The Olympian’s 2022 All-Area girls basketball team

Each year, with input from local coaches, The Olympian selects its All-Area girls basketball team.

This year, seven high schools from the Olympia area are represented by players and coaches selected to the first and second teams.

The 12 spots, broken down by leagues, are 4A South Puget Sound League (two), 3A South Sound Conference (four), 2A Evergreen Conference (four), 1A Evergreen Conference (one) and 2B Central League (one).

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

AUBREY AMENDALA

Tumwater

Guard, 5-5, senior

Co-MVP of the 2A EvCo along with teammate Natalie Sumrok, Amendala will play for Utah Tech of the Division I Western Athletic Conference next season. This is her second first-team All-Area appearance. She was first-team 2A EvCo four consecutive years. This season, with the T-Birds upsetting several larger, ranked schools and spending most of the year ranked No. 1 in the state in 2A, Amendala averaged 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals. “Aubrey has an extremely high basketball IQ and was our floor leader,” Tumwater coach Robin Johnson, also Amendala’s mom, said. “She controls the pace of the game on both offense and defense.”

COACH OF THE YEAR

JACKIE MEYER

North Thurston

Meyer did something few coaches even attempt anymore — she guided both the Rams volleyball and basketball teams into 3A state tournaments in back-to-back sport seasons. North Thurston’s girls basketball team finished 19-4 and advanced to state for the first time in 28 years but lost its regional game to Eastside Catholic. The Rams had claimed a share of the 3A SSC title at 13-1 with a big road win late in the season at Gig Harbor. Meyer won with a mix of players including breakout senior star Tay Birdtail and freshman point guard Soraya Olgadez.

FIRST TEAM

TAY BIRDTAIL

North Thurston

Guard, 5-8, senior

Birdtail, always a strong player, reached new heights in 2021-22, earning 3A SSC MVP honors after averaging 16.5 points per game to go with 6.5 rebounds. She was clutch from long range down the stretch. She made three 3-pointers during the late stages of a big 60-55 win at Gig Harbor and scored 31 points in a playoff loss to Auburn. “Tay was an important and key player on both offense and defense,” said Meyer. Birdtail will likely play in college but is still filtering through an array of small school and JC offers.

DREA BRUMFIELD

W.F. West

Forward, 6-2, senior

The 2021 All-Area player of the year returns to the first team after averaging 15.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game for a Bearcat team that reached the state 2A tournament. The Pepperdine-bound Brumfield became W.F. West’s all-time scoring leader fueled in part by the 54 3-pointers she hit this season. “Drea has been a fixture in our program for four years,” W.F. West coach Kyle Karnofski said. “Her legacy is impressive and she will be remembered as one of the best Bearcats in program history.”

ASHLEY SCHOW

Tenino

Forward, 6-1, senior

The first team 1A Evergreen choice is headed to Central Washington after averaging a big double-double at 20.5 points and 12 rebounds per game. Schow makes her second appearance on the All-Area first team. In addition to her scoring and rebounding, she contributed 3.5 assists and two blocks per game. “Ashley sets the tone on defense, she’s very athletic and would get steals and deflections to get us going,” coach Scott Ashmore said. “On offense, she can score effortlessly inside the key. She also has a great mid-range jump shot.”

NATALIE SUMROK

Tumwater

Forward, 5-11, senior

Sumrok, like Amendala a career 1,000-point-plus scorer for Tumwater, returns to first-team All-Area after sharing the 2A EvCo MVP honor with her teammate. She averaged 16 points, five rebounds and two steals per game as the key scorer at the end of the T-Birds’ fast break. A Western Colorado signee, Sumrok, who excels in the combined events during track season, may become a rare two-sport collegiate athlete for the Mountaineers. “Natalie is extremely fast and athletic,” Johnson said. “With her length and speed, she’s a hard matchup for teams to guard.”

AVA WOLIN

Olympia

Guard, 5-9, senior

A much decorated two-sport athlete and student, Wollin is a repeat member of the All-Area first team after making first-team 4A SPSL South with 10.3 points per game, 4.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals to help the Bears reach the 4A state tournament. She holds all the Olympia records for 3-pointers, including eight in a single game. She won the 200 and 400 in the league track meet last spring and in 2019, the last time state was held, reached the 4A final at 400 meters. “Ava is one of the fiercest competitors I’ve ever coached. Her competitiveness and want to win attitude carried over to our entire team,” coach Dustin Workman said.

SECOND TEAM

Hannah Berschauer, Olympia, jr.

Faith Boesch, Rainier, sr.

Isabella Lund, Tumwater, sr.

Soraya Olgadez, North Thurston, sr.

Lili Williams, Yelm, soph.