Make your choice for the top performance among girls high school athletes from the first week of January.
Editor’s note: We prohibit the use of bots and any other artificial methods of voting. Suspicious activity could lead to the disqualification of candidates and a permanent suspension of the Athlete of the Week poll. No voting by email: Votes by email and after 5 p.m. Wednesday are not counted.
Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News & East Bay Times) girls Athlete of the Week poll.
For the entire academic year, we will provide a list of candidates who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the winner.
This week, we consider performances from the first week of January.
Polls close at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Vote as many times as you’d like until then without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.
Votes by email and after 5 p.m. Wednesday are not counted.
Scroll to the bottom for the poll.
Winners are announced each Friday online and in the print edition of the Mercury News and East Bay Times sports sections.
Candidates for future Athlete of the Week polls can be nominated at highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com.
We accept nominations until 11 a.m. each Monday.
We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps by coaches/team statisticians.
On to the nominees:
Caroline Alanis, Albany soccer: Junior forward notched a hat trick (3 goals) in a 5-0 win over Richmond. Albany improved to 8-1 overall and 6-1 in TCAL Rock play. The division’s defending offensive Player of the Year, Alanis is second on the team in assists and points.
Akshaya Bahugudumbi, Leigh soccer: Senior forward totaled four assists in victories over Pioneer and Leland, helping Longhorns stretch their record to 8-0. She had three assists in a 4-0 blanking of Pioneer
Lillian Cooke, Castro Valley soccer: Sophomore’s 16th birthday was a sweet one as she scored the game’s only goal in a win over Dublin. She added two more goals in the Gaels’ next match, a 6-0 victory against Arroyo.
Delaney Dorwin, Half Moon Bay basketball: The 5-foot-8 guard had a career-high 29 points in a 61-43 triumph over Burlingame. She added eight rebounds, six steals and five assists as the Cougars improved to 10-2. She is a junior.
Zoey Hinkle, Del Mar basketball: The 6-0 sophomore scored 35 points, a single-game school record, to help the Dons improve to 7-7 in a win over Yerba Buena. She also had 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. The rising star is averaging 16.6 points and 14 rebounds per game.
Vallory Kuelker, Pinewood basketball: Panthers split two games in SoCal, but the 5-8 Kuelker turned in a winning effort with 46 points and 17 rebounds. She had a double-double (27 points, 11 rebounds) in a win over Rancho Buena Vista. She scored 19 points and had six boards in a loss to Mission Hills-San Marcos.
Alyssa Rudd, Monte Vista basketball: The 5-8 sophomore helped the Mustangs improve to 8-6 by totaling 58 points and 18 rebounds in wins over American and Clayton Valley. She had 30 points against Clayton. She is averaging a double-double with 22.3 points per game and 12.3 rebounds per game.
Amelia Schrag, Northgate basketball: The team leader scoring, rebounding and assists, the 5-10 senior helped the Broncos improve to 12-4 by throwing down 18 points in a 49-38 win over Castlemont. She is scoring 13.8 points per game.
Mia Sieminski, Berkeley soccer: Sophomore forward tallied four goals and an assist in a 7-1 victory over Skyline. The Yellowjackets moved to 8-1-1 after the win. Sieminski leads the team in assists and is second in goals scored.
Lamiyah Washington, Concord basketball: The 5-5 guard helped Concord turn around its season after an 0-8 start, scoring 79 points in three straight wins. She had 12 steals in one game and six more in another. Only a junior, she scored 24 points in a 43-42 win against Pittsburg to end the eight-game losing streak.
