Arp Lady Tigers 1st team all-district performers

Reaching the postseason for the first time in four years paved the way for multiple individual accolades for the 2022-23 Arp High School girls basketball team.

Taking care of business in the classroom made headway as well.

Six Lady Tigers were named All-District 16-3A players, or Academic All-District student-athletes by the league coaches.

For the second straight year, senior point guard Kyia Horton garnered first team honors.

A fiery leader in many ways, Horton led the district in assists averaging 2.4 per contest, and three-point field goal percentage as she hit 34 percent of her shots from beyond the arc.  She was also second in 16-3A with 38 three-point field goals made.

In addition, Horton averaged 5.2 points per game, and four rebounds each outing, which placed her in the top 16 in the league both categories.

After earning a second team all-district award as a junior, Cyla Nelson-Rose capped off her Arp High School career being named to the league's first team.

The senior guard tied for eighth in scoring in the district pouring in 8.3 points per game.  She was seventh in 16-3A in field goals made with 79, eighth in three-point baskets made with 19, and tenth in assists at 1.3 per contest.

Moving up from honorable mention as a freshman to second team accolades, is sophomore forward Maddie Birdsong.  In addition, she repeats as an academic all-district performer.

She was fourth in the district in field goals made with 95, and rebounding at 5.7 boards per outing.

Birdsong also tied Nelson-Rose for eighth in the league in scoring at 8.3 points per contest, and chipped in defensively with 2.1 steals a game, which led the Lady Tigers.

Another young lady that went from honorable mention a year ago to second team all-district is senior post Kyleigh Pawlik.

Her 162 rebounds place her sixth in the league in rebounding, while her 74 free throws make her second in the district in foul shots made.

A valuable force inside, Pawlik was also tenth in 16-3A in scoring, and field goals made averaging 7.2 points per outing.

Senior guard Abby Nichols received honorable mention all-district honors, and is once again an academic all-district student-athlete.

Nichols was third in the league in assists dishing out just over two per game.  She also figured in the top 20 in steals and rebounding at 1.8 thefts per contests, and three rebounds per game.

An important piece off the bench for first-year coach Joel Avance, junior guard Allee McCollum earns her second consecutive academic all-district award.

Often a spark for the Lady Tigers on both ends of the floor, McCollum was tenth in the district in blocked shots with four.  She also ranked in the top 20 in the league in assists at 1.1 per game and in the top 25 in rebounding at 2.5 boards per contest.

On the floor, the Lady Tigers won more games in 2022-23 than they had in the three previous seasons combined.  Giving their fans a great number of thrills, they also had their first winning season since 2019.

Arp finished their campaign 15-14 with a 5-7 mark in district play which tied them for fourth place in the standings.

The Lady Tigers won a play-in tie-breaker game Feb. 10 over rival West Rusk in exciting come from behind fashion 50-46 to advance to the UIL Class 3A playoffs for the first time since 2019.