Erika Arriaran
Erika Arriaran  (Norco, CA) 5-11  Sr.  Guard  
After skipping her sophomore season to be home schooled, Erika returned to Norco as a junior and senior and re-assumed her status as one of the nation's top players in the Class of 2005. She has been favorably compared to former California state player of the year Diana Taurasi, although she finished behind Courtney Paris of Piedmont in this year's Ms. Basketball deliberations. Arriaran, who is heading to Texas for college, connected for 17.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and seven assists per game. She led Norco to an unbeaten regular season, but the team was not able to get past Temecula Valley in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Div. I-A playoffs. Arriaran's unselfishness and her ability to take over games is shown by the remarkably low total of points she had in some of Norco's easy wins and the 41 points she had in a victory over nationally-ranked Troy of Fullerton.
Whitney Boddie  (Florence, AL)  5-8  Sr.  Guard  
This lightning quick, slick ball-handler was a surprise winner of the Alabama Sports Writers Association Miss Basketball honor, beating out fellow Auburn signees Sherell Hobbs of J.O. Johnson and DeWanna Bonner of Fairfield. Boddie, who was an early signee with the Tigers, was also named Class 6A girls player of the year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association and presented by the Birmingham News and the Birmingham Post-Herald. "I'm just lucky and privileged to be playing with two of these other players next year," Boddie said at the award ceremony, referring to future Auburn teammates Bonner and Hobbs. For her senior season at Florence, Boddie averaged a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Erica Brown  (Dillard, Fort Lauderdale, FL) 5-8  Sr.  Guard  
This prospect bound for the University of Georgia cemented her status as one of the best players in recent years from the Sunshine State with 19 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and five assists in Dillard's 52-49 win over Venice in the Class 5A state championship game. Brown, who averaged 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists per game, is a prototype point guard who is more concerned with her teammates‚ scoring average than her own. She also led Dillard to the 2004 Class 5A state title and was the 2004 Class 5A state player of the year. She wasn't accorded similar state honors this year, but was a McDonald's All-American and Parade All-American.
Keshonda Carrier  (LaGrange, St. Charles, LA)  6-7  Sr.  Center  
You don't find too many girls with this kind of height with the skills and athleticism of Keshonda. Known by many as "KeKe," Carrier earned her second straight Class 4A state player of the year honor for Louisiana with averages of 24 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots per game. Carrier is headed to the University of Auburn and is part of a highly-ranked initial recruiting class for first-year Auburn head coach Nell Fortner.
Tina Charles  (Christ The King, Middle Village, NY)  6-4  Jr.  Center  
Christ The King head coach Bob Mackey called Charles "the best junior in the country" at the start of the season and she did absolutely nothing to dispute that label. After leading the Royals with 18 points and 13 rebounds per game as a sophomore, Charles was up to 21points and about the same for rebounds this year. More importantly, she was the No. 1 player on the No. 1 team in the nation. Charles had 20 points and 20 rebounds as the Royals capped their 27-0 season with a 66-59 win over Murray Bergtraum in the New York Federation state championship.
Marissa Coleman  (St. John's, Washington D.C.)  6-1  Sr.  Forward  
Coleman is one of two EA SPORTS All-Americans who will attend the University of Maryland next season after a stellar career in which she led St. John's to four straight Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship games with titles in 2002 and 2004. This year, Marissa averaged 21.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4 assists and in her career she holds the school records for points (2,056) and rebounds (1,164). Post-season honors for this young woman whom friends and competitors call according to the Washington Post "the hardest working and most intense" player they know, include participation in both the McDonald's All-American and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association High School All-American games.
Elena DelleDonne (Ursuline, Wilmington, DE)  6-6 Fr. Guard  
Delledonne is being called the LeBron James of girls basketball at this stage of her career and at 6-4 this top freshman in the nation epitomizes the development and impact of younger girls nationwide in girls basketball. She is well on the way to duplicating Val Whiting's (of Stanford and WNBA fame) feat of leading Ursuline to four consecutive Delaware state titles. In this year's state championship, she poured in 35 points to break the record for points in a championship game while leading both teams with 15 rebounds and three blocked shots as Ursuline swept to a second consecutive state title. DelleDonne was named the Girls Player of the Year for her state and is only the second freshman ever in Delaware to garner that honor. She also was first team all state playing varsity as an eighth grader. This year she averaged 27 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocked shots per game.
Jacki Gemelos  (St. Mary's, Stockton, CA)  6-0  Jr.  Guard  
Still only a junior, Gemelos is considered by most girls prep analysts to be amongst the most skilled ball-handlers, penetrators and outside shooters in the nation. At 6-0, there are few girls who can handle her on the perimeter and she can crossover, spin and finish with either hand. Gemelos has been a major contributor in leading St. Mary's to two titles and a runner-up in the California state championships in her three years at the school. This year, in a title loss to unbeaten Bishop Amat of La Puente, she set the championship game scoring record for Div. III with a 30-point effort. Her numbers this year were 25.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.5 steals per game. Gemelos shocked many and disappointed quite a few college coaches when she skipped the recruiting process and committed to UConn before her junior season.
Jillian Harmon  (Lakeridge, Lake Oswego, OR)  6-1  Sr.  Forward  
After averaging 27.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.7 steals and 2.3 blocked shots in six state tournament games, Harmon was voted player of the year by The Oregonian. She thus became the first player in Oregon history —boys or girls—be named The Oregonian's player of the year three times. Harmon ended her career fifth on the state's all-time scoring list and was a four-year standout. She wasn't able to lead her team to a state title during her career, though, primarily since Lakeridge is in the same league as perennial power Oregon City. Harmon is heading to Stanford University in the fall and may have the opportunity to play quite a bit as a freshman since the Cardinal is graduating a strong senior class.
Eboni Mangum (Dulles, Fort Bend, TX)  5-8   Sr.   Guard  
After knocking down 19 points and handing out seven assists per game as a junior, Mangum came back this year for almost similar numbers and led Dulles to the state's top ranking for the regular season. A close playoff upset prevented Mangum and her team from celebrating a state title and likely top 10 national ranking. She was chosen to play in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-America Game and was the only player in that game from Texas. The four-year starter will continue her education in the fall at Louisiana Tech.
Rashanda McCants  (Asheville, NC)  6-2   Sr.  Forward  
Despite playing with the burden of her mother being treated for breast cancer that caused a stress disorder leading to McCants missing four games, this young woman rose to the top of girls basketball in North Carolina, leading Asheville to a third consecutive state championship. The younger sister of Rashad McCants of 2005 NCAA champion North Carolina, Rashanda plans on following in her brother's footsteps and will play for the Tar Heels this fall. The Associated Press girls high school basketball player of the year for North Carolina averaged 20.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists for Asheville in an undefeated 32-0 season. An excellent student, McCants plans on studying marketing and advertising and hopes to someday as she told Associated Press "promote the WNBA."
Malia O'Neal  (Garfield, Seattle, WA)  5-6  Sr.  Guard  
This flashy point guard probably has come up more as a prospect since the start of the season than any other player in the nation. O'Neal averaged 17 points and eight assists per game and led Garfield to the Class 4A state title as well as to a road victory over the No. 1 team in California. She has been named state player of the year by both the Seattle Times and the Associated Press. O'Neal's high school coach was Joyce Walker, former female member of the Harlem Globetrotters. She committed to UNLV before the start of the season, but recently was reported with a commitment to Arizona.
Ashley Paris  (Piedmont, CA)  6-2  Sr.  Forward  
Together with her sister, Courtney, the 6-2 Ashley formed the most powerful front line in the history of girls high school basketball. Her precision passing and ability to hit the offensive and defensive boards resulted in averages this year of 17.3 points, 13.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. Ashley was selected for this year's McDonald's All-American game where she made 4 of 7 shots scoring eight points with eight rebounds and four assists. Playing alongside her twin sister, whom she will accompany to Oklahoma this fall, Ashley led her teams to three Northern California and two state championships.
Courtney Paris (Piedmont, CA)  6-4  Sr.  Center  
For her career, Courtney's 3,369 points ranks fourth in the history of California girls basketball. Her career rebound total isn't yet official, but it's well above 2,000, which puts her either first or second on that all-time state list. In 2004, Paris was a member of the gold medal winning USA Basketball Women's Junior World Championship Team. This year she was the MVP in the McDonald's All-American game leading the West to victory. Her high school coach, Bryan Gardere, praises Paris telling Student Sports, "She really wants to be the best and it's not just talk—she gets it done—but it's not just about Courtney, it's about the team and her teammates."
Epiphanny Prince (Murray Bergtraum, New York, NY) 5-9 Jr. Guard  
Perhaps the first New York girls playground-type legend in the mold of Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair, Prince really made a name for herself as a sophomore with a 38-point outing in a victory against Christ The King. She was named Student Sports National Sophomore Player of the Year, but this year would have to go right behind fellow New Yorker Tina Charles, who had the upper hand in this year's New York Federation state final. Prince can play all three perimeter positions and has the upper body strength to post up players her own height. "Epiphanny is a different player because she doesn't seem to be working hard," opposing coach Jaywana Bradley told SPARQ Magazine. "She looks like she's not even trying but she's killing you softly."
Angel Robinson  (Marietta, GA)  6-5  Sr.   Center  
This dominant post player, who was consistently double and triple-teamed by opponents, averaged 24 points, 16 rebounds and six blocked shots for Marietta, which reached the quarterfinals of the Georgia Class 5A state championship this season. Robinson, the youngest of six siblings and the school's homecoming queen, will attend Georgia with her twin brother, John, who got her interested in basketball at age 12. Her high school coach, Ken Sprague, believes Robinson has just scratched the surface with respect to her potential. "I don't think Angel realizes how good she is," Sprague told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "She can score at will, rebound and also pass and handle the ball as well as many good guards."
Lindsay Schrader  (Bartlett, IL)  6-0  Sr.  Forward  
Playing in the McDonald's All-American Game at South Bend, Indiana, Schrader got a taste of what it will be like to play college ball as the game was played at her future school, Notre Dame's Joyce Center. Schrader did not disappoint future college coach Muffet McGraw, who was in attendance, as she dropped in nine points on 4-for-7 shooting and grabbed three rebounds with an assist and a blocked shot in 15 minutes of play. For the season, Schrader averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds in leading Bartlett to the Illinois Class 2A state championship game where it lost to Peoria Richwoods. Schrader plans on majoring in education administration and one day being an athletic director.
Kristi Toliver  (Harrisonburg, VA)  5-8  Sr.  Guard  
Tolliver, daughter of NBA referee George Toliver, and the second EA SPORTS All-American who will attend Maryland this fall, averaged a whopping 32.4 points per game while pulling down 6.0 rebounds and dishing out 5.4 assists. Her 52-point performance this season broke the single game scoring record for either boys or girls at Harrisonburg High set by Ralph Sampson. Toliver was also named Athlete-of-the-Year by the Harrisonburg News-Record, the first female athlete to garner the award since 1997. A natural athlete, the 5-8 speedster could probably have excelled at a variety of sports including golf, soccer, tennis (she played varsity for two years), swimming and track where she holds the record for the 400-meters at the middle school she attended. Toliver is an excellent student who participates in student body government as well as playing music where she excels at the trumpet. "Kristi is like a machine," her AAU coach, Mike Jenkins told the News-Record. "Like a machine you feed and points come out of it."
Kia Vaughn  (St. Michael‚s Academy, New York, NY)  6-4   Sr.  Center  
She's been regarded as one of the top players in the Class of 2005 for three years and would be the No. 1 senior this year in the New York Tri-State area. Vaughn has been honored by the New York Daily News for three straight seasons and this year showed her dominant self with 26 points, 20 rebounds and nearly seven blocked shots per game. She's definitely one of those athletic, 6-4 types who can get up and down the floor and blocks so many shots because she jumps so quickly. Vaughn is headed to play next year at Rutgers.
Abby Waner  (ThunderRidge, Littleton, CO)  6-0  Sr.  Guard  
This sharpshooter who handles the ball with the best and hits the glass with reckless abandon set a 22-year-old state record by scoring 61 points in the regular season finale while leading perennial state and national girls basketball power ThunderRidge to a 62-game in-state wining streak and the Grizzlies‚ third straight Colorado Class 5A state championship. This year, Waner scored a large school state record 910 points averaging a whopping 32.5 points per game. In her career, Waner finished number two in state history with 2,670 points while averaging 27.2 points in 98 career games. She scored 20 or more points and hit at least on three point shot in all 28 games this year and also leaves high school as the state leader in career steals, scoring in the post-season and three pointers in a season (84 this year). Duke will be her college team, which is where her older sister, Emily, also attends.

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