'I'm lovin' it!' Emma Risch of Palm Bay will make history at McDonald's All-America Game
Palm Bay basketball's Emma Risch will play in the McDonald's All-America Game on March 28 in Houston's Toyota Center, the first player from a Brevard County high school ever chosen for the honor.
The Notre Dame signee and 2022 FLORIDA TODAY Girls Basketball Player of the Year, was one of 24 girls players picked from around the country from among more than 700 nominees.
Gathered in the high school's auditorium to watch the televised announcement of the 2023 boys and girls team selections, Risch and her teammates erupted from their seats when her name appeared on the screen.
"It meant so much to me," she said afterward. "It's a major accomplishment. It's like one of my dreams."
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Having been a target for college recruiters for years, Risch has made the rounds of camps and recognized most or all of the names of the honorees.
"Most of those girls, I've played with before or played against," she said. "We've been to camps together everywhere."
Risch, a 6-foot-2 senior guard-forward, has been a prolific 3-point shooter for Palm Bay and, before that, Florida Prep, with 536 made 3-pointers since she began playing for the Falcons as a seventh-grader in 2017-18.
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Her career averages are 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists. She has shot 45.5 percent from 3-point range.
Risch signed in November to play for Notre Dame women's basketball beginning next season.
Named to FLORIDA TODAY's All-Decade girls basketball team in 2020, she helped Florida Prep win FHSAA Class 2A state championships in 2019 and 2020. Since transferring to Palm Bay, Risch has been part of the school's best girls basketball run, including a Class 5A state runner-up finish in 2021.
The McDonald's All-America Game began in 1978, a year after the first list of McDonald's All-Americans was named. The game featured boys only until a girls game was added in 2002. Since that year, 456 girls have been named, coming from 40 states and the District of Columbia. Florida has sent 24 girls to the games.
Pirates coach Sara Murano was "ecstatic for her. She's probably one of the hardest-working kids I've ever known. Not only is she so hard-working, she's humble about it. She's the dream type of player that I think any player would want to play with."
E.J. Murray, who has coached Risch in travel ball since she was in the third grade, recalled the first time he saw something special in her.
"It was probably around the time she hit the fifth grade," he said. "She had a really great passion for it. She spends a lot of time working on her craft. She shoots a lot, and she came into high school as a shooter, but now she's a really well-rounded player."
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Palm Bay High student Emma Risch named to McDonald's All-America team
