This wasn’t a particularly memorable year for the Vicksburg Missy Gators.

They finished on a 13-game losing streak. As a team they shot 31 percent from the field and 43 percent from the foul line, both dreadful numbers. The season ended with back-to-back losses in the Division 4-5A Tournament.

Through all of that xmisery, however, there was one big bright spot.

Junior forward Karry Callahan rarely seemed to let the losing get to her. She averaged a double-double, with 11.9 points and 15.8 rebounds, and her hustle and effort throughout the year made her Warren County’s top individual girls player.

Callahan capped a solid year by winning The Vicksburg Post’s girls Player of the Year award for the second time. It’s the fifth time in six years that a Vicksburg High player has won the award.

“This wasn’t the best season. Last year was better. But my rebounding came up,” Callahan said. “I thought somebody else would’ve gotten it, but I’m glad I got it.”

The 5-foot-9 Callahan led all Mississippi players in rebounding, according to stats from Maxpreps.com. She had at least 19 rebounds in a game eight times. That inside presence led to a lot of putback opportunities, and she scored in double figures in 20 of Vicksburg’s 27 games.

Callahan was more than just a rebounding machine, though. She often brought the ball up the floor as the team’s de facto point guard and averaged 4.3 assists per game. She was also a defensive standout who averaged 3.5 steals and 2.1 blocks.

That versatility was a key not only to her game, but what the Missy Gators tried to do on the floor as well.

“She can play any position. I don’t know that she wants to play point guard, but she can,” Vicksburg coach Barbara Hartzog said. “Knowing if she gets the rebound she can bring it down the floor, that helped us. Nobody playing her position is going to be as quick as she is.”

Callahan had an astonishing 20 double-doubles — every time she reached double figures in points, she did the same in rebounds — but her best stretch of games came early in the season.

Callahan had four triple-doubles in November and December. She just missed an extremely rare quadruple-double in a 53-47 win over Warren Central on Dec. 6, when she totaled 15 points, 27 rebounds, 10 steals and nine assists.

“I was usually getting double-doubles. I got my first triple-double and that got in my head that it’s a good thing,” Callahan said with a laugh.

Although she’s developed into a well-rounded player, Callahan said there’s still plenty of room for improvement in her game. She’s a capable outside shooter, but only attempted 11 3-pointers this season. She also shot just 49 percent from the foul line, an especially poor number for a player who led the team in free throw attempts, and had a propensity for turnovers as her role as a ballhandler increased.

“I turned the ball over too much this year, and that affected us a lot,” Callahan said. “Next year, I think I’ll contribute more to the team. I’ll shoot outside more. We need it. I’ll work on it this summer.”

If Callahan does iron out the kinks in her game, she should be in line to earn a college scholarship. She said Alabama’s Jacksonville State, a Division I team, has shown some early interest. Now it’s up to her to snatch it like she’s going after another rebound.

“She’s getting better every year,” Hartzog said. “Her grades are excellent. She’s got what it takes to get to the next level. We’ve just got to keep her there.”