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 Dec. 8-13.
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 [email protected].
We accept nominations until 11 a.m. each Monday.
We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps by coaches/team statisticians.
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On to the nominees:
Mahlaysia Atkins, Moreau Catholic basketball: The senior scored 12 points and dished three assists in a win over Irvington, then added 21 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal as Moreau Catholic beat Evergreen Valley.
Jordyn Moss, Priory basketball: Moss posted 15 points, eight rebounds and three steals as Priory beat Clovis 59-56.
Jessica Shaffer, Cupertino basketball: The senior guard averaged 14 points per game over four games with a game-high 21 points in a win over Pioneer, shooting 55% from the field, 45% from 3 and 68% inside the arc. She added three rebounds per game, 1.5 assists per game and 2.2 steals per game.
Shirina Shi, American basketball: Shi scored 30 points as American beat Kennedy-Fremont 60-46. The junior is averaging 31.7 points per game so far as American opened the season 3-0.
Katie Tal, Homestead basketball: Tal scored 30 points for Homestead to lead the Mustangs to a 54-47 win over Los Altos.
Arabella Valbuena, Notre Dame-San Jose basketball: Valbuena scored 20 points with five 3-pointers as Notre Dame beat Mountain View 45-42. She added 15 points and three 3s in a 46-43 win over Milpitas and 27 points with three more 3s, three assists, three steals and three rebounds as NDSJ beat Soledad 54-44.
Kate Wagner, Valley Christian girls soccer: The senior scored two goals in a 3-0 win over Notre Dame-San Jose.
Kennedy Whyte, Monte Vista basketball: The junior scored 18 points and added 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in a win over Liberty. She added 10 points, seven rebounds, eight blocks, an assist and a steal in a 55-45 win over Harker.
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