What a great accomplishment for such a wonderful person, great player, good student, and an extremely hard worker. She has spent countless hours in the gym working on her game, shot, dribbling, etc. All of that hard work paid off.
Also congrats to Amanda Brown receiving Honorable Mention. Well deserved as well.
From the Marietta Times, March 13, 2012
Awesome ‘E’: Dawson All-Ohio Player of the Year, first teamer
Prep girls basketball
March 13, 2012
By Ron Johnston - Sports Editor (rjohnston@mariettatimes.com) , The Marietta Times
Erica Dawson was shooting hoops at the Marietta Middle School gym with her AAU team when she first learned that she'd been named the All-Ohio Division II Player of the Year and had made the All-Ohio girls' basketball first team.
"Erica is definitely a gym rat," said Marietta High junior varsity girls coach Terry Wallis, laughing. "Making first team is an honor well-deserved."
Lady Tigers' head coach Scott Cozzens agreed and added, "Unbelievable! We were hoping 'E' would make first team but Player of the Year, that's quite an honor when you think about all of the schools and players in Ohio."
Warren senior Allie Grace Proctor was a third team All-Ohio honoree, and Marietta's Amanda Brown, Warren's Jordanna Rauch, and Morgan's Darian Apperson each was an All-Ohio honorable mention.
"I'm so happy for Amanda (Brown)," Cozzens said. "She's done a lot for Marietta basketball in three years.
"It's really been a good day for Marietta girls' basketball."
Dawson, a junior, agreed and added, "Amanda really stepped up this year, and as the only senior on the team, she was a great leader."
Dawson shared All-Ohio Player of the Year honor with Carroll's Kelly Austria Day (16.6 points per game) and Clyde's Amanda Cahill (20.7 ppg).
This season, the 5-foot-9 Dawson was very instrumental in helping Marietta compile a 19-5 overall record and making a regional tournament semifinal appearance. Along the way, she was named Ohio District 13 Player of the Year and East Central Ohio League Player of the Year.
She also set the single-season scoring mark and single-game standard of 52 points at Meadowbrook on Jan. 14.
Dawson's basketball statistics are mind-boggling as she scored 714 total points, or an average of 29.7 points per game. An all-around player, she grabbed 192 rebounds, dished out 79 assists, and had 167 steals.
From the free-throw line, she converted 173 of 221, and behind the arc, she drained 83 triples.
It is believed that no other MHS girls' basketball player has ever made first-team All-Ohio. Over the years, the Lady Tigers have had some great players, too, in LeAnne Ross, Jen Gwin, and Shawna (Daugherty) McKnight to name but a few.
"I'm definitely excited about this honor," Dawson said. "It's something I've dreamed about, and I want to thank my dad (Glenn), all my coaches, and teammates for making it possible. I could not have done it without them."
Last year as a sophomore, Dawson was a third-team All-Ohio honoree, averaging 16.8 ppg, 4.4 rebounds per game, 2.9 assists per game and 4.0 steals per game.
"I first saw Erica play in the eighth grade," Wallis said, "and I knew then she was a special talent.
"Then I had her for one year as a JV player, and we went 19-0. She just has a work ethic second to none."
The thing about Dawson is that Cozzens has her for one more season on the basketball court.
"I look for Erica to take on more of a leadership role next season," the Marietta boss said. "We've just got to get more scoring out of the other kids to help her out."
An all-around athlete, Dawson runs cross country in the fall and track in the spring, along with playing AAU basketball with the Mid-Ohio Valley Extreme.
"I also like to keep my grades up, and work out in the weight room," she said.
Dawson is the daughter of Glenn and Christy Dawson of Marietta. She has a younger brother Trent and sister Tori.
Along with making third team All-Ohio, Proctor was the Southeastern Ohio Athletic League Co-player of the Year and a District 13 first teamer. The multi-talented Lady Warrior senior averaged 12 points per game, and had one memorable triple-double in a win over Parkersburg High early in the season.
"Grace did it all for us this year," said first-year Warren girls' coach Amy Colgrove, who guided the Lady Warriors to an 18-6 overall record which included an SEOAL, sectional and district championship - and a regional semifinal appearance.
"She's such a hard worker, who was the glue that kept things together."
Rauch averaged 14.0 ppg for Warren.
"Jordanna really elevated her game this season," Colgrove said. "Her game has really developed."
Colgrove incidentally coached Dawson when she was a Marietta assistant.
"Erica came to a lot of our open gyms," the Warren boss said. "And she knows she's welcome there anytime."
Brown, who averaged 12.0 ppg, finished her Lady Tiger senior season on the court with 289 points, 81 assists, 80 steals and 144 rebounds. She was 46 of 76 from the foul line.
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