Girls Basketball – Dara Mabrey Named Gatorade Player of the Year

Dara Mabrey is the little sister among her basketball family both in age and stature, but in just three years of high school basketball, she is cementing a legacy at Manasquan High School every bit as grand as that of her two older, accomplished sisters.

Mabrey won the Gatorade Player of the Year in N.J. according to a press release on the company's site, becoming the third Manasquan player to win the award. All three of those winners won the honor in the last six seasons and all three are from the Mabrey family.

Michaela Mabrey won the award as a senior in 2011-12, when she led the Warriors to the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions title. Marina Mabrey was a freshman on that team and, just like Michaela, later won the Gatorade Player of the Year and the Tournament of Champions crown as a senior in 2014-15.

Dara Mabrey is the first in her family to win the award as a junior. At 5-foot-7, she is a smaller player than both Michaela (5-10) and Marina (5-11) but her accomplishments are fast becoming sizable. With Manasquan still playing in its quest for a Tournament of Champions title, Mabrey is averaging 19.8 points per game, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 steals and is two wins away from matching her sisters by winning a Tournament of Champions title in the same year she won Gatorade Player of the Year.

Dara can become the only Mabrey sister to win both as a junior and would also be the first of the Mabrey sisters to win multiple Tournament of Champions championships. Dara Mabrey was a freshman starter on Manasquan's 2015 championship team.