By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Simon Kenton junior Ally Niece and Ryle senior Hayley Bush received high school Player of the Year awards at the Greater Cincinnati Women’s Sports Association (GCWSA) awards dinner on Monday at Xavier University.
Niece was named the top high school girls’ basketball player in Greater Cincinnati. The junior guard was voted one of the top 10 players in Kentucky in a statewide coaches poll after averaging 19 points and seven rebounds for the Simon Kenton team that made it to the quarterfinals of the state tournament. She has accepted a scholarship offer from Northern Kentucky University.
Bush was named the top high school volleyball player in Greater Cincinnati. The Purdue University recruit was a second-team all-state selection as a setter and outside hitter for Ryle. Last summer, she played on the NKYVC Tsunami 17-1 team that won a national title and she was a third-team All-America selection by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Tony Harden of St. Henry was named high school Coach of the Year by the GCWSA. He has coached girls’ cross country and track teams that have won numerous state and regional championships competing on the Class A level in Kentucky.
Two former Northern Kentucky high school athletes also received awards at Monday’s banquet for being outstanding players at Thomas More College. Simon Kenton graduate Abby Owings was named Player of the Year in women’s college basketball and St. Henry graduate Laura Felix was named Player of the Year in women’s college soccer.
Owings was named to the D3hoops.com All-America first team after averaging 16 points and 3.4 assists per game for the nationally ranked Thomas More basketball team that finished the season with a 28-1 record. The junior guard was also named Player of the Year in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and received honorable mention on the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association NCAA Division III All-America Team.
Felix was a senior midfielder on the Thomas More women’s soccer team that posted a 22-1-1 record and made it to the round of 16 in the NCAA Division III playoffs. She finished the season with six goals and five assists while also playing solid defense for the Saints. She was named to the All-America second team by D3soccer.com.