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November 30, 2004Glass, Blankston make all-state basketball teamFrankfort's Reznich is coach of the yearLANSING (AP) - Leland's Alisha Glass and Frankfort's Brenna Banktson amde the Class D all-state girls basketball team, and Panthers coach Tim Reznich earned coach of the year honors.Central Lake's Jenna McRaney and Kate Spyhalski of Gaylord St. Mary were special mention, and Amber Benthen of McBain Northern Michigan Christian, Chrissy Bailey of Manistee Catholic Central and Mary Bradford of Onekama were honorable mention. Lansing Christian's Tiffanie Shives, who on Monday was named the 2004 recipient of the Miss Basketball award, is The Associated Press Class D player of the year for the second straight year. She is averaging 25.1 points, eight assists, 5.2 steals and 4.4 rebounds a game this season and broke the state career record for 3-pointers despite missing six games with an ankle injury. Shives had 300 3-pointers heading into Tuesday's state quarterfinal against St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran. "I worked very hard to get back and went through many hours of therapy, so it's a nice honor," Shives said. "I was just worried about getting back for my team. Personal accolades come or they don't. That wasn't on my mind at all." She already owned two state records - 3-pointers in a state title game and during a finals week (quarterfinals, semifinals, finals) - both set last season when she led the Pilgrims to the Class D state title. She likely will finish second all-time in assists for a career and will be among the top 10 in a number of other categories. Shives was highly-sought by a number of top college programs before signing with Michigan State. "I can't wait. Every time I pick up a basketball, I get excited about contributing to the team next year," Shives said. "I am ready for the challenge and anticipating what it's going to be like to play at that level." She'll have four years to defend her back-to-back honors against top contender Carly Benson of Carney-Nadeau, who will play at Michigan next season. Benson is averaging 21.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, five assists, five steals and five blocks per game. Joining Shives and Benson as unanimous All-State selections were DePrice Taylor, a senior from Harper Woods Trinity Catholic who will play at Bowling Green, and Erika Scheffler, a junior at St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran. Both are returning All-Staters. Taylor is averaging 19 points, six steals and five assists, while Scheffler averages 13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, four steals and 3.3 assists. Three other All-Staters were leading teams still alive in the state tournament. Rapid River senior Cassi Rushford is a four-year starter averaging 15.9 points, eight rebounds and 4.9 steals. Leland junior Alisha Glass averages 18.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 2.2 steals and has verbally committed to play volleyball at Penn State. Portland St. Patrick senior Hayley Hill averages only 10 points, but the Shamrocks have a combined record of 73-7 during her varsity career. She had 17 points and nine rebounds in a regional final upset of No. 1 Frankfort last week. Frankfort featured All-State sophomore Brenna Banktson, who averaged 20.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Her coach, Tim Reznich, was named Class D's best, taking over a losing program in 2002 and leading it to an undefeated 20-0 regular-season record this fall. Two other strong rebounders rounded out the All-State team. Climax-Scotts junior Tara Burgett averaged 19.1 points, 12.2 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game this season. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart senior Elena Sias averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and four steals for the Irish.
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