Kayla McPherson of Madison County is the Gatorade Georgia girls basketball player of the year, the Gatorade Company announced Friday.
McPherson, a 5-foot-7 sophomore point guard, averaged 23.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 3.5 steals per game and led the Red Raiders (25-3) to the second round of the Class AAAA tournament.
McPherson played both games in the state tournament with a broken bone in her shooting hand but still scored 37 points in the two contests. She scored a school-record 64 points in a 93-68 win over Class AAA runner-up Hart County on Jan. 5.
McPherson is rated as the No. 4 recruit among sophomores by ProspectsNation.com.
The Gatorade award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character.
McPherson has volunteered locally helping the homeless on behalf of Habitat for Humanity. She has maintained a 3.64 GPA in the classroom.
As a part of Gatorade’s cause marketing platform “Play it Forward,” McPherson also has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports organization of her choosing.
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