CHESAPEAKE – Just when Jessica Ensor thought it was over, it started up again.

Friday, June 08, 2001

CHESAPEAKE – Just when Jessica Ensor thought it was over, it started up again.

When the Southeast district all-star game ended, the Ironton Fighting Tigers All-Ohio guard thought the next time she would play on an organized team was next fall at Central Florida.

All that changed when the rosters were chosen for the annual Ohio-West Virginia All-Star Series.

"I was excited," Ensor said. "I wasn’t picked to play in the Ohio-Kentucky All-Star Game so I just thought my (high school) basketball career was over. I was just wanting to play.

"This is a pretty big deal. I get to play with some of the best athletes in Ohio. The best play here. To be picked as one of the best is an honor."

Ensor will be a member of the Ohio girls team that plays the West Virginia stars at 6 p.m. Friday at Chesapeake High School, and then again on Saturday at Riverside High School just outside Charleston, W.Va.

Ensor averaged 19.1 points a game along with 10 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 4.5 steals. She was named first team all-district by the Associated Press and the Southeast District 13 Coaches Association, and she was special mention All-Ohio in Division III.

The 5-foot-9 Ensor will get a chance to play with Alexander’s Jenni Bush and Grove City’s Milissa Burke, both Ohio University signees. There’s also Anetra Williams who is going to Cleveland State and Allison Bennett who will play at Buffalo.

Kristal Tharp of Zane Trace, who averaged 34 points and is set to play at Liberty, will not play Friday due to an illness.

"Most of the girls here are going to play at the college level. I can learn here what it’s going to be like. These girls have a lot of talent," Ensor said.

With so many different players who were all stars on their high school teams, Ensor knows the roles will change for this type of game.

"In the district game the role I took was point guard. But the talent here is even better. I’ll probably be a point guard again. I just want to play my heart out and help us win," Ensor said.

The Ohio girls hold 6-0 lead in the series against West Virginia. The Ohio boys, who are 5-1 against West Virginia, will play in the second game at 8 p.m.