MARINETTE — Quicker than a hiccup, Chloe Seymour spent the 2023-24 girls basketball season terrorizing the other nine teams in the North Eastern Conference on both ends of the court for the Marinette Marines.
From converting steals into layups and turning rebounds into breathtaking fastbreak opportunities, the Marines’ dynamo guard dazzled fans and frustrated opponents while helping guide Marinette to its first-ever conference championship.
Opposing coaches took notice and recognized Seymour as the North Eastern Conference Player of the Year as the NEC released its All-Conference selections on Monday.
Player of the Year wasn’t the only wasn’t the only hardware the diminutive junior took home, as Seymour was also recognized as a unanimous All-NEC First Team choice as well as a First Team All-Defense honoree.
Seymour stuffed the statsheet all season long for the Marines, who finished with their best-ever record at 20-5 overall.
Seymour averaged 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.5 steals and an NEC-leading 3.2 assists per game.
“Chloe made huge strides this season and every coach in our conference had to be aware and prepare for her on both ends of the court,” Marinette coach Zac Barker said. “I cannot speak highly enough of how talented of a player that she is. Her willingness to do whatever was needed for the team to win paid off huge for her, and for the team as well.”
Marinette collected six All-Conference awards in total, the most of any single school.
Riley Kieffer also garnered unanimous First Team honors, making Marinette the lone school to have multiple unanimous First Team performers.
Wrightstown’s Ella Verbeten was the only other player to receive unanimous First Team recognition.
Kieffer was the conference’s second-leading scorer at 13.8 points per game despite missing the final four contest with a knee injury. She added 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game.
“Rylie really improved this year at scoring on all levels, not just shooting the 3. She recognized areas that she needed to grow and she really took a step up on the defensive end,” Barker said. “To have two of the top three players in the conference is a great moment for our program.”
Olivia Hanson earned a spot on the All-NEC Second Team after averaging 7.3 points, 6.3 rebounds (third in the NEC), 2.5 assists, 1.7 steals and an NEC-best 1.4 blocks per game.
“Olivia was the player that was most crucial to our success,” Barker said. “We have a lot of guards, but we don’t have many post players, so Olivia is that kind of unicorn-type player for us. She was the one who battled against the other team’s top post player. Her points maybe weren’t as high as they could have been, but she’s an unselfish player and one of the top post players in the conference.”
Bry Torkko, Kaya Bodam and Madison Kunick all received Honorable Mention.
Torkko was second in the NEC in assists behind Seymour with 3.1 dimes per contest in addition to averaging 2.8 steals, 4.7 rebounds and eight points.
Bodam averaged 6.4 points and 1.9 steals per game. Kunick was good for 2.3 steals and 6.9 points each night.
“The best way to sum up those three is that they may not have had gaudy statistics, but that’s through no fault of their own. All three of them care about the team and care about winning, and they recognized that there’s a lot of pieces on a team that has to work well together,” Barker said. “That’s what’s so special about those three.”
2023-24 All-North Eastern Conference awards
Player of the Year — Chloe Seymour, Jr., Marinette
First Team
Chloe Seymour, Jr., Marinette (unanimous)
Riley Kieffer, Jr., Marinette (unanimous)
Ella Verbeten, Soph., Wrightstown (unanimous)
Natalie Sunita, Sr., Clintonville
Kiarrah Micolichek, Soph., Denmark
Haley Reed, Jr., Freedom
Rylie Shallow, Soph., Oconto Falls
All-Defense
Chloe Seymour, Jr., Marinette
Paige Selner, Soph., Denmark
Avery Lang, Jr., Freedom
Rylie Shallow, Soph., Oconto Falls
Ella Verbeten, Soph., Wrightstown
Second Team
Olivia Hanson, Jr., Marinette
Gracie Martzahl, Jr., Freedom
Lauren Movrich, Sr., Fox Valley Lutheran
Brianna Bray, Soph., Luxemburg-Casco
Hailey Bechard, Soph., Waupaca
Mallory Colwell, Jr., Wrightstown
Honorable Mention: Bryanna Torkko, Jr., Marinette; Kaya Bodam, Jr., Marinette; Madison Kunick, Jr., Marinette; Allie Van Vonderen, Fr., Denmark; Paige Selner, Soph., Denmark; Amelia Van Noie, Jr., Denmark; Abbie Cropsey, Jr., Freedom; Jaydah Bork, Soph., Freedom; Alaina Krueger, Sr., Fox Valley Lutheran; Erin Cherovsky, Jr., Luxemburg-Casco; Kathryn Raddatz, Sr., Oconto Falls; Madeline Maloney, Jr. Oconto Falls; Amber Otto, Jr., Oconto Falls; Rossalyn Wehmeyer, Jr., Waupaca; Macie Studzinski, Sr., Waupaca; Ava Widdel, Soph., Waupaca; Ella Fandrey, Jr., Wrightstown; Kaia Leick, Jr., Wrightstown
Most Popular
Comments / 0