Four CL girls earn NCC honors

Four members of the Clear Lake girls basketball team have received All-North Central Conference honors.  The Lions were champions of the NCC with a 13-1 record.  It was the 10th time Clear Lake has won the NCC title and the fourth time since the five-girl game was begun.

Emily Snelling, a senior, was a unanimous First Team All-NCC selection.  She was joined on the elite squad by senior Jessica Faber and freshman Sara Faber.  Jordyn Barragy, a junior, was a Third Team All-NCC pick.

Snelling had her outstanding senior season shorted by an ACL injury.  During the 14 games she started, she was her teams’ best shooter, sinking 49 percent of field goals and 33 percent of three-pointers for an overall scoring average of 19.4 points per game.  She was also excellent at the free throw line, leading the team with a 73 percent average (52/71).  She averaged five rebounds per game and despite missing 11 games, she led the team in steals with 93 and was second on the team in assists with 64. In conference play, Snelling led the league with a average of 20.4 points per game. She was also the leader in steals with 58 and third in assists with 37.

“Emily had a great senior year.  She was really good in all aspects of the game,” said Coach Bart Smith. “She would’ve joined three other Clear Lake players in reaching the thousand point mark, but with her injury she came up 104 points short with seven games remaining in the regular season.  She has left her mark in our program in many ways and has set the bar for future players coming up in our program.”

Jessica Faber was another all-around asset to the Lion team.  She averaged 13 points per NCC game. She was third in the league in three-point shooting, going 36/98 for 36.7 percent.  She was in the top 10 in the conference in steals with 28. She also averaged 4.5 rebounds per game.

“Jessica  was very valuable to our program.  She was a constant scorer for us from the perimeter.   She made 51 three pointers on the year and 36 of them were in conference play, which ranks her 10th in our conference for all time  three pointers made in a season,” said Coach Smith.  “She also played an important role on the defensive end by defending girls that were taller then her.  She was someone we could count on to get rebounds and defend post players.”

Freshman Sara Faber emerged as a physical threat in all aspects of the game.  She averaged 12.9 points per NCC game and was third in the conference in steals with 56.  She led the Lions in rebounding.

“Sara did some great things as a freshman,” said Coach Smith.  “She is a great athlete who made a lot of plays for us on both ends of the floor.   She really broke out of her shell when Emily went down with her knee injury and she was someone who stepped up and picked up the slack offensively for us.   She has a lot of potential and can be a really good player for us for the next three years.”

Jordyn Barragy, another good all-around player for the Lions, was a Third Team All-NCC selection.  Barragy averaged 6.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.

“Jordan was very consistent for us this year.  She would always hit one or two threes for us per game and always had a good defensive game.   She was responsible for defending the other teams best post player and I thought during our regional play it was her defense against those post players that allowed us to hold teams below their scoring average.  She will be a good leader for us next year because of her toughness and unselfishness,” said Coach Smith.