If the decision on who was to be chosen as the Prep2Prep CIF North Coast Section Freshman of the Year was based solely on stats, the prize for first-year players in the NCS would not necessarily have gone to Lepolo.

The honor could have gone to Amaya Bonner of Bishop O’Dowd (12.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.2 steals), who was a very close runner-up, or even Kelly Tumlin of California (14.7 ppg), but not only was Lepolo the second-best Pilots player to junior sensation Malia Mastora on a CIF Northern Regional Open Division qualifier, analysts and coaches almost all agree Lepolo is one of the best defenders and has one of the most well rounded games of any player in the NCS regardless of year, so it’s the solidly-built 5-6 point guard that garners this year’s NCS Freshman of the Year honor.

On a young team with seven players averaging over 5.0 points per game her 7.9 a contest was third behind Mastora and senior Zhane Duckett, and with a lot of girls that can dish the rock her 3.7 assists led the team. Lepolo also pulled down 3.1 rebounds and had 2.5 steals a game, and as the Pilots starting point guard she only averaged a little over one turnover per game, and that is pretty solid.

“Talana’s scoring will come as she gets older,” said St. Joseph Notre Dame Coach Shawn Hipol. “Her real value is her basketball IQ and a feel for the game that is years above her. Very few players, and particularly young players, can play at different speeds and change direction like she does, and that’s what separates her from other players.”

Despite not looking to score a lot and having her time limited in a lot of games that were blowouts, Lepolo still was in double figure scoring 11 times. It wasn’t her season high but one of her top performances of the year was when she was matched up with senior Avery Cargill of Cardinal Newman in the NCS Division III semifinals on the road in Santa Rosa where she played great defense and more than held her own with 13 points on 6-of-7 from the field, plus four assists in a 54-47 victory.

For her efforts throughout the season, we are pleased to recognize Talana Lepolo as the Prep2Prep North Coast Section Freshman of the Year.

NOTE: We would like to thank our media partners, coaches, parents, players and fans for contributing photos for our all-section features. We salute all of the players that have made this a wonderful season of NCS basketball.