Basketball players chosen for City-County All Stars
Yosemite girls to play in City-County All Star game.

The Badger Girls Basketball team will be well represented in the City-County All Star game, to be held on June 22 at Sanger High School.
The girls game will be at 5:30 p.m., and those tickets are good for the boys game, which will follow.

Yosemite is part of the county team, with Karras Blate, Alyssa Sayre and Coach Gary Blate participating.

The county team is a serious underdog in the game.

The city team boasts seven players more than 6’ tall, led by 6’2” Fresno Bee player of the year, Latoya Hunt (Edison), who has signed with U.N.L.V.

Other first team Bee players for the city are 6’ Bailey Admundsen (Hoover) and 5’10” Aspen Hampton (Central). More outstanding players for the city squad are second team Bee player Katie O’Brien (Clovis West), who stands 6’ tall, and Brinae Duren (Central), who at 6’1” is the biggest player in the game.

The county team counters with Blate, Sayre, 5’9” Whitney Brooks (Riverdale) and the remainder of the team with no player taller than 5’8.”

Because of staggered graduations among the high schools, the county team will manage about six practices before the game.

It will stress the fast break and outside shooting, both staples of the Yosemite attack this season.

The Badgers were fifth in the entire state, including more than 1,200 schools, in points scored, and third in 3-point shots made.

Blate and Sayre were leaders for the Badgers in this scoring onslaught. Karras made 99 3-pointers, almost doubling the school record, boys or girls, and Alyssa made 52 long-range baskets.
Blate finished the season as the school record holder in career scoring, 3-point shooting and assists. She was selected Player of the Year for the league, three years running.

Sayre earned All-League honors for three years in a row and is the school season assist record holder.

The Badgers won three straight league campaigns and consecutive CIF D-3 championships.

Additional members of the County team include Hollie Brown and Kelsey Terrio from Sierra High School.

Other players come from throughout the valley, from Corcoran to Mendota.

Nearly all the county players played at schools in the smaller D-3 and D-4 CIF Divisions while the city team is composed of large-school players. Despite the disadvantages, Blate and Sayre look forward to the game.

“We weren’t that big this year at Yosemite,” Sayre said.

“But we would run teams off the floor.”

Yosemite was 27-6 and won the first state playoff basketball game in the school’s history by 25 points.

After the first-round victory, Yosemite was the last public school left in the State Division 3 playoffs.

Sayre has signed with Fresno Pacific and plans to compete for playing time next season.

Blate feels the county team has a chance.
“We have some outside shooters other than Alyssa and myself and the players look ready to run,” She said.
“The city players are good but we have something to prove. Being from Yosemite, it seems we always have something to prove.”
After weighing some four-year college choices, Blate is planning to play at Reedley College next season.

“Reedley has gone to the State Championships two years in a row and we’ve got a good class coming in with Bailey Admundsen, Aspen Hampton and two other players from the city team,” Blate said.

The city-county game is one of the longest-running All Star games in the state. It is run by Rob Hayden, Sierra High School athletic director.
The gym at Sanger High School is about five years old and very large, to provide an outstanding venue for the game.

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