Wait, the state's leading scorer plays where? Meet Argos star Samantha Redinger
ARGOS — Blink, and you might miss Argos while driving down U.S. 31.
The same phrase can be used when describing the high school’s star basketball player this year.
Samantha Redinger has been almost unstoppable, regardless of what opposing defenses try to do to slow her down. The quick-moving senior is averaging 29.9 points per game so far, which is the best in the state of Indiana as Christmas approaches.
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“I feel pressure when I’m playing, but being the number one leading scorer in the state, I don’t worry about it,” Redinger said. “Me and my team are just trying to get better and win our games.”
Redinger reached a career milestone Thursday, surpassing the 1,000-point mark in a 46-44 loss to Bethany Christian. She scored 31 of her team’s points despite being double-and-triple teamed all evening.
Redinger now has 1,015 points for her career, 419 of which have come in the 14 games she’s played this season.
“It’s really special knowing there’s only been six or seven girls that have done it here,” Redinger said of reaching 1,000. “I’m really thankful.”
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That total would be higher for Redinger had it not been for a broken arm last season, forcing her to miss eight games. Although it hampered her production when she returned, Redinger still managed to average 16 points a contest.
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It was a successful season for Argos as well, winning an IHSAA Class 1A sectional championship. With three senior starters graduating off that team, though, Redinger knew all the focus would be on her coming into this season.
Given the bulk of the scoring was going to fall on her shoulders, Redinger went to work in the summer.
“I shot the ball all the time, and I worked on moving without the ball,” Redinger said. “I knew I was going to get a lot of pressure this year, so I worked on moving without the ball because I wasn’t going to get a lot of open shots just standing around.”
Nobody noticed the offseason work Redinger did more than her coach, Scott Jennings.
“I’d rebound until she was worn out,” Jennings quipped.
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The extra preparation has led to the production Redinger is having. She has eclipsed 30 points in 10 games, including 47 in a victory over Elkhart Christian Nov. 11 and 50 in a win against South Bend Trinity at Greenlawn Nov. 17. Of the Dragons’ five wins on the season, Redinger has singlehandedly outscored their opponents in four of them.
Congratulations to the Week 3 Players of the Week: District 1:Argos Senior Samantha Redinger, Munster Sophomore Gracyn Gilliard District 2:Pendleton Heights Junior Kaycie Warfel District 3:Center Grove Senior Audrey Annee @cg_sports @Argos_Athletics @Munster_Sports@PHHSAthletics
— IBCA Coaches (@IBCA_Coaches) November 22, 2023
“She’s tenacious right now,” Jennings said. “Her teammates are helping her, and she’d be the first to give credit to her team: they’re setting screens, they’re finding her the ball. I felt like she had this in her last year, but she broke her arm the second game of the season … She’s just taken over where she’s left off.”
Redinger echoed what her coach said.
“My teammates pass me the ball; they look for me all the time, they set amazing screens for me,” Redinger said. “We work on it in practice every day and execute in the game.”
As of Dec. 21, Redinger is one of two players in the state averaging more than 29 points a contest. If she maintains the pace she’s currently at, she’ll have a strong chance to finish as the state’s leader in that department.
“It would be pretty special, but I’m not really focusing on that,” Redinger said. “I’m just focusing on my teammates and playing hard.”
As Redinger alluded to, winning is at the forefront of her mind right now. The Dragons are 5-9, with five of those losses being by six or less points. It’s still a young team, but things are trending in the right direction for Argos heading into the final month of the regular season.
“We’re getting better every day,” Redinger said. “We just need to bring the effort every night for every game. It’s been up-and-down, but we’ll get there.”
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Meet Argos girls basketball's Samantha Redinger, Indiana's top scorer
