KOEPER AMONG 4A's ELITE PLAYERS

Jackson senior standout Andrea Koeper, who has decided to play her college basketball at Southeast Missouri State University, was named to the Class 4A all-state first team for the second straight year.

Jamie Amberger, a 5-11 senior from Perryville, made the second team in 3A.

Koeper (5-foot-11) averaged 16 points, eight rebounds and two assists per game in directing Jackson to a third-place finish at state.

Koeper was the team's leader in every sense. She led the team in points, rebounds, assists, field-goal percentage and 3-point percentage. She could play any position on the court.

Also the co-MVP of the SEMO Conference, she is a member of the 1,000-point club and finished among the top five scorers in school history.

"She's focused," Jackson coach Ron Cook said. "She's a complete player and she spent a lot of extra time working."

Amberger scored 15.4 points and pulled down 13.1 rebounds per game. She broke the single-game school record for rebounds with 26 in Perryville's district championship loss to eventual state runner-up Doniphan. She also tied a record for 14 free throws made in a game.

"Not only this year, but over the last three years, she's gotten better every year," Perryville coach Vikki Lohmann said. "I knew she could do what she ended up doing. She's so hard-nosed and she was the hub of our wheel -- almost everything we did went through her. She's filled the post position for us the last three years and she'll be very hard to replace."

Koeper and Amberger were the only players in the immediate area to be named to the all-state team, but several other players of regional interest were selected.

In 3A, Dexter's Brett Hale (6-1, sr.) and New Madrid County Central's Dereke Tipler (5-10, jr.) made first team on the boys' side, while 6-11 Doniphan center and New Madrid's 5-10 senior were named to the second team. On the girls' side, Bethany Orendorff, a 6-foot senior who led Doniphan to a second-place finish, made the first team and Park Hills Central's Leslie Burgess (5-10, sr.) made the second team.

In 4A, Poplar Bluff's Ashley Williams, a 5-7 guard, made the first team for the second straight year.