Fairfield leads big school girls team

Fairfield heads the big school All-Union girls basketball team with both old and new faces.

Some old is Shaylin Drish of Fairfield who is the captain again after being selected at that spot on last year's team and makes her third appearance on this squad.

Some new is Fairfield head coach Jeff Miller, who capped his first season at the Fairfield helm with the selection as coach of the 2019-2020 All-Union girls basketball team for large schools.

Coach

Jeff Miller, Fairfield

Miller returned to the bench after 12 years out of the gym. He last coached at Davis County 12 years ago and left for a school administration position.

Miller led Fairfield to a 14-9 record and a second-place slot in the Southeast Conference with a 7-3 mark. He now has a career record of 184-82.

'It was fun working with the players throughout the season,” Miller said. 'I was blessed in having Ron Hunderdose and Pat Pacha as assistant coaches.”

Captain

Shaylin Drish, senior, Fairfield

The Trojans' senior leader has been one of the best players in the Southeast Conference for quite some time, and things were no different in 2019-20.

Drish led the conference with 15 points per game, hitting a league-high 42 3-pointers on the season. She also led the SEC with 84 assists and 93 steals, and finished sixth in the league with 108 rebounds.

It's no question that Drish will be sorely missed by the Trojan girls basketball team when the sport begins again next winter.

Destiny Gridley, senior, Fairfield

Even if you could slow down Drish, you couldn't stop the outside attack from the Fairfield girls this season. Gridley had another big year in 2019-20, finishing sixth in the SEC with 9.7 points per game.

Gridley was all over the floor for the Trojans. She finished fifth in the conference with 112 rebounds, blocked nine shots and knocked down 32 3-pointers.

The Trojan senior was a big part of a talented class that helped Fairfield continue to be a power in the SEC over the last few years.

Anna Nacos, junior, Washington

Nacos was a welcome addition to the Washington team, leading the Demons with her ability to shoot and handle the basketball. She led the team in field goal percentage (42.2), field goals made and attempted, 3-pointers made and attempted, 3-point percentage (34.7), free throws made and free throw percentage (71.4) and steals.

At 5 feet, 6 inches, she was second on the team in blocks and assists. She was the leading scorer on the Demons with an average of 11.8 points a game, good for third in the Southeast Conference.

Lydia Stewart, senior, Mt. Pleasant

The Panther girls basketball team was about as balanced as a team could be this season, but one name stood out among the rest. Lydia Stewart led the Panthers with eight points per game, the only Mt. Pleasant player above 5.5 points.

Stewart was the team's main threat from outside, knocking in 23 3-pointers on the year, almost half of Mt. Pleasant's 54 long balls. Stewart also dished out 21 assists and pulled down 72 rebounds, both second on the team.

Stewart's leaderhip, along with the squad's two other seniors, helped the Panthers put together a four-game winning streak at the end of the season, which was snapped in a loss to eventual state champion North Scott.

Danielle Breen, sophomore, Fairfield

The Fairfield girls needed some underclassmen to step up if they were going to be competitive in 2019-20, and the Trojans got just what they needed with a few key contributions. One of those was sophomore Danielle Breen, who rose to the third-leading scorer on the team, with nine points per game.

Along with her scoring prowess, Breen finished third on the squad with 92 rebounds. She and twin sister Delaney were third and fourth in virtually every statistical category for the second-place Trojans.

Breen will surely be a centerpoint to the Fairfield team moving forward as the Trojans move on without their top two scorers next season.

Addison Six, senior, Washington

The 6-foot Demon controlled the boards for Washington, leading the team with 77 defensive rebounds. She was second to fellow 6-foot Demon Olivia Pacha in total rebounds 128 (second in the Southeast Conference) to 118 (fourth in the SEC).

Six averaged 7.7 points a game, which was 11th in the league, as the Demons finished 12-10, a four-game improvement from last season.

Washington had its best record in six years under second-year coach Shannon Rugg.

The 2019-20 All-Union big school girls basketball team was selected by sports editors Doug Brenneman and Andy Krutsinger