IHSAA girls basketball Fab 15: After busy week, Lawrence schools take top two spots
The schedule makers loaded up Thanksgiving week with an abundance of high-quality matchups. The result? An exhilarating few days of high school girls basketball and one big question for us to chew on: Who should be No. 1?
The coaches cast their vote Sunday (Columbia City), now it's time for us to parse through the Central Indiana hierarchy. I think it comes down to either Lawrence North or Lawrence Central. I went with the Wildcats, but it really could go either way. I made arguments on behalf of both teams below, then set about figuring out the remaining 13 slots (which also wasn't easy).
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1. Lawrence North (4-1)
Previous ranking: 3
Coach Stephen Thomas described his team as "gritty" following Saturday's 26-point win over defending Class 4A state champion Bedford North Lawrence, and that's an apt description of this talented, experienced bunch. It was obvious BNL would face a size disadvantage, but as I wrote in my weekly wrap, the most jarring observation was the pace at and physicality with which the Wildcats played. The Stars looked gassed toward the end of the second quarter, a testament to LN's relentless defensive pressure, which effectively bottled up Miss Basketball candidate Chloe Spreen and Co.
The Wildcats lost their opener to Zionsville — Thomas called it a wake-up call — but have played a tougher schedule with quality wins over Noblesville and BNL.
In terms of personnel, Kya Hurt, Kamara Mills and Jamaya Thomas are all known talents entering the year, Decatur Central transfer Naja Winston has been great since joining the lineup and Ellysa Morris has been solid off the bench.
LN hosts Carmel on Tuesday, then travels to Evansville North for games against Castle and Gibson Southern on Saturday.
2. Lawrence Central (5-0)
PR: 6
The Bears may not have as much big-game experience as LN, but they're among the area's most-talented teams. It starts, of course, with the Lampley sisters, Jaylah and Lola. The former was averaging around 25 points, eight rebounds and three steals through four games, the latter was right behind her at 14 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.3 apg and 3.0 spg. There's also point guard Laila Abdurraqib, who led the team in assists (3.5 per game) to go with a robust 13.3 scoring average. There's a pretty steep drop-off in terms of scoring averages — granted, it's early — but Aniyah McKenzie is coming off a career-best 24-point performance vs. Ben Davis over the weekend.
LC opened the season with wins over Zionsville and Westfield, and has held its past four opponents (Westfield, University, La Lumiere and Ben Davis) under 35 points. University mustered just 18 in a 50-point loss.
Tougher tests are on the horizon. This weekend's Hoops for Harvest event in Dixie Heights, Ky., will match the Bears against 2022-23 state semifinalist George Rogers in the afternoon and region runner-up Ryle in the evening (this is opening week for high school hoops in Kentucky). The Marion County tournament looms next week, with an LC-LN quarterfinal likely in the cards — the first of three potential meetings.
3. Hamilton Southeastern (7-1)
PR: 1
No, the Royals didn't look super great in Saturday's 67-51 loss to Columbia City. Yes, they slipped in all the rankings. But honestly, there wasn't much to learn about HSE. That's not meant to diminish the Eagles' performance — they were phenomenal — but as I write this capsule, we're only about 48 hours away from the Royals' next marquee matchup: Wednesday vs. sectional rival Noblesville. It was a bad day to have a bad game, but with a schedule that also still includes Fishers, Warren Central, Westfield, Lawrence North, Zionsville and Center Grove, there will be ample opportunity for this group to make some noise ahead of sectionals.
That said, Saturday was my first time seeing Maya Makalusky this season and I can confirm, she's playing at an entirely different level. The IU commit carried HSE through the first half (17 of 23 points) and helped give them a fighter's chance in the third quarter with a flurry of shots.
The Royals' best win so far was against a fully healthy Brownsburg bunch last Tuesday, and I'm really interested to see how they respond to their first loss against a Millers bunch that's looking to avoid its first three-game losing streak since 2019.
4. Center Grove (7-0)
PR: 4
The Trojans are averaging around 60-61 points per game, with a quartet of double-digit scorers, including senior Villanova commit Rachel Wirts, who's really come into her own this year, averaging 12.4 points and 7.7 rebounds. Audrey Annee (16.9 ppg) should be in the early Indiana All-Star conversations, while Aubrey Booker (6.6 ppg, 4.3 apg) and Lily Bischoff (10.7 ppg, 5.7 apg, 2 spg) have both been steady contributors. Another big factor in CG's early success: Ava Grant. The 5-9 junior dropped 24 points on Fishers earlier this year and is averaging 11.3 points on 53% shooting.
Center Grove hosts Franklin in a rematch of the Johnson County final Tuesday, then travels to Cathedral on Thursday.
5. Noblesville (4-3)
PR: 2
It was a rough week for the Millers, who squandered a double-digit lead against Carmel (snapped a five-game win streak vs. the Hounds), then were out-scored 26-6 in the second quarter en route to a 20-point loss to Chicago-area powerhouse Bolingbrook on Saturday (the Raiders scored 13 unanswered points as part of a 21-3 run).
"We have to be tougher," said coach Donna Buckley, whose team was up two after one quarter. "They punched us in the second quarter and we didn't respond to that."
It's been a weird start to the season for Noblesville, which is shooting 61% at the line and 38% from the field, with more turnovers than steals through seven games.
Those numbers aren't great (and pretty uncharacteristic), but the Millers still own wins over Hamilton Heights, Brownsburg and Homestead, with a three-point setback at LN as their only other loss. Beyond that, they have a super talented top-four, with Miss Basketball candidate Reagan Wilson, Meredith Tippner, CC Quigley and Ava Shoemaker leading the way.
Noblesville should be fine, but it could really use some positive momentum coming out of Wednesday's trip to HSE with FW Northrop, Fishers, Plainfield, Westfield and the Limestone Classic at BNL between now and Christmas.
6. Indian Creek (5-2)
PR: 5
The Braves picked up a much-needed win Saturday, taking out Brownsburg in overtime on the road. We didn't get to see IU commit Faith Wiseman vs. Brownsburg's Avery Gordon (Purdue commit, out with injury), but we did witness a very good response to an early deficit by the Braves, who basically had to adjust their gameplan on the fly with their opponent's best player on the mend.
Indian Creek went 1-2 over its stretch of 4A foes, with an overtime loss to Center Grove and a blowout loss at Franklin preceding Saturday's victory. The schedule should ease up considerably with the start of conference play.
IC will open the Hall of Fame Classic on Dec. 29 vs. Columbia City, with the winner facing either Lake Central or Jennings County.
7. Plainfield (7-0)
PR: 11
The Quakers continued their blistering start to the year, coasting by Greenwood and Tri-West last week.
They're getting steady contributions from all four classes with senior Payton Benge and sophomore Berkeley Williams leading the way in scoring, followed by freshman Hannah Menser and juniors Morgan Barnes and Ellison Stewart. Plainfield was shooting 46% from the field and 36% from 3 through its first five games.
With Avon (1-4) and Whiteland (3-4) coming up, there's a good chance coach Curt Benge's team will be undefeated when it welcomes Center Grove to town on Dec. 5 (travels to Noblesville on Dec. 9).
8. Fishers (5-3)
PR: 10
The Tigers have lost two of three and are off until Saturday when they travel to the Evansville North Showcase. They leaned on their defense and limited Zionsville to 38 points in an eight-point win Tuesday night, but mustered a season-low 27 points on 26% shooting with 20 turnovers in a 43-27 loss to FW Snider on Saturday.
A couple players of note: Junior Allison Scheu has really shined in her first year as a starter. She had 13 points, six boards and three assists against Zionsville, and is the team's leading scorer at 12.6 ppg. Nevaeh Dickman has also been very good in her first full varsity season (appeared in 17 games as a sophomore), averaging 11 points and six boards. The 6-0 wing gives Fishers a nice option inside to run its offense through, which alleviates some of the pressure/attention on senior Talia Harris.
9. Zionsville (6-2)
PR: 9
After cramming in seven games into the first three weeks of the season, the Eagles were a bit fatigued entering Tuesday's game vs. Fishers. But they took a couple days off for the holiday and returned to form Saturday, pulling away for a 66-47 win over Decatur Central. Credit the Hawks for containing leading scorer Emma Haan, but Allie Caldwell did a great job picking up the slack, matching her season-high with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting with six rebounds and five assists.
Junior forward Caroline Sampson also had a great game vs. DC, logging 13 points, eight rebounds, three steals and an assist over 25 minutes. She and 6-2 senior Brooke Karesh have been very good for Zionsville in their first full varsity seasons, with the pair typically rotating for each other in the post.
The Eagles are off until Dec. 5 at Cathedral.
10. Hamilton Heights (5-1)
PR: NR
How were the Huskies not ranked before this? I don't know, but I'm looking for the guy responsible for such a blunder and plan on holding him accountable. They entered Thanksgiving break with wins over Jennings County, Frankton and Jay County, and the lone loss coming at Noblesville.
Evansville commit Camryn Runner has been doing a great-many Camryn Runner things, averaging 23.7 points on 58% shooting (49% from 3) through six games. She's part of a talented senior trio with Ella Hickok (5.2 apg, 8.8 ppg, 2.2 spg) and Hadleigh Cherry (2.7 apg).
Hamilton Heights returns to action at North Miami on Wednesday.
11. Lapel (6-1)
PR: 14
The Bulldogs are rolling. Madelyn Poynter went for 27 points in a 56-23 win over Guerin Catholic; Laniah Wills clocked 23 points, 15 rebounds and three steals in a 10-point win over previously unbeaten Alexandria-Monroe. That victory over Alexandria saw Wills do most of her damage in the second half as Lapel rallied from a 31-25 halftime deficit (reigning Player of the Week Alex Hosier drilled a 27-footer at the halftime buzzer).
The Bulldogs host Yorktown and Greenfield-Central this week.
12. Eastern Hancock (7-0)
PR: 8
Eastern Hancock boasts a 411-184 score differential, has allowed just one opponent to clear 40 points (triton Central in a 50-41 win) and has limited two of its past three opponents to 12 points or fewer. This sort of dominance was expected through the first leg of the season, but even so … wow.
Northwestern and North Decatur this week; Lapel next Tuesday.
13. Franklin (7-2)
PR: 13
The Grizzly Cubs' 63-39 win over Indian Creek is impressive on its own and should only appreciate in value as the season continues. They're shooting 53% from inside the arc, and average over 28 3-point attempts per game (shooting 30% from 3).
Individually, Brooklyn York (14.8 ppg) and Erica Buening (12 ppg) are the team's leading scorers, followed closely by seniors Lauren Klem (8.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.1 apg, 3.7 spg), Emma Sappenfield (7.3 ppg) and Scarlett Kimbrell (6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.6 apg).
14. Brownsburg (4-4)
PR: 7
Here's hoping for a positive update on Gordon, who missed Saturday's game due to a foot injury and will undergo an MRI this week. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak when they host Tri-West on Tuesday.
Read more about Brownsburg in the latest weekly wrap!
15. Mooresville (6-2)
PR: 15
Rachel Harshman has been a one-girl wrecking crew for the Pios, averaging over 17 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game. She had 10 points and six rebounds in last week's win over Martinsville. Randee Garringer led the team with 14 points and eight boards vs. the Arties.
Mooresville is shooting 40% as a team with a 59% mark at the line. It hosts Terre Haute on Tuesday, then travels to Perry Meridian on Friday.
Dropped out: Roncalli (12)
Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana high school girls basketball rankings: Lawrence Township atop
