Eight basketball players represented the area in the Alabama Independent School Association’s all-star basketball games Saturday.

Among the players were: Kayla Kaldor (Meadowview Christian), Jamie Wheeler (Lowndes Academy), Jana Stinson (Lowndes Academy), Cedrica Lucy (Ellwood Christian), Nikki Merryman (Wilcox Academy), Taylor Felts (Wilcox Academy), Richmond Gunter (Wilcox Academy) and Connor Thorpe (Morgan Academy).

In the contests, Kaldor scored five points for the East team, while Stinson added four points and Wheeler added another two. For the West team, Felts scored five points.

The East team knocked off the West in the all-star girls game, 59-37.

On the boys’ side, the West beat the East 70-60, with neither Gunter nor Thorpe scoring for the West team.

But while the area was well represented, it may have been the fact that none of the players from Ellwood Christian’s Class 1A state championship team were selected to the all-star squad.

The teams, picked through nominations, regional selections and coaches’ votes, were decided in early February and announced during last week’s state championship games in Montgomery.

“I was very upset to say the least,” Ellwood Christian head coach Carl Rawls said.

“We learned the make up of the teams before our championship game against Crenshaw Christian.”

Rawls said he had nominated one of his seniors, Brian Landers, who he said was an extremely talented player, great young man and solid contributor to the Eagles’ championship team.

“I felt he deserved the honor of being an all-star,” Rawls said.

“I went up to him when I found out. He told me ‘Coach, don’t worry about it. A championship is more important.’”

Rawls said Landers, and the rest of the Eagles, used what they considered a snub as motivation in beating Crenshaw Christian to earn the school’s first state championship title.