The Northwest Georgia Tip-Off Club recognized five members of the Darlington Community last week at the organization's 30th annual basketball banquet at the Krannert Center at Berry College.
The reception celebrated several area athletes and coaches in recognition of their performance on the courts during the 2015-16 basketball season.
Junior Anna Claire Atha took home several awards from the event, including Darlington's Player of the Month for December, the school's Player of the Year, and Player of the Year for the entire Northwest Georgia region.
At play, Atha averaged 25 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 4.1 steals. In December, she scored the 1,000th point of her high school basketball career during a winning region contest over Coosa. Recently, she was also recognized as Region 7-AA Player of the Year.
Senior Keara Evans was also honored at the Tip-Off Club's banquet as one of January's Players of the Month. Additionally, she was recently named to the Rome News-Tribune's All-Region 7-AA first team for basketball.
"Anna Claire was a tenacious, on-ball defender this season. She ended up being our leading rebounder, as well as leading us in assists, steals, free-throw and 3-pointer percentages," said Josh Hembree, head girls' varsity basketball coach. "Keara's presence on the defensive end both rebounding and blocking shots was something that we sorely missed when she was out for seven games. When she came back, it gave us that edge to win the games that we did."
Senior Kyle Tackeberry was recognized at the reception as Darlington's male basketball Player of the Year. Per game, the All-Region 7-AA first team honoree averaged 18 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists.
"Kyle has been an asset to the team since coming to Darlington," said Tim Garrett, head boys' coach. "He has been the team's leader on the court and his work ethic will be missed in the years to come."
Also representing the varsity boys' team was freshman JD Hull, who was named Darlington’s December Player of the Month, and junior J.T. Mumber, who was honored as January Player of the Month.
"JD and J.T. are working in the offseason to become the best two post guys in the Northwest Georgia area. Each one will leave their impression for future generations to model once their time is complete with the program," added Garrett. "At various points during the season, each of the boys showed the importance of teamwork, sacrifice for the betterment of the team, and a dedication to striving for perfection."
