The Chronicle’s 2021 All-Area Girls Basketball Team

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It doesn’t take long when watching W.F. West junior Drea Brumfield to realize she’s playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers.

Brumfield, The Chronicle’s 2021 All-Area Girls Basketball MVP, also gained the attention of Pepperdine University, a West Coast Conference program, where she verbally committed back in February.

Prep Girls Hoops ranks her as the No. 1 prospect in the state for the class of 2022 and #72 in the nation. ProspectsNation.com has her rated as a four-star recruit.

After committing to Pepperdine, she dominated the 2A Evergreen Conference, leading the Bearcats on a 16-game win streak and a district title-game appearance.

She finished with a team-high 17.4 points per game, the fourth-highest average in school history, to go with 8.9 rebounds, 4.8 blocks, 2.7 assists and 2.5 steals.

Her 81 blocks is seventh-most in single-season history at W.F. West and her 41 3-pointers are fourth-most in single-season history.

She’s already third all-time in school history in career points (928), third in blocks (198) and third in 3-pointers (106). Need I say more?

W.F. West coach Kyle Karnofski said it’s been nice having a player who can do just about everything he asks of her.

“Drea’s abilities on the court are limitless,” Karnofski said. “She has the ability to affect the game on both ends of the court in multiple ways. She can block a shot, get a steal, score in transition, score in the halfcourt, pass, shoot it from deep; you name it. She has the ability to do it all. Attributes like that are hard to find at the high school level.”

Brumfield, who was named 2A Evergreen Conference MVP, wasn’t just handed these skills. Sure, being 6-foot-3 helps, but there are plenty of tall girls who never make it past high school hoops. What separates Brumfield from the others is her desire to improve in every aspect of her game.

She played for travel teams nearly non-stop since her sophomore season ended in March 2020, competing for both Tree of Hope and most recently All-Star Basketball Academy (ABA). She competed in about 11 tournaments in total across the country last summer.

That’s been a huge part of why she scored over five more points per game between sophomore and junior years. She also pulled down two more rebounds and blocked two more shots per game as well.

“Her growth from last season to this season was fantastic and very apparent,” Karnofski said. “She works hard and puts in a ton of time and it has paid huge dividends.”

The travel-team ball also helped grow her basketball IQ, Karnofski said, allowing her the knack to not only see the game but verbalize it with teammates; something every coach dreams of.

“I’m very proud of her play this year,” Karnofski said. “She stepped up for us and gave our team a tremendous player as well as a fantastic leader.”

 

Ashley Schow, Tenino

Ashley Schow is the next closest thing to Brumfield in our coverage area. The 6-foot-1 junior tore up the 1A Evergreen Conference, averaging 19 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks, 2.5 steals and 2.5 assists.

It culminated in Schow earning league MVP after leading the Beavers to a second-place finish in the conference with an 8-6 overall record.

She’s not just one of those tall girls a coach anchors in the post and has his guards lob up passes to. No, Schow is not only the Beavers’ primary ball handler but also usually has the best handles of any player on the court.

Add in her leaping ability and sweet shooting stroke and Schow was a big problem for defenses around the league. And that’s not even all she did.

“Very good rebounder and finisher at the rim,” Tenino coach Scott Ashmore said. “Very aggressive and give 100% effort. Good passer, gets a lot of deflections and steals. Competitive. Wants to compete from the moment she walks onto the court.”

 

Addison Hall, Winlock

Addison Hall was the 2B Central League’s leading scorer — averaging 18.3 points per game.

Defenses had trouble slowing Hall — a two-time all-area pick — once again this season, and for good reason: she can score in a multitude of ways.

Leave her open on the perimeter and she’ll drain 3s in your face. Pressure her at the 3-point line and she’ll blow past you then drop in a layup against your post. Even double teams are useless thanks to the arrival of Madison Vigre, who provided an extra scoring threat for the Cardinals.

There wasn’t much teams could do to neutralize Hall, who averaged 9.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and posted seven double-doubles and one triple-double on the season.

“Addison is the kind of player every coach hopes to have,” Former Winlock coach Tori Nelson said. “She always shows up, pushes herself and her teammates, is very coachable and will only get better. She’s the leading scorer in our league and typically sees the toughest defenses. It’s been an honor coaching her.”

 

Kaylin Todd, Adna



When Adna coach Chris Bannish needed someone to take over for since-graduated Payton Aselton as the primary ball handler, it was an easy choice. Kaylin Todd not only had the skills to pound the rock but she had the athleticism to match.

All she needed to develop heading into the 2020 season was that killer instinct to attack, and she did.

Todd was Adna’s leading scorer, averaging 15.2 points per game while adding 5.1 assists, 4.9 steals and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Her seamless transition to point guard helped guide the Pirates to a 10-game win streak to start the season, losing only to Toledo in the district semifinals. The Pirates rebounded to hold off Ilwaco for third place at districts and finish with an 11-1 overall record.

“She is a great defender that has started to mold into a pretty good offensive threat for us,” Adna coach Chris Bannish said. “We look for Kaylin to grow into a true point guard this summer into next season.”

 

Stacie Spahr, Toledo

Not many teams had a player who could match 6-foot Stacie Spahr’s post presence.

Spahr, who will be playing for Pacific Lutheran University this winter, is Toledo’s top rebounder of all-time. She broke the school’s single-season rebounding record of 334, previously set during the 1994-95 season, her junior year as well as its career rebounding record of 608, which was set by Erin Malunat from 1985-89.

Spahr likely would have cracked 1,000 career rebounds had there not been a shortened season due to the pandemic.

“Those are records that may never be broken again at Toledo,” Toledo coach Brian Layton said.

Spahr ended her final season with averages of 14.8 points, 12 rebounds, two steals and one block per game.

“Stacie is the player that every coach wants on their team,” Layton said. “She anchored our defense and was the focal point of our offense. She really committed herself to getting better the last couple of years and improved tremendously.

“Stacie is great on and off the court. She is a great student in the classroom, volunteers in the community and you are not going to find a better teammate. We have been so fortunate to have Stacie in our program.”

 

Annika Mason, Pe Ell

How many high school athletes earn first-team all-league and all-area in their second-best sport? Pe Ell senior Annika Mason is one of those.

A standout shortstop who is equally effective at the plate as she is on defense, Mason helped the Titans to a 15-1 record on the diamond this season.

She proved to be even better with a basketball in her hands.

Mason tore up opposing offenses, averaging 16.3 points per game, to help the Trojans to the district playoffs and earn the ultimate award: 1B Columbia Valley League MVP.

That was in big part to the 5-foot-10 forward’s sharpshooting abilities.

She drained seven 3-pointers in an impressive 27-point performance against Three Rivers Christian.

“Annika is definitely a dead-eye on 3-pointers,” Pe Ell coach Dan Cox said. “She also can handle the ball coming down the court. It was a pleasure coaching her in her last year with Pe Ell High School girls basketball.”

 

Payton Torrey, Mossyrock

Though Payton Torrey is the youngest player on our all-area team as a sophomore, she may be the most scrappy and competitive.

The Vikings’ entire offense runs through Torrey, the point guard, who directed Mossyrock to a convincing 30-point blowout victory in the district title game.

Torrey led with a game-high 19 points to go with four assists and three steals as the Vikings were the only Lewis County basketball team to win a district championship this season.

Equally as skilled offensively as she is defensively, Torrey averaged 12.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.5 steals and 3.8 assists per game this season.

“Payton is an aggressive player that loves to get after it on both sides of the ball,” Mossyrock coach Autumn Moorcroft said. “She knows the game and  does a great job as a leader on and off the court.”