History was made on the high school hardwood this basketball season, with the Iowa boys reaching the semifinal round of the playoffs for the first time and St. Louis Catholic guard Paris Guillory putting her name in the state record book while reaching the state championship game for the fourth time in her career.

For that, the Yellow Jackets boys and Saints girls swept the awards on the American Press All-Southwest Louisiana Large Schools basketball teams.

Iowa guard Dashawn Ceaser is the Most Valuable Player of the boys team and head coach Rob Melanson is the Coach of the Year.

Guillory is MVP of the girls team while Saints head coach Tony Johnson is Coach of the Year.

Ceaser, a junior, averaged 22 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in his first season as a full-time starter.

“He’s worked hard and put in a lot of time in the gym on his own,” Iowa head coach Rob Melanson said. “He asks a lot of questions and really matured a lot from last year. He’s gotten a lot stronger.”

Melanson guided the Yellow Jackets to a 29-6 record, including a win over Brusly in the quarterfinals to clinch the program’s first trip to the state tournament, where the Jackets lost to Carroll.

“The kids worked hard,” he said. “The ones that came in from football after their long season were ready to hit the floor right away. We had a good group of kids.”

Guillory blistered the nets all year, averaging 27 points, 11 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 4.0 steals per game. She shone brightest on the biggest stage, breaking Kim Mulkey’s Class 3A state tournament single-game scoring record with a 41-point performance in a win over Vandebilt Catholic.

She added 27 points in the championship game loss to Lafayette Christian Academy to also set the two-game scoring record with 68 points. She was named District 3-3A MVP and Class 3A MVP on the Louisiana Sports Writers Association All-State team.

“She is one of the most decorated kids to play at St. Louis,” Saints head coach Tony Johnson said. “She is a hard worker and is willing to do anything to be successful. This year, she was a great leader for us with all of the younger girls we had.”

Johnson led the Saints to a 27-7 record.

Large Schools

Boys

First Team

Player, School Cl. Avg.

Jabbari Barry, Barbe Sr. 18

Dashawn Ceaser, Iowa Jr. 22

Desamonte Gradney, Iowa Jr. 14

Omarion Randolph, LaGrange Sr. 17

Zavien Trent, Sulphur Sr. 16

Second Team

Player, School Cl. Avg.

Ryan Batiste, Lake Charles College Prep Sr. 11

Elijah Garrick, Lake Charles College Prep 17

Ian Malone, Sulphur So. 14

Calyb Mitchell, LaGrange Sr. 13

Ja’Quise Richmond, Barbe Sr. 15

MVP — Dashawn Ceaser, Iowa

COACH OF THE YEAR — Rob Melanson, Iowa

Girls

First Team

Player, School Cl. Avg.

Paris Guillory, St. Louis Catholic Sr. 27

Raelyn Gunter, S. Beauregard Sr. 12

Kylei LeBlanc, LaGrange Jr. 21

Mikaylah Manley, Barbe Sr. 19

Areil Williams, Barbe Sr. 19

Second Team

Player, School Cl. Avg.

Gabby Guillory, Westlake So. 13

Gabbie Link, St. Louis Catholic Sr. 12

Shyann McCummings, Leesville So. 16

Jalyn Williams, S. Beauregard Sr. 13

Katelynn Wilson, LaGrange Jr. 11

MVP — Paris Guillory, St. Louis Catholic

COACH OF THE YEAR — Tony Johnson, St. Louis Catholic