State.无毛视频�
Larki无毛视频檚 coach and mother, Sara Larkin, felt the same way.
无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 never any guarantees so you never really know,无毛视频� Sara Larkin said. 无毛视频淲e were pleasantly surprised when we saw she was First Team again.无毛视频�
Emma Larkin, a 5-foot-5 point guard, was the area无毛视频檚 leading scorer and finished second in the WPIAL behind Clairton senior Iyanna Wade, who averaged over 41 points per game and was named the All-State Class A Player of the Year.
The second-leading scorer among local players was Brownsville junior Skyler Gates, who averaged 20.7 points per game during the regular season. Gates was also named to the All-State team, landing on the Class 3A Third Team.
Sara Larkin felt Geibel无毛视频檚 improvement this year overall as a team likely helped keep Larkin无毛视频檚 name at the top of the All-State list.
无毛视频淭eam success definitely helps,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淭he fact the team did really well this year, finally getting a playoff win, winning the section title, making the state playoffs,无毛视频� Larkin said. 无毛视频淥bviously the program is getting a little more attention.
无毛视频淪he has a little more help around her now as well, and that boosted the team and boosted Emma无毛视频檚 stats, too. I know a lot of people don无毛视频檛 pay much attention to anything other than points, but when you see her assists, her steals, her rebounds, those numbers are all improving. Maybe the public doesn无毛视频檛 see that but the coaches see that.无毛视频�
Emma Larkin lauded her teammates.
无毛视频淚 can无毛视频檛 do anything without my team,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淚n basketball you have four other girls on the court with you. I can无毛视频檛 play one on five, that will never work. Having Mallory (Clemmer) and Janiah (Darnell), the two bigs, that was especially important and it took a lot of stress off of me this year.无毛视频�
Larkin continues to work on her game, even now during her travel league season.
无毛视频淚 tend to be strong at driving to the hoop and ball handling and I still work on those things to keep sharp on that, but where I have room for improvement is pull-up jumpers and 3s so I无毛视频檝e definitely still been focusing on that aspect of my game,无毛视频� said Larkin, who finished the high school season at 1,909 career points.
Gates, a 6-4 center, had goals of getting close to or reaching 1,000 career points and helping the Lady Falcons make the WPIAL playoffs for the second year in a row, and she accomplished both.
无毛视频淭he 1,000 points, which I wasn无毛视频檛 sure I would get this year, was big for me and then we wanted to go back to the playoffs,无毛视频� Gates said. 无毛视频淚 wasn无毛视频檛 really thinking about making All-State. I was a bit shocked when I heard I made it.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 proud of how far I无毛视频檝e come in basketball and I无毛视频檓 grateful to be named to the All-State team.无毛视频�
Gates is the first Brownsville player to be named All-State in girls basketball since Maris Seto in 2016.
Ironically, basketball isn无毛视频檛 even Gates无毛视频� best sport. She无毛视频檚 a Virginia volleyball recruit and also was named All-State in that sport in the fall.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a tremendous honor for her,无毛视频� Brownsville girls basketball coach Patty Columbia said. 无毛视频淪kyler probably could无毛视频檝e gone D-1 in basketball had she not made the choice to go the volleyball route.无毛视频�
Gates is currently a starter on the Lady Falcons softball team.
无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 just how good of an athlete she is,无毛视频� said Columbia, who pointed out Gates无毛视频� favorite sport used to be softball.
无毛视频淚nterestingly enough, when Skyler was young that was her sport. I was coaching some summer teams and I saw her and said wow this girl无毛视频檚 unbelievable. She was a catcher.无毛视频�
Gates confirmed.
无毛视频淲hen I was younger I was obsessed with softball,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淚 wasn无毛视频檛 playing volleyball yet. Basketball was like just for fun. Softball was really my main thing back then.无毛视频�
Now she无毛视频檚 a three-sport star hoping to make it three-for-three in reaching the playoffs this year.
无毛视频淭hat would be huge,无毛视频� Gates said.
The Lady Falcons无毛视频� softball team currently is atop the section standings.
While she concentrates on volleyball most of the time now, she still manages to stay involved in basketball.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檒l go to the gym once in a while and still try to work on my basketball game,无毛视频� Gates said. 无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 exactly always have time for it but I do my best to keep up with it.无毛视频�
Gates opened plenty of eyes during Brownsville无毛视频檚 playoff loss to eventual WPIAL champion Greensburg Central Catholic this past basketball season. She scored a team-high 17 points and gave the Lady Centurions enough problems inside to draw praise from GCC coach Chris Skatell.
无毛视频淗e came up to me after the game and just marveled about Skyler,无毛视频� Columbia said. 无毛视频淚 think that playoff game helped get her some more notoriety in basketball. Greensburg went on to win the WPIAL title. I think having that exposure with a lot more people having a chance to see her play against that good of competition probably helped her make All-State.无毛视频�
Gates agreed
无毛视频淯sually you hear about me in volleyball,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淚 think that GCC game definitely got my name out there a little more prominently maybe for basketball.无毛视频�
Gates holds Columbia in high regard.
无毛视频淚 love her. She always keeps me on track,无毛视频� Gates said. 无毛视频淚f I无毛视频檓 getting frustrated during a game she无毛视频檚 able to calm me down and make sure I get my focus back.无毛视频�
Columbia, who also is an assistant softball coach under Jane Bock, admires Gates as well.
无毛视频淎s talented as she is, she无毛视频檚 just as much a sweetheart,无毛视频� Columbia said. 无毛视频淚 mean Skyler is just a wonderful girl.无毛视频�