Meet the best players in Dallas

Meet the 2023-24 dallas Morning News all-area girls basketball honorees.

First team

Taylor Barnes, South grand prairie

Junior, G/F, 6-0

The four-star recruit averaged 14 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.5 steals for Class 6A state runner-up South Grand Prairie and was an all-tournament selection at the state tournament. Barnes was named the District 8-6A MVP for the second straight season and led SGP to its second state runner-up finish in three years. Barnes averaged 18.8 points in the last four games of the season for a 33-4 team and scored 25 against Southlake Carroll in a regional semifinal and 24 against San Antonio Brennan in the state semifinal. Barnes took on a bigger role offensively after SGP lost five-star South Carolina signee Adhel Tac to a season-ending knee injury in November.

Paris Bradley, Hebron

Senior, G, 5-9

The Louisiana Tech signee averaged 18.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 2.5 assists to lead a 34-3 Hebron team to the Class 6A Region I semifinals. Bradley, the District 6-6A MVP, scored a game-high 19 points in a 40-34 win over 5A state champion Frisco Liberty and had 27 points in a 66-57 victory against state-ranked McKinney North. Hebron, which was No. 2 in the final 6A state rankings, also had wins over 4A state champion Waco La Vega and state-ranked Lubbock Monterey and Denton Ryan.

Amari Byles, DeSoto

Sophomore, F, 6-2

The four-star recruit, who is a first-team all-area selection for the second straight season, is rated the third-best player in Texas and the 16th-best player in the nation in the Class of 2026 by ESPN’s HoopGurlz. Byles was named the MVP of 11-6A, a district that included state champion Duncanville. Byles averaged 17 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 4.5 steals and 3 assists for a 27-6 team that reached the 6A Region II final and was ranked No. 18 in the nation. DeSoto finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the state and had two wins over nationally ranked teams — Etiwanda (Calif.) and Duncanville.

Mariah Clayton, Duncanville

Senior, G/F, 5-10

The unsigned senior averaged 14 points and seven rebounds for Class 6A state champion Duncanville while shooting 55% from the field and 39.3% from 3-point range for a 35-4 team. The District 11-6A offensive MVP averaged 18.5 points at the state tournament to lead Duncanville to its 12th state title — and first since 2020. After scoring seven of her 18 points in overtime in a 39-31 overtime win over Humble Summer Creek in the state semifinals, Clayton was named the MVP of the state championship game after scoring 19 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 59-41 win over South Grand Prairie. Clayton played the entire second half with three fouls against SGP but scored 15 points in the half as Duncanville closed the game on a 42-23 run after halftime. Clayton, who was named the MVP of the Sandra Meadows Classic and 6A Region II tournament, has offers from Old Dominion and Middle Tennessee State.

Related:First-year girls coach Neiman Ford helps Duncanville make good on state title prediction

Chrishawn Coleman, mansfield Timberview

Senior, PG, 5-8

The unsigned senior entered the state tournament leading nationally ranked Timberview in scoring (12.9 points per game), assists (4.7 per game) and steals (2.7 per game). Coleman suffered a strained Achilles tendon in a state semifinal win over Cedar Park and sat out the second half of that game, but she came back two days later and had 17 points, five rebounds and four steals in a 60-51 loss to Frisco Liberty in the Class 5A state championship game. She made a game-winning jumper in the final half-minute of an overtime win over Amarillo in the regional semifinal and helped Timberview to regular-season wins over the defending state champions in 6A (San Antonio Clark), 5A (Frisco Liberty) and 4A (Waco La Vega), as well as 6A state runner-up South Grand Prairie (twice). Coleman was a four-year varsity starter, and Timberview was 119-24 in her career. That included a 40-2 record this season and a 37-game winning streak that ended in the state title game.

Chloe Mann, Duncanville

Senior, G, 5-9

The Cincinnati signee averaged 13 points, four rebounds and four assists to help Duncanville win the Class 6A state title. Mann shot 49% from the field and 70% from the free throw line. Mann was named to the all-tournament team at the BeYOUtiful Classic, the Sandra Meadows Classic, the 6A Region II tournament and the state tournament. Facing three of the top seven teams in the state in the final three games of the season, Mann scored 10 points in a win over No. 1-ranked DeSoto in the regional final, then had 14 points in a state semifinal win against No. 3 Humble Summer Creek and 13 points in a 59-41 win over No. 7 South Grand Prairie in the state championship game.

Second team

Kaelyn Hamilton

McKinney North, Senior, PG

The San Diego State signee was the District 13-5A MVP and averaged 20.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.2 steals for 5A Region II semifinalist McKinney North. Hamilton scored 826 points this season, reached the 2,000-point mark for her career and finished her career as McKinney North’s all-time leader in points and assists. She averaged 21 points in the playoffs and scored 21 in a regional semifinal loss to state champion Frisco Liberty.

Milania Jordan

Southlake Carroll, Junior, G

The District 4-6A MVP averaged 17.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.4 steals as Southlake Carroll reached the regional semifinals for the fourth consecutive season. Jordan averaged 21.9 points over the last seven games and had games with 31, 30 and 25 points in that stretch.

Related:Southlake sister act: Meet the four Jordan sisters starring for Carroll girls basketball

Shiloh Kimpson

Little Elm, Junior, PG

The District 5-6A co-MVP averaged 16.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.8 steals for a 30-9 team that reached the 6A Region I quarterfinals. Little Elm tied Denton Braswell for the district title and had wins over Braswell, state-ranked McKinney North, 5A state champion Frisco Liberty and TAPPS 6A state champion Bishop Lynch.

Taliyah Parker

South Grand Prairie, Senior, G

The four-star Texas A&M signee, rated the 62nd-best player in the nation in the Class of 2024, averaged 10.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.9 steals for Class 6A state runner-up South Grand Prairie. She was the District 8-6A offensive MVP.

Kamora Pruitt

DeSoto, Sophomore, F

The four-star recruit, rated the 20th-best sophomore in the nation, averaged 16.5 points, 6 rebounds and shot 62% from 2-point range and 51% from 3-point range. DeSoto is 55-12 in her two years of high school and was the 6A state runner-up in 2023 and a regional finalist this season.

Keyera Roseby

Frisco Liberty, Senior, G

The Stephen F. Austin signee averaged 11.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists as Frisco Liberty won its second straight Class 5A state title. Roseby had 21 points and 13 rebounds in two games at the state tournament as Liberty beat Richmond Randle and Mansfield Timberview, ranked No. 5 and No. 1 in the state.

Third team

Gabby Campbell

Argyle, Senior, G

The District 7-5A co-MVP averaged 15.9 points, 3.6 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 2.5 steals for a 34-5 team that reached the 5A Region I final. She scored 1,462 points in her career and had a career record of 120-21.

Ar’Jayla Elder

Lincoln, Sophomore, G

The District 13-4A MVP averaged 15.6 points, 6 assists and 3 steals to lead a 30-4 Lincoln team to its 16th state tournament appearance. Lincoln won 25 of its last 26 games and took 4A state champion Waco La Vega to double overtime before losing 65-60 in the state semifinals.

Tajenae Gooden

Cedar Hill, Senior, G

Gooden averaged 16.3 points for the season and 17.3 points in the playoffs for a team that finished third in District 11-6A behind state champion Duncanville and state No. 1-ranked DeSoto. Gooden scored a game-high 21 points in a third-round playoff loss to DeSoto.

Emilee Jones

Mansfield Timberview, Senior, SF

The Drexel pledge was averaging 12.5 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds entering the state tournament and then had 23 points (on 10-of-13 shooting) and four steals in a loss to Frisco Liberty in the 5A state championship game. Timberview finished 40-2 and had the most wins of any team at the state tournament.

Amaya McDonald

Denton Braswell, Sophomore, C

The District 5-6A newcomer of the year and all-region selection averaged 11.7 points and 9.3 rebounds. Braswell had wins over 2023 5A state runner-up Lubbock Cooper, 6A state-ranked Sachse, 5A state-ranked McKinney North and 5-6A co-champion Little Elm, and Braswell nearly beat 6A state runner-up South Grand Prairie in the second round of the playoffs.

Jordan Thomas

Hebron, Senior, P

The four-star West Virginia signee averaged 13.4 points and 9.5 rebounds and was the District 6-6A co-offensive player of the year. Thomas is rated the eighth-best player in Texas in the Class of 2024.

On Twitter: @DMNGregRiddle

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