The school year may have ended and the girls basketball season is certainly well behind us, but the accolades keep coming for our District Champion Lady Chiefs Girls Basketball Team. At the 2022 High School Sports Awards held June 1, Lady Chiefs pointguard Kendra Bentley was recognized as the 2022 Girls Basketball Player of the Year

The Palm Beach County High School Sports Awards is a regional branch of the USAToday High School Sports Awards program, which recognizes the area’s top performing athletes, coaches and teams, culminating in a live awards show, hosted this year at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach.

Kendra revealed how honored she felt to be nominated among so many other talented players, and added, “I am very appreciative of the award and knowing all the time and hard work I put in has paid off ”

The Lady Chiefs thrived despite the challenges they faced this season, achieving the first district championship in a decade! Kendra’s leadership on the court was a huge factor in the team’s success this year. In addition to being the team’s leading scorer, Kendra was a dominating force in terms of energy, heart and grit. In only her junior year, she was also recognized for the rare feat of scoring more than 1,000 points. She can now add this prestigious “Player of the Year” recognition to her growing list of accomplishments.

Athletic Director for the 2022 season, Barry Cohen, said, “Kendra has been an elite basketball player since she started playing here at Santaluces as a freshman. This past year has allowed us to see what she can do on the court. She averaged almost 25 points a game and led her teammates to the regional semifinals. This award recognizes how much Kendra has improved over the last three years and that there is more to come next year.”

Lady Chiefs fans are certainly looking forward to seeing more of Kendra on the court for her Senior year.