Insider: Chatard's physicality, Faith Christian's schedule, Ziolkowski's development

MONTICELLO — Twin Lakes hosted one of the season's best events Thursday night, welcoming eight high school girls basketball teams from across all four classes for a two-day, three-game tournament.

Best among the games was the second semifinal between Twin Lakes and Bishop Chatard — the Trojans won in overtime, 81-78 — while the individual performances were highlighted by the host Indians' Olivia Nickerson (broke the state's all-time record for 3-pointers made, then set the school's all-time scoring mark) and Addison Bowsman (tied school record with 46 points vs. Chatard). I'll have more on that dynamic duo in the coming days.

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The championship was captured by McCutcheon, which pulled away for a 50-35 win over Chatard.

Here's what we learned in Monticello.

Chatard's physicality and lessons all around

It's hard to get a feel for it until you see it up-close, but Chatard is a physical team. I sat a couple rows behind the scorer's table (ahem) Thursday and good golly, they don't shy away from contact, be it while fighting to make a play defensively or when going in for a rebound. That blue-collar mentality has helped them flourish despite not having the most robust offense, and that style of play was beneficial to their opponents, as well

"I don't think a team has been that physical with us this year," Nickerson said, a point echoed earlier by Bowsman. "(I have) a lot of respect for them. They played us really well and I think having that experience will help us towards the end of the season."

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McCutcheon coach Jeff Knoy knew what to expect from Chatard, but admittedly wasn't sure how his youthful team would handle it. They wound up limiting their opponent to just nine offensive rebounds. It was a challenge, Knoy said, but "they handled it really well."

"(Chatard is) just so strong," he continued. "They don't shoot the ball very well, but they crash the boards so hard. Our kids did a good job checking them out. … Their physicality is great with so many big, strong kids, but our kids were a little more scrappy."

From the Chatard side, coach Dan Wagner said his players looked "scared" at halftime — a sharp contrast from the group that beat Twin Lakes earlier in the day. The grit was missing, he continued, but they rediscovered it in the second half and returned to form.

To be fair, the Trojans were coming off a five-period marathon vs. Twin Lakes. But if this season goes according to plan, they'll face similar circumstances — with a state finals berth at stake — on Feb. 17.

"We were so flipping tired," Wagner said. "But we have to fight through it. … I asked them afterwards what they learned and they talked about intensity, effort, fighting through tiredness and adversity, how to react when calls don't go your way — that's really good. All of that is what we wanted."

Ava Ziolkowski taking charge for Crown Point

Crown Point coach Chris Seibert remembers when Ava Ziolkowski faced her first junk defense as a high schooler. It was at Andrean four games into her junior season — and it did not go well.

"She probably ended up with more fouls than points that day," Seibert laughed.

Call that the low point for the 6-1 Ziolkowski, whose four-point outing vs. the 59ers marked the last time she's been held to fewer than 11 points. She led the team in scoring as a junior (18 points per game) and has been even better as a senior, averaging around 29 points, 10 rebounds and three steals through 18 games.

The Indiana Tech commit became the eighth player in program history to reach 1,000 points in mid-December (recently surpassed Lilly Stoddard for fifth on the all-time list) — this despite scoring just 148 over her first two seasons (52 as a freshman) — and has five 40-point performances, including a 55-point outing vs. Hammond Morton.

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Ziolkowski has done this as the Bulldogs' lone varsity returner and while facing virtually every junk defense imaginable.

So yeah, she's come quite a ways since that Andrean game in Nov. 2022.

"Ava's been so much more mentally tough since that game," Seibert said of Ziolkowski, who's shooting 54% from the field, 36% from 3 and 78% at the line. "She knew she had to work (on) her movement without the basketball, offensive rebounding and finding different ways to score when a team is trying to take you away."

Ziolkowski acknowledged the constant face-guards and double/triple teams can get frustrating, but she's learned to stay patient and adjust on the fly. It usually starts out "a little rough," she said, but she's been able to figure it out and get going as her teammates continue getting her the ball.

"I like to shoot a lot, but teams have been taking that away, so I've been driving and posting up (more)," continued Ziolkowski, who scored 27 points in the fifth-place game vs. Chesterton. "That's been the biggest change to my game from last year. … (And) I'm just looking to become more consistent."

It has also helped that Ziolkowski has embraced her leadership responsibilities. One of five seniors, she's taken charge as a vocal leader, Seibert said, providing direction in critical moments and inspiring confidence in her teammates. "She's done a good job of bringing others with her."

Along those lines, Ziolkowski said it's been different players stepping up alongside her from game-to-game. Gia Gagianas, Alivia Otten and Madison Dubiel helped the Bulldogs rally vs. Chatard in Wednesday's quarterfinal — they out-scored the Trojans 26-19 in the second half of a 44-41 loss — then Sophie Hart added 12 points (5-for-5 shooting) to Ziolkowski's 30 in a Thursday morning rout of Faith Christian.

"We've been really impressed with Ava's growth and her evolution in the program and sticking with it," Seibert said. "She's been such a great role model for our kids to strive towards."

Faith Christian welcoming all challengers

The Eagles won zero games seven years ago, its first under current head coach DJ Layton. After collecting just three wins from 2018-20, they began showing signs of progress, following an 8-8 finish with a nine-win campaign in 2022, before putting together a 21-4 campaign that culminated with the program's first-ever sectional finals appearance.

They did "pretty well" with their schedule last season, Layton said, but now: "We're trying to let everybody know we're ready to play."

"We're ready to come out and try," she continued. "We don't want to be (shy) away from anybody."

To that end, Faith Christian — a relatively new school (1997) of about 600 students located in Lafayette — beefed up this year's schedule with Carroll (Flora), Lafayette Central Catholic, Fort Wayne Northrop, Clinton Central and Tri County, plus the Twin Lakes event, which included games Twin Lakes, Crown Point and Mt. Vernon.

For a program that's looking to improve defensively, the Eagles have benefited tremendously from facing larger schools with bigger and faster girls, Layton said, praising her team's ability to learn and adjust on the fly. Against Mt. Vernon, for instance, they did a better job switching off assignments and stopping fast breaks as the game progressed.

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The Eagles (9-7) went 0-3 in Monticello, but after enduring back-to-back blowouts, they hung with the 4A Marauders, dropping a 46-35 decision. "We need to be here," Layton said.

"These teams were definitely more aggressive, a bit stronger, too," sophomore Maya Layton added, "but our team handled it well, stayed on our feet and just kept attacking."

Maya Layton shining in the spotlight Faith Christian

At the forefront of the Eagles' lineup is Layton's daughter, sophomore Maya Layton. A 5-9 guard, she's averaging around 24 points, five rebounds, three assists, four steals and a block, with a 44% mark from the field.

Maya has become more of an attacker this season, DJ said, crediting her with embracing the lofty expectations and responsibilities ascribed to her. "She's taken the team on her shoulders and she really does thrive with it."

For her part, Maya said she's been more consistent with attacking the basket, establishing that part of her game at the outset instead of waiting until it's a close game. "It's been part of my game for a while, but I've been getting stronger with it as a high schooler."

Maya's continued emergence this season is by no means a surprise. She was a key contributor last season, averaging nearly a double-double per game (20.4 ppg, 8.9 rpg), plus five assists, five steals and three blocks. Of course, that also means she's not catching anyone by surprise, and she's been subjected to a variety of junk defenses.

"When she gets face guarded, our whole thing is don't let them do it. Make them tired when they do it and don't let them take you out of your game," DJ said of her daughter, who scored a school-record 45 points vs. Tri-Central earlier this month. "And she's done a really good job of that."

As for what it's been like playing for her mom for the first time in her career…

"It's been good," Maya loudly exclaimed before laughing (her mom was listening nearby). "Yeah, it's nice because she knows how I play and I feel like the mother-and-daughter chemistry really works as coach-and-player. It's been fun."

Twin Lakes Holiday Classic

Wednesday

McCutcheon 61, Chesterton 50

Tri-County 45, Mount Vernon (Fortville) 43

Bishop Chatard 44, Crown Point 42

Twin Lakes 77, Faith Christian 50

Thursday

Consolation

Chesterton 49, Mount Vernon (Fortville) 47

Crown Point 63, Faith Christian 34

Semifinals

McCutcheon 63, Tri-County 42

Bishop Chatard 81, Twin Lakes 78 (OT)

Placement games

7th: Mount Vernon 46, Faith Christian 35

5th: Chesterton 52, Crown Point 47

3rd: Twin Lakes 58, Tri-County 43

1st: McCutcheon 50, Bishop Chatard 35

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA girls basketball: What we learned at the Twin Lakes tournament