IHSAA girls basketball holiday tournament guide: Where to go, who to see over winter break

Check out The Scorers Table podcast with Hank, Courtney Delks, Josh Sabol and Danny Riego. This week, Courtney and Josh reminisce on Hall of Fame Classic memories and the crew previews a few upcoming events.

The holidays are officially upon us, which means a surplus of quality Indiana girls high school basketball games, unique match-ups and, my personal favorite, weekday afternoon tips. Here's a guide to the best events between now and Jan. 1 for the hoops fanatic in your life.

For an awards szn preview: Limestone Classic

Dec. 22 at Bedford North Lawrence (BNL, Lake Central, Lawrence Central and Noblevsille)

What better way to start Christmas break than with a trip to Bedford? This year's Limestone Classic features the past two Class 4A state champions, both of whom are led by Miss Basketball candidates in BNL's Chloe Spreen (Alabama commit) and Noblesville's Reagan Wilson (Iowa State).

If that's not enough for you … Lawrence Central is coming off its first Marion County championship in program history and features four of the state's top talents in Jaylah and Lola Lampley, Laila Abdurraqib and Aniyah McKenzie; while reigning state semifinalist Lake Central boasts a four-headed scoring attack — Nadia Clayton, Ayla Krygier, Aniyah Bishop and Riley Milausnic are all averaging around 10 ppg — plus a junior standout in Vanessa Wimberly who's clocking four assists and four steals per outing.

Plenty of all-state talent on display here.

For that one-class feel: Toyota Classic

Dec. 22 at Gibson Southern and Wood Memorial; Dec. 23 at Princeton (Danville, Evansville Mater Dei, Fairfield (Ill.), Gibson Southern, Princeton, North Posey, Silver Creek and Wood Memorial)

If you're looking to take the family on a quick road trip, might I recommend Fort Branch? Located approximately 30 minutes north of Evansville, this town of about 3,000 is hosting a two-day event featuring schools from all four classes.

3A's Danville vs. 4A's Silver Creek is one heck of an opener at 10 a.m. with Warrior juniors Emma Ancelet (14 ppg, 6 rpg, 6 apg, 3 spg) and Addison Davis (11 ppg, 7 rpg, 2 spg) matching wits against the Dragons' Brooklyn Renn and Emma Schoen, both of whom are highly touted recruits. The winner will likely face 3A's Gibson Southern in the evening's semifinal. The Titans will be a difficult out in a couple months with a lineup headlined by Gabby Spink, Chloey Graham and Paige Schnaus.

Among the other participants, Princeton is 9-2 in its second season under coach Travis Connor with a double overtime win over Decatur Central earlier this month. The 3A Tigers boast a balanced scoring attack with seniors Lexi Smith and Azaryon Wesley joined by sophomores Ailie Taylor and Mallory Wyatt.

Evansville Mater Dei (3A), North Posey (2A) and Wood Memorial (Class A) round out the Indiana participants.

A Christmas Eve eve special: Carroll (Flora) tournament

Dec. 22-23 at Carroll (Flora) (Carroll (Flora), Covenant Christian, Lewis Cass, Riverton Parke, Tippecanoe Valley, University, Western and Western Boone)

We could have a delightful pre-Christmas slate with Tippecanoe Valley or Western in one semifinal and Carroll vs. Lewis Cass in the other, followed by the championship game at 7:30 p.m.

Tippecanoe Valley — which is as fun to say as it is to type — is a top-15 team in 3A and though it only averages around 50 ppg (Ava Egolf - 12 ppg), it's only giving up around 32 ppg. Conversely, first-round opponent Western has three seniors scoring in double figures (Chloe Hunt, Mackenzie York and Kayleigh Turner) and arrives with an 11-0 record that includes a 56-41 win over host Carroll.

Assuming they beat University, securing a finals rematch with Western will require the Cougars to take out Lewis Cass, which is led offensively by Aftin Griffin (13 ppg) and Kinsey Mennen (10 ppg, 9 rpg), and averages around 30 rebounds per game as a team (11 offensive rpg). A Lewis Cass and Western swing would provide a pair of quality matchups for Carroll, which is led by seniors Alli Harness, Madison Wagner and Laney Johnson.

Best bang for your buck: Twin Lakes tournament

Dec. 27-28 at Twin Lakes (Bishop Chatard, Chesterton, Crown Point, Faith Christian, McCutcheon, Mt. Vernon (Fortville), Tri-County, Twin Lakes)

A one-day pass gives you access to see…

∎ McCutcheon's Lillie Graves. One of the best freshmen in the country, the 6-0 guard is averaging 26 points (55% shooter), five rebounds and five steals. Honestly, she's probably worth the price of admission on her own.

∎ A sophomore scoring sensation in Faith Christian's Maya Layton — she's scoring over 25 ppg and set Faith's single-game record with 45 points earlier this month — and a truly prolific pairing in Twin Lakes' Olivia Nickerson and Addie Bowsman. Nickerson is closing in on 400 career 3-pointers, while Bowsman is a constant triple-double threat (22 ppg, 8 rpg, 8 apg). [Day one concludes with Faith Christian vs. Twin Lakes!]

∎ A couple senior standouts in Mt. Vernon's Ellery Minch (DePaul commit) and Crown Point's Ava Ziolkowski (Indiana Tech).

∎ Speaking of Crown Point, the Bulldogs take on two-time defending 3A regional champion Bishop Chatard in the 6 p.m. game (Dec. 27). Ziolkowski vs. Chatard junior Anna Caskey in the paint will be worth watching.

∎ Class A's Tri-County won its first sectional title in 13 years last season, and hung tough vs. eventual state runner-up Bethany Christian in regionals. Junior Hannah Arvin is averaging eight points, seven rebounds, three steals and a couple assists.

∎ Chesterton has a couple sophomore standouts: Tenley Davis (18 ppg, 8 rpg) and Kenedi Bradley (15 ppg, 4 rpg, 4 apg, 4 spg), plus a talented junior in Isabelle Connors (10 ppg, 7 rpg).

Travelers' tip: It's probably closed for the season, but Wikipedia tells me Indiana Beach Amusement Park is a big attraction in Monticello (home of Twin Lakes High School). Also, Walgreens CEO Gregory Wasson was born there.

For that state tournament feel: Noblesville tournament

Dec. 28 at Noblesville (Fort Wayne Snider, Noblesville, Norwell and Valparaiso)

This event is structured like a semistate Saturday — with the added bonus of a third-place game, so folks can see all four super-talented teams twice in the same day.

The first game features host Noblesville squaring off with rising sophomore Lillian Barnes (15 ppg, 4 apg, 6 spg) and a Valparaiso squad that also includes senior Becca Gerdt (14 ppg, 6 rpg) and sophomore Cadynce Clark (10 ppg).

The second semifinal matches Norwell — which recently upended then-No. 1 Columbia City — vs. Fort Wayne Snider. 3A Norwell's talented lineup is headlined by Junior Indiana All-Star Kennedy Fuelling, while reigning regional champion Snider features a strong senior core led by Purdue commit Jordyn Poole (16 ppg, 4 apg, 3 spg). She's joined by Ciara Sims (16 ppg, 5 rpg, 2 spg) and Johnea Donahue (9 ppg, 4 apg, 5 spg), among others.

The Classic: Hall of Fame Classic

Dec. 29 at New Castle (Columbia City, Indian Creek, Jennings County and Lake Central)

You can never go wrong with a trip to New Castle Fieldhouse for this late-December staple.

The semifinals match Columbia City vs. Indian Creek followed by Jennings County vs. Lake Central, but these are the two matchups I'd most like to see (in no particular order).

A Columbia City-Lake Central final would pit two similarly well-rounded and balanced teams against one another with the Eagles countering the aforementioned LC standouts with junior Butler commit Addison Baxter, and seniors Kyndra Sheets (Huntington commit), Molly Baker, Faith Frey and Tessa Tonkel.

An Indian Creek-Jennings County final would be headlined by IU commit Faith Wiseman (Indian Creek) vs. Michigan State commit Juliann Woodard (Jennings County), but there's ample talent beyond those two. Indian Creek has another of the state's top seniors in Lauren Foster, as well as junior standout Ayla Lollar, both of whom are averaging over 11 points and around 4-5 assists per game. Jennings County also has another senior standout in Alivia Elmore, but is actually led in scoring by sophomore Mollie Ernstes (19 ppg).

Go off the beaten path: Carol Tumey Holiday Tournament

Dec. 29 at Center Grove (Brownsburg, Center Grove, Jeffersonville and Warsaw)

This field is sneaky good.

Center Grove scored a lopsided win over Lawrence North last weekend, and assuming it gets by Jeffersonville in the opener, should have another quality test with either Brownsburg or Warsaw. The Trojans have an Indiana All-Star candidate in senior Audrey Annee (Army commit), a talented post in Rachel Wirts (Villanova) and three very talented guards supporting them: Ava Grant, Lilly Bischoff and Aubrie Booker.

Brownsburg has adopted a by-committee approach to the point guard position, but is anchored by 6-6 Purdue commit Avery Gordon at center. Its first-round opponent, Warsaw, will be playing its third and fourth games in Central Indiana (beat Ben Davis, lost to Westfield). The senior-free Tigers boast a three-pronged scoring attack with junior Brooke Winchester and sophomores Joslyn Bricker and Brooke Zartman.

If you don't feel like spending the entire day in New Castle, but still want a day filled with hoops, a trip to Greenwood would make a lot of sense.

An underclassmen undercard: Plainfield Winter Classic

Dec. 29 at Plainfield (Greensburg, Plainfield, Roncalli and Zionsville)

Those in the know recognize the future star potential of this year's Plainfield Winter Classic.

The host Quakers have both a sophomore (Berkeley Williams) and a freshman (Hannah Menser) who have quickly made names for themselves, Zionsville has an up-and-comer in freshman McKenzie Chapman, who's already adapted — embraced, really — the physicality of playing at the varsity level, Roncalli freshman Elliot Leffler has settled in quite nicely with a senior-driven Royals outfit, and Greensburg — a top-5 team in 3A — brings sophomore standout Aly Powers.

All four teams have talented upperclassmen to help lead the way, of course, but if you're looking for a preview of that "next wave" of talented players, this is your best bet.

Class A scouting: Cougar Classic

Dec. 29-30 at Lakeland Christian (Bethany Christian, Clinton Christian, Demotte Christian, Granger Christian, Hamilton, Lakeland Christian)

Plucking this one out to spotlight Class A runner-up Bethany Christian, which is 10-1 against a primarily 3A/2A schedule, and is led by a very talented senior in Zoe Willems. The 5-7 guard is averaging around 20 points and 11 rebounds, plus four assists and four steals. She's a career 42% shooter and went for a season-high 27 points in a rout of South Bend Clay last month. As for the Bruins, they're the odds-on favorite at this event, but will face Caston, another top team in Class A (and potential regional opponent) on Jan. 12.

From 2022-23: Bethany Christian's state run even more special for coach with support of adopted nephews

A proper 2023 send-off: Lawrence North invite

Dec. 30 at Lawrence North (Eastern Hancock, Elkhart, Lawrence North, Westfield)

The 4A matchup is certainly an interesting one. Lawrence North is poised for another deep tournament run and Westfield appears capable of raising a ruckus in the Sectional 8 tournament. However, the most intriguing team in this field is Eastern Hancock. Ranked No. 2 in 2A, these will (most likely) be the last big tests of the year for the Royals before sectionals. They have a very strong senior core (Sammie Bolding, Ruby White, Makenzie O'Neal, Sydney Springman and Brooklyn Willis) plus a super-talented freshman (Kenzie Koch), and have passed tests vs. North Decatur, Cathedral and Lapel.

'One confident kid.' Kenzie Koch dazzles as a freshman for undefeated Eastern Hancock girls

A specific matchup (among a few) to watch for EH: The 6-1 White vs. either Lawrence North's Jamaya Thomas or Westfield's Kiarra Loveless / Samantha Price in the post.

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana high school girls basketball what to watch during winter break