Bombs away! Rensselaer Central rallies to win IU Health Hoops Classic Championship

WEST LAFAYETTE — Rensselaer Central junior Taylor Van Meter saw the play unfold as West Lafayette attempted to cross halfcourt with 45 seconds and the score tied.

After face guarding the ensuing pass, she sat back for a second and anticipated Red Devils senior Adrianne Tolen was going to dribble back to the sideline where the ball was inbounded at May Gymnasium.

Forcing a guard to dribble towards the sideline is a helpful way to force a turnover.

Van Meter's trap against Tolen worked to perfection. Van Meter double teamed Tolen, stole the ball and scored a left-handed layup with 37.5 seconds to play.

The layup by Van Meter was the go-ahead bucket and Rensselaer Central, after being down 12 points in the second quarter, rallied in the fourth quarter to win 58-53 the IU Health Hoops Classic Championship game on Saturday night.

"I knew I had to get a stop and I was told at halfcourt to jump the run," Van Meter said. "I jumped, (Tolen) kind of just let go of the ball and I took it. I was so nervous going up for that layup."

Rensselaer Central (8-0) won its first IU Health Hoops Classic Championship since joining the tournament in 2021. The Bombers have started the season winning eight straight games for the first time since records were recorded beginning in 2000-2001.

The Bombers are on their longest overall winning streak since winning 10 straight and playing for an IHSAA regional championship in 2006.

Senior Carly Drone led Rensselaer Central with 16 points while connecting on 4 of 13 3-point attempts.

The Bombers continued their scorching start to this season after dispatching Harrison on Thursday and Benton Central on Friday.

Van Meter had five of her nine points in the fourth quarter while sophomore Kamri Rowland added 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Senior Sarah Kaufman scored 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

Rensselaer Central players were awarded a trophy and got to cut pieces from the net during the awards ceremony.

"We've never done this before, we've never cut down the net as a team and it's the start of something great for the rest of the season," Kaufman said.

West Lafayette (5-3) started the game on a 10-0 first-quarter run but struggled to rebound against Rensselaer Central.

The Red Devils were outrebounded on the offensive glass 21-11 after seniors Sarah Werth scored 22 points and Adrienne Tolen scored 18 points on combined 13-of-27 shooting as a duo.

"We shot the ball well, we did a lot of nice things but when you give them two or three chances at a shot, you're going to be on the short end of the stick," West Lafayette coach Jane Schott said. "We talked about the team that rebounded was the team that was going to win and Rensselaer did that to us."

Rensselaer Central made its push in the third quarter by implementing a full-court press that shook the confidence of West Lafayette's guards. The Bombers forced 12 turnovers in the second half.

Drone buried a 3-pointer just before the third-quarter buzzer sounded, trimming the deficit to 38-37.

May Gymnasium had the feel of a playoff atmosphere with sounds of fans and student sections cheering from all ends of the court.

"Our student section helped us out a lot," Kaufman said. "For them to come down here about an hour way to come and support us meant the world."

Schott believes the loss will only help her team moving ahead with West Lafayette scheduled to host Lebanon on Tuesday night.

"It was a great atmosphere," Schott said. "We love this tournament. Our kids were all excited about it and we were excited to be in the championship game so we could be part of that atmosphere, and we came up short tonight. I hope that fuels our fire for the next time we have a championship opportunity. The teams that were in the top of this tournament will be in our conference and the top of our sectionals. We'll have more opportunities to play against great teams like this."

Bowsman and Nickerson lead rout of Harrison

Twin Lakes senior Olivia Nickerson and junior Addie Bowsman had plenty more in the well after staving off talented but inexperienced McCutcheon on Friday night.

Both Bowsman and Nickerson individually shot 50% from 3-point range and combined to shoot 12 of 24 from beyond the arc to collectively overwhelm Harrison 62-42 in the fifth-place matchup.

The hot shooting touch for Nickerson continued just one night after pocketing 10 3-pointers, both a Twin Lakes program and IU Health Hoops Classic Tournament record.

Harrison senior Riley Whitlock scored 14 points and junior Elsie Ahnert added 13 points for Harrison (2-3).

Twin Lakes (5-1) ended the weekend with two straight wins after falling to Central Catholic in the first round on Nov. 14.

"I think today was a first step and I think we just need to get back into the gym and keep working," Nickerson said. "I think it's a building block for where we want to go."

Benton Central overwhelms Central Catholic

Benton Central eased through Central Catholic, which was without starting junior shooting guard Carley Barrett.

Senior Sarah Glick came off the bench to scored 19 points and fellow senior Rachel Tolen added 12 points to lead the Bison over the Knights 63-42 in the third-place game.

Benton Central (3-1) forced Central Catholic into 27 turnovers.

Central Catholic (2-3) was led by juniors Maddy Bruce and Grace Bordenet, who each scored 13 points.

Graves guides McCutcheon over Lafayette Jeff

McCutcheon freshman point guard Lillie Graves had another sensational performance at the expense of the Bronchos.

Graves brushed past multiple double teams to score 30 points on 13-of-21 shooting and had four assists to lead McCutcheon over Lafayette Jeff 62-32.

Sophomore Audrey Miller added nine points and sophomore Chloe Finney chipped in eight points for McCutcheon (4-2).

Lafayette Jeff (0-5) was led by sophomore Da'Niyah Johnson. Johnson scored 13 points on 6 of 11 shooting.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Rensselaer Central wins first IU Health Hoops Classic