Throughout the first part of the season, Wyoming East’s sophomore point guard Cadee Blackburn has arguably been the Lady Warriors’ best offensive player.
In Week 3 she strengthened her stake to that claim.
After a scoreless first half for Blackburn in which the Lady Warriors struggled against Mingo Central, the sophomore found her groove, scoring 24 points in the second half of an eventual 57-40 victory.
For her efforts, Blackburn has been named the Week 3 Player of the Week by the Lootpress sportswriters.
The award is sponsored by Bodyworks, The Law Offices of Brandon Steele and Mid-State Ford.
Blackburn’s eruption couldn’t have come at a better time. Hosting regional foe Mingo Central in a matchup of Top 10 teams, the Lady Warriors trailed 14-4 after a quarter and took the lead right before heading into halftime. When Blackburn caught fire the game was sealed.
“I knew we just had to put them away because that’s a big game,” Blackburn. “Being scoreless just made me mad and I play better when I’m mad.”
The performance helped keep the Lady Warriors undefeated against a tough slate and continued to build on a strong campaign for Blackburn. She’s averaging just under 17 points per game with a trio of 20-point performances to lead a team that features three other first-team all-staters.
“Her first step’s really fast to the goal and she has a nice hesitation move,” East head coach Angie Boninsegna said. “She had three or four 3-pointers and our team did a good job of realizing she was hot so they just kept feeding her. But she’s got a good first step, is an intense player and does a good job handling offense for us.”
Blackburn will be honored at the Lootpress 2023 Spring Player of the Year Banquet later this year.
**
Summers County’s Gracie Harvey won the fan vote. In an effort to reward communities for their diligence in voting for their respective players, Lootpress will take the top vote getter each week that hasn’t already won the Community Choice poll and advance them to the pool of candidates for the newly created Community Choice Player of the Year. When the regular season concludes, the players that led in total votes their respective weeks will be grouped into a poll where everyone can vote on one player to win the award as well as the $500 scholarship that comes with it.
2022-23 Player of the Week Winners
Week 1: Harmony Mills, Independence
Week 2: Adyson Hines, James Monroe
Week 3: Cadee Blackburn, Wyoming East
2022-23 Community Choice Winners
Week 1: Sullivan Pivont, Summers County
Week 2: Abby Persinger, Summers County
Week 3: Gracie Harvey, Summers County
