by RENALDO DORSETT
ONE of the top high school basketball recruits in America, Bahamian guard Lashann Higgs spent the past month playing amongst her elite group of peers and receiving postseason national honours.
Higgs competed in the Jordan Brand Classic Friday at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York, where she finished with six points, six rebounds and three steals in 17 minutes of action to help her East team to a 76-75 win over the West.
The West led by as many as 15 points in the first half and took a 31-26 lead into halftime. The East rallied by scoring 50 points in the second half, including a 3-pointer from Stephanie Watts with 15 seconds remaining to take the go-ahead lead.
In its 14th edition of the Jordan Brand Classic, Higgs was a part of the inaugural class with the first girls game in event history, featuring the top 24 high school players in America.
It was just weeks removed from Higgs’ participation in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American game, when she became the first Bahamian to achieve the honour. The McDonald’s All-American game was played April 1 in Chicago, Illinois. She finished with two points and five rebounds in 14 minutes of play. Her West team fell 89-87 to the East.
The girls compete in the three-point shooting competition and the overall-skills competition. The boys’ game has been contested annually since 1978, and the girls’ game has been played each year since it was added in 2002.
Several Bahamian players have received McDonald’s All-American nominations in the past, however, Higgs was the only Bahamian player to advance to the final stage in the selection process, which begins with hundreds of players nationally in the United States.
Higgs averaged 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists per game this season for a Cedar Ridge team that reached the third round of the University Interscholastic League’s Class 6A playoffs in Texas.
Her postseason accolades continue to pour in as she was recently named to the USA Today American Family Insurance All-USA First-Team and the Max Preps Girls Basketball All-American Second-Team.
Higgs’ list of honours for the 2014-15 season includes a Naismith Trophy top-five finalist, Naismith Trophy All-America First Team, McDonald’s All-American, Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American, USA Today ALL-USA First Team, Austin American-Statesman Central, Texas Player of the Year, Jordan Brand Classic, Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 6A All-State and University Interscholastic League District 13-6A MVP.
Higgs will join the University of Texas Women’s Basketball programme in the Fall.
