Washington’s Abby Walker has been named Washington Daily News Beaufort County Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year for her leadership off the court and overall consistency on the court against the toughest level of competition among county teams.

A first team All-Eastern Plains Conference selection, Walker averaged 15 points and nine rebounds per game in her final season for the Pam Pack, giving first-year head coach Jon Scharpenberg a single offensive and defensive constant through a grueling slate of late-season games.

“I am truly lucky to have been her coach,” Scharpenberg said. “I’ve coached for 17 years and she’s probably the ultimate teammate. She’d rather see one of her teammates have success than her have success. That says a lot about her. If you watch great teams play, you have players willing to give up their own story for the betterment of the team. That’s pretty much Abby Walker in a nutshell.”

Walker’s leadership eased the transition from the old system to a new, motion offense in one of the best seasons for girls’ basketball the conference has seen in years. Despite not being the tallest post player, it was her consistency and ability to limit mistakes that made her among the area’s top talents on the hardwood.

With the graduation of Sheema Blount, the senior center assumed most of the scoring duties and was the only Washington player to finish the season averaging double-digits, numbers that were likely reduced due to her unselfishness.

“She’s our ultimate outlet,” Scharpenberg said. “Whenever we got stuck, she would come to the ball and relieve a lot of pressure from our guards. She’s the type of kid that would handle that role, which took her out of a lot of scoring opportunities, but she was really fine with that. “

After winning their first five games, Washington finished out the season 2-12, losing all but one Eastern Plains Conference game down the stretch.

Along with teammate Shona Midgette, Walker, being a four-year varsity starter, may represent the old faction of Pam Pack basketball, but she’s paved the way for the underclassmen to build upon the new foundation Scharpenberg has set.

“The thing is I really never had to coach effort. Never had to do it,” Scharpenberg said. “She is so fundamentally sound that I’d tell her a correction one time and I’d never have to tell her twice. I think a lot of it is she just doesn’t make any mistakes. She’s that one person that when any of our games were tight, she’d make a play.”

“In practice, she’s like another coach. She does it in such a way where she’s a quiet leader. She’s so positive with the other girls and they really respond to that.”

Runner-ups:

2. Taylor Mann, Center, Junior, Pungo

3. Alex Adams, Shooting Guard, Senior, Northside