By TAYLOR KENNEDY | Gazette-Mail
Natalie Smith’s time at Nitro was short, but she made the most of her two years with the Wildcats.
As a junior, Smith led Nitro to the Class AAA state tournament title and was MVP of the tournament.
Smith grew as a player leading into her senior season, and she capped her final season at Nitro by leading the Wildcats back to the state tournament title game.
The 6-foot forward averaged 14.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, three assists, 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks per game as a senior.
That impressive senior campaign earned her Class AAA first-team captain status on the 50th annual West Virginia Sports Writers Association all-state team.
“I would describe her career as unbelievable,” Nitro coach Pat Jones said of Smith. “She came in and committed herself for two years to the Nitro girls basketball program. She leaves a legacy. She finished her career with over 1,000 points and in two years scored over 800. She did incredible things. Natalie accomplished just about everything last year. However, all of this goes back to her dedication in the offseason and the work she put in.”
Smith is the first Nitro player tabbed as the all-state first-team captain since Baylee Goins in 2021. Goins shared that honor with Fairmont Senior’s Marley Washenitz.
Jones appreciates Smith’s willingness to learn every day.
“She was very coachable,” Jones said. “She would get down on herself a ton of times, but she was able to handle constructive criticism very well. I used to tell her that she was the leader on the team and that when she’s in good spirits, then everyone else is. She did that night in and night out. She was always able to pick herself back up when things were down.”
Smith transferred to Nitro as a junior following two years at South Charleston.
Jones saw Smith still trying to figure things out during her junior season. He saw a night-and-day difference in her as a senior, with a significant reason being her belief in herself.
“She was much more confident,” Jones said. “In her junior year, she came in with a lot of nerves, being a transfer from South Charleston. She had a lot of what-ifs. In her senior year, she came out more relaxed and confident because she showed what she could do during her junior year. She knew that she needed to carry what she did during her junior year to her senior year.”
Three schools had multiple first-teamers, one of which was state champion Wayne. Brooke Adkins and Jayce Sammons represent the Pioneers.
Sammons led the Pioneers in scoring, averaging 17.1 points as a sophomore. She also filled the stat sheet in other categories, including recording 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.7 steals per game.
The guard was an all-state second-teamer as a freshman.
“She’s strong mentally,” Wayne coach Wade Williamson said of Sammons. “She’s fearless. She’ll take it right at teams. She’s a winner. She works hard and put the time in, but she knows how to own. She was so good for us this year in scoring, but people don’t look at the other things she did too. She’s good at stealing, rebounding and is an all-around basketball player with a high IQ.”
Adkins leaves Wayne as a three-time first-team selection. The Youngstown State commit finished her senior season second on the Pioneers in scoring, posting 14.3 points per game. She grabbed an average of 7.6 rebounds and swiped away 4.1 steals per game.
“She’s the type of kid that you want,” Williamson said. “She’s the kind of kid that you want all your other kids to be like. She never took a rep off. She never cheated herself or anybody out of any rep. That kind of character is what makes her who she is. She’s got a lot of physical ability to go along with that. She’s also mentally tough.”
Sissonville’s Kynna Britton, like Adkins, is a member of the first team for the third consecutive season.
The West Virginia Wesleyan commit leaves Sissonville as the Indians’ all-time leading scorer. She averaged 19.8 points per game in her senior season.
Greenbrier East and Grafton also placed two players on the first team. The Spartans saw Kennedy Stewart and Ava Workman do so, while the Bearcats got Kenna Keener and Hadley Horne on the list.
Keyser’s Bibs Felton and East Fairmont’s Kailee Hammond are the other members of the first team.
Nitro’s Brooklyn Cawley was one of the 10 members of the second team. Cawley finished her sophomore season second on the Wildcats in scoring, recording 9.1 points per game.
“She matured a lot from her freshman year to her sophomore year,” Jones said. “Her freshman year, as the season went along, saw her mature more and more. She had pressure on her as a freshman. I was expecting so much of her as a freshman. She came out her sophomore year more relaxed as well. She knew her role and what she had to do to continue rolling in the right direction.”
Wayne’s Addie Adkins joined her sister Brooke on the all-state team, as the captain of the second team.
Addie Adkins averaged double figures in her first three seasons, but saw her scoring dip to 7.5 points per game as a senior. However, she made her presence known in other areas, posting 5.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.9 steals per night.
Sissonville’s Makaela Ullman, Lewis County’s Ella Pinkney, Elkins’ Maddie Belan, Chapmanville’s Brooke Christian, East Fairmont’s Emma Moore, PikeView’s Riley Meadows, Keyser’s Autumn Kerchner and Princeton’s Asia Collins rounded out the second team.
Wooden plaques in the shape of West Virginia that include the player’s name, school, licensed WVSWA logo and year of the honoree are available to all-state first-team, second-team and honorable-mention selections and can be purchased from the Bear Wood Co. through WVSWA.org or Bearwoodcompany.com.
The Class AAA All-State Girls Basketball Team as selected by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association
First Team
Natalie Smith, Nitro (Sr.) (CAPTAIN)
Kennedy Stewart, Greenbrier East (Jr.)
Brooke Adkins, Wayne (Sr.)
Kenna Keener, Grafton (Jr.)
Kynna Britton, Sissonville (Sr.)
Bibs Felton, Keyser (Soph.)
Kaylee Haymond, East Fairmont (Jr.)
Jaycelyn Sammons, Wayne (Soph.)
Ava Workman, Greenbrier East (Soph.)
Hadley Horne, Grafton (Sr.)
Second Team
Ella Pinkney, Lewis County (Sr.)
Maddie Belan, Elkins (Sr.)
Brooklyn Cawley, Nitro (Soph.)
Makaela Ullman, Sissonville (Sr.)
Brooke Christian, Chapmanville (Sr.)
Emma Moore, East Fairmont (Jr.)
Addie Adkins, Wayne (Sr.) (CAPTAIN)
Riley Meadows, PikeView (Sr.)
Autumn Kerchner, Keyser (Sr.)
Asia Collins, Princeton (Sr.)
Honorable Mention
Mika Adams, Nitro; Sadie Adams, Lincoln; Gabby Canterbury, Winfield; Maddie Close, Berkeley Springs; Arien Cooper, Lincoln County; Ava Edwards, Nitro; Daizi Farley, Chapmanville; Haley Fleming, Chapmanville; Hannah Fuller, Greenbrier East; Emma Gilbert, Elkins; Lacey Goodson, Independence; Brooklyn Jackson, North Marion; Haley Justice, PikeView; Harmony Mills, Independence; Peyton Raban, Shady Spring; Katie Risinger, Berkeley Springs; Kasey Rogers, East Fairmont; Olivia Stone, Nicholas County; Jada Sutherlin, Robert C. Byrd; Adrienne Truman, Nicholas County; Mikayla Stacy, Wayne; Rooney Urice, Keyser; Kalee Wright, Princeton; Maliyah Young, Fairmont Senior
