The “big three” of Lakeland High School’s girls’ basketball team received recognition when it came time to hand out All-Conference 27 honors for the 2015-16 season.

Lady Cavaliers sophomore guards Makayla Dickens and Kayla Barnes made the all-conference first team, and sophomore guard Brianna Copeland made the second team.

“I was very proud of them,” Lakeland coach Brandey Blunt said. She noted they had great seasons, “all three of them, so it was a well-deserved honor for them.”

I.C. Norcom High School, which ended up winning the conference tournament, had the most representatives on the all-conference first team, with three, but the Lady Cavs were right behind as the only team with two.

Blunt was in for an unusual voting meeting when she convened with the other coaches in the conference.

“It’s more different than anything I’ve ever experienced,” she said. “You actually could vote for your own player. You also could (even) vote for yourself as Coach of the Year.”

Blunt said she believes the reason for this is that not all of the teams played each other during the season.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t play Phoebus, we didn’t play Tabb, we didn’t play York — so it’s kind of hard for coaches to vote for players that we haven’t seen play against our team,” she said.

When voting for players on opposing teams, she said, “You want to be able to say, ‘Wow, she really gave us a hard time.’”

Fortunately, there were some coaches who could definitely say that about Lakeland’s top talent.

“Makayla actually played against Phoebus last year and played against Booker T. (Washington High School) and Norcom (this year), and they gave her really good compliments,” Blunt said. “They really enjoyed watching her play. One coach even said he stayed up the night before just thinking about that kid.”

Her statistics help explain why opposing coaches would lose sleep; across 20 games this season, she averaged 22 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 3.2 steals.

Her points average made her among the best female scorers — if not the best — in South Hampton Roads.

Blunt said Dickens really put the team on her shoulders this year.

After playing only the last eight games last year due to a high ankle sprain, “this season, she really came back with a vengeance,” Blunt said.

Dickens worked well with Kayla Barnes to help the Lady Cavaliers have their best season in years, going 14-6.

Barnes improved on the court this year, and it was reflected in her all-conference honor, as she made the first-team cut after being named to the All-Ironclad Conference second team last year.

“She’s a hustler, and I think that’s what the coaches saw in her, that she hustled on both ends of the floor,” Blunt said. “She just plays so hard on offense and defense, almost to a fault, because she’s very much foul-prone, but we’re going to get that under control.”

The coach noted Barnes is a magnet for the ball. She possesses a lot of energy and is eager for the challenge that a game may bring forth.

She averaged 13.9 points, 4.4 assists, four rebounds and 3.1 steals per game.

Barnes worked to get everyone involved offensively, and one of those teammates she could count on to answer the call was Brianna Copeland, whom Blunt described as a scorer at heart.

“Her numbers are impressive,” the coach said. “Eighteen out of 20 games she scored in double figures.”

Copeland averaged 16 points per game and shot a team-best 76 percent from the foul line.

Last year, Copeland received honorable mention.