May 29, 2012
2012 PARADE All-America Basketball Team
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In the most recent issue of PARADE magazine, the publication released its annual list of boys and girls high school basketball All-America teams, with incoming Vanderbilt women’s basketball freshmen Heather Bowe and Kristen Gaffney both making the list.
Bowe is a forward from Eau Claire, Wis., and Regis High School. She was named the Associated Press Wisconsin Player of the Year as a senior, averaging 22 points per game and helping Regis to the semifinals of the Wisconsin Division 4 state tournament. During her junior year, she led Regis to the Division 4 title while earning tournament MVP honors.
Gaffney is a wing/forward from Cary, N.C., and Green Hope High School. Gaffney put up 28.1 points per game while reaching the 2,000-point mark during the year. She scored more points than any girl’s basketball player in the history of Wake (N.C.) County and as a sophomore broke the state’s scoring sophomore scoring record which was previously held by Connecticut stand-out Shea Ralph.
Bowe and Gaffney will be joined by Morgan Batey (Atlanta, Ga.), Jasmine Jenkins (Gainesville, Ga.), Rayte’a Long (Dayton, Ohio) and Kendall Shaw (Baytown, Texas) to form the 24th ranked class in the nation according to ESPN/Hoopgurlz.
They join a Melanie Balcomb squad that returns 10 of 11 players from a year ago, including five all-SEC selections and the league’s scoring champion, Christina Foggie.
With 40 members of the PARADE All-America Team, Vanderbilt is one of just eight schools to have more than one incoming freshman make the list.
