Area's best

For some players, it will be the last game of organized basketball they ever play. For others, it will be the last game before going on to play college basketball.

The second annual Westown Ford Girls’ All-Star Classic will be played tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Bruner Center on the campus of Illinois College in Jacksonville.

“It’s been pretty fun,” Pleasant Hill senior Devin Wombles said after a practice at the Bruner Center Thursday evening. “They’re really good girls and they play very well, so it should be interesting to see how it turns out.”

Twenty local players will be split into North and South squads. The North will be coached by Havana’s Jerry Wilson, while the South will be coached by West Central’s Brian Bettis.

“It’s been pretty fun getting to coach a great group of kids, some players that I’ve coached against that have kind of frustrated me on the other side, being the coach on the other team,” Bettis said. “It’s going to be kind of nice to coach some players that are pretty darn good players. Just to have Melissa Nichols on the same team I’m coaching ... it’s going to be really nice.”

For Carrollton’s Abby Moulton, tonight’s game is a chance to play one final time with teammates Breana Lovel and Dana Schnettgoecke.

But it’s also a chance to play with some of the players she’s battled against the past four years.

“It’s definitely an honor to be picked because I know the coaches picked some of the best girls in the area, and it’s really neat to play with the best talent around here,” she said. “It’s kind of crazy. You plan and you practice to beat all these people and then you show up and they’re your teammates. It’s different, but it’s a neat experience to get to play alongside them.”

Bettis implemented a number of offensive sets and inbounds plays at Thursday’s practice, but he said the most important thing was for the players to enjoy themselves.

“I told them you’re here to have fun,” the coach said. “Enjoy the game. Shoot the ball. No one is going to tell you not to shoot. If you’re open, take the shot.”

The North All-Stars include: Erin Gadberry (Triopia-Meredosia), Erin Gordley (Jacksonville), Liz Greger (PORTA), Kelsi Herter (Beardstown), Leah Kassing (Brown County), Emilie Lindquist (Brown County), Alicia Nicholas (Virginia/A-C Central), Heather Nutaut (Havana), Sarah Smith (North Greene) and Jenna Tucker (Havana).

The South All-Stars include: Lindsay Gruen (Greenfield), Haley Leefers (Routt), Kelsey Little (West Central), Breana Lovel (Carrollton), Jenna Lummis (Pleasant Hill), Abby Moulton (Carrollton), Melissa Nichols (Routt), Dana Schnettgoecke (Carrollton), Sarah Taylor (Pittsfield) and Devin Wombles (Pleasant Hill).

Tickets will be available for $5 at the door. A 3-point shootout will precede the game, and a junior high scrimmage will take place at halftime. Events begin at 6:30 p.m.