GBB: Miss Basketball Diggins heads Indiana All-Stars

South Bend Washington 5’10” senior guard Skylar Diggins has been named the 2009 Indianapolis Star Indiana Miss Basketball, and the list of Indiana All-Stars has also been announced.

Diggins, a Notre Dame recruit, received 175 of 288 statewide votes from coaches and media to easily outdistance Heritage Christian senior forward Kelly Faris for the award. The Connecticut-bound Faris earned 54 votes, with Ben Davis senior guard Alex Bentley (Penn State) third at 22.

As a senior, Diggins averaged 29 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 5.4 steals, and 2.2 blocked shots in leading South Bend Washington (26-1) to its third straight Class 4A state championship appearance. The hard-luck Panthers fell to Ben Davis this season, Carmel last year, and Castle two years ago.

Diggins ended her career with 2,790 points, the third-highest total in Indiana girls history. The Miss Basketball honor completes a postseason trifecta of being named the Gatorade National Player of the Year as well as the Naismith National Player of the Year.

Ben Davis coach Stan Benge will lead the 2009 Indiana Girls All-Star team, which will play Kentucky at Conseco Fieldhouse June 13 and at Bellarmine University in Louisville June 14. It may well be the best team in Indiana girls history.

Diggins, Faris, and Bentley lead the way, with a host of other Division I recruits on the roster as well. The team:

Alex Bentley, Ben Davis (Penn State), 5’6”, 15.8 ppg

Skylar Diggins, South Bend Washington (Notre Dame), 5’9”, 29.0 ppg

Kelly Faris, Heritage Christian (Connecticut), 5’11”, 13.3 ppg

Skyler Gick, Benton Central (Valparaiso), 5’7”, 22.9 ppg

DeAirra Goss, Ben Davis (Western Michigan), 5’10”, 8.8 ppg

Dragana Grbic, Terre Haute South (Butler), 6’3”, 15.3 ppg

Ta’Kenya Nixon, Michigan City (Eastern Illinois), 5’8”, 19.6 ppg

Courtney Osborn, Hamilton Southeastern (Miami, Ohio), 5’10”, 20.7 ppg

Aulani Sinclair, Eminence (Indiana), 6’1”, 26.1 ppg

Lecretia Smith, Fort Wayne Elmhurst (Toledo), 5’10”, 17.5 ppg

Chrissy Steffen, Carmel (Bowling Green), 5’11”, 15.6 ppg