SC North's Smith on Class 4A All-State first team

St. Charles North senior center Kelsey Smith was named to the girls basketball Class 4A All-State First Team on Monday.

"It's definitely exciting," Smith said. "I've worked really hard and it's good to be rewarded for that."

Smith, who played on the varsity level all four years at North, added a new facet to her game to take great strides forward this season.

"If you watched her, you saw she really improved her ability as an outside shooter," North coach Katie Sauber-Duraski said. "People would try and muscle her out of the paint and she became really good at knocking down that outside shot."

"That was important to me because I always talk about being a complete player, and it's something I worked hard at improving," Smith said.

The 2008 Courier-News Player of the Year also remained a prominent rebounding and defensive force in the paint.

The North Stars finished the season with a 21-9 record, losing in overtime to St. Charles East in the title game of the South Elgin Regional. The Michigan State recruit scored 19 points in her final game as a North Star.

"She became a solid leader for the girls," Sauber-Duraski explained. "They looked to her for guidance and she showed a legacy of winning and hard work."

Rounding out the Class 4A First Team were Wheeling's Ashley Wilson, Lake Park's Samantha Arnold, Lincoln-Way East's Kersten Magrum and Fenwick's Tricia Liston.

The Class 3A First Team consisted of Marshall's Adrienne GodBold, Morton's Brooke Bipsing, Quincy Notre Dame's Chloe Barnes, Freeport's Katie Norman and Trinity's Monica Albano.