Week-13 Winners of the IBCA/Franciscan Health Player of the Week Awards

Week-13 Winners of the IBCA/Franciscan Health Player of the Week Awards Led by Four 40-Point Performances

 

             

 

 

Thanks for all you are doing to help promote basketball in our great state. Attached you will find the Week-13 write-up in both formats, as usual.

At this point in time, we are down to just 74 IHSAA boys’ coaches and 89 IHSAA girls’ coaches who are not yet members. I believe the online nomination forms will open soon or have opened for girls’ coaches as it relates to scholarships, the Top-100 underclassmen showcase, and the all-state teams. If you run into girls’ coaches during the upcoming state tournament games, please remind them to nominate their players, plus remind them they must be paid members of the IBCA for their players to be nominated.

 

We can enjoy a small sigh of relief, as we have made it through the girls’ regular season, and the ladies prepare for Sectional action this week. The boys still have a month to go until their postseason, but that means there is still plenty of time to play well and win some games. Week-13 of the IBCA/Franciscan Health Player of the Week award highlights six more Hoosier preps playing at the top of their games.

Carroll (Fort Wayne) Junior Jalen Jackson, Blackford Senior Luke Brown, South Decatur Senior Lane Lauderbaugh, Homestead Junior Ayanna Patterson, Roncalli Senior Madelyn Bischoff, and Lanesville Senior Gracie Adams are the recipients for Jan. 25-Jan. 30 in the recognition program coordinated by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. Jackson and Patterson earn boys’ and girls’ honors, respectively, in District-1. Brown is the boys’ winner, and Bischoff is the girls’ winner in District-2. Lauderbaugh is the boys’ recipient, and Adams is the girls’ recipient in District-3.

The Carroll Chargers (Fort Wayne) picked up a pair of victories last weekend, and Jalen Jackson made sure to do his part. Friday night, in a tightly contested, 65-63 win at Fort Wayne Snider, the Junior guard was fantastic, making 15-22 shots from the field, including a 3-pointer, plus he was a perfect 4-4 from the charity stripe. He added eight rebounds and three assists in the Summit Conference triumph.

Saturday, the Chargers traveled a decent distance to take on the Yorktown Tigers, where they prevailed by a score of 59-37. Jackson again helped Carroll pull away with his 22-point effort. The 6-0 guard contributed in other ways as well, adding eight rebounds, four assists, and five steals in the victory.

Homestead Junior Ayanna Patterson helped the Spartans to three wins last week, plus she set a program record along the way. Tuesday, the Spartans travelled to South Bend St. Joseph, and they left with a nice 70-36 triumph. The Junior forward put together a modest effort in limited minutes, scoring 18 points and grabbing nine rebounds in victory. Thursday, however, would be a different story.

Homestead hosted Fort Wayne nemesis South Side, and they took care of the Archers early, winning 96-51. It was in this game that the 6-3 Patterson was brilliant. She scored a Lady Spartan single-game record of 43 points in the win, plus she grabbed 13 rebounds for good measure. But Patterson and the Spartans weren’t done, as they then travelled to Northrop Friday to take on the Bruins. This was their toughest game of the week, but they still prevailed with a 60-41 Summit Conference win. The Junior scored 22 points against Northrop, plus she grabbed 17 rebounds, to conclude the perfect 3-0 week.

Blackford Senior Luke Brown was at it again last week, helping his Bruins to a pair of wins in three games played. Wednesday night, the 6-1 guard scored a season-high 45 points, however it wasn’t enough, as Blackford fell to the Madison-Grant Argylls 71-67. Brown was impressive, though, burying shot after shot from 3-point range, on his way to 11 made 3-pointers. He was 15-30 overall from the field, 4-4 from the free throw line, plus he added four rebounds, an assist, and a steal in defeat.

Friday night, in another Central Indiana Conference matchup, Blackford headed to Eastbrook, where they won easily, 82-53. Brown scored 21 points and made all seven of his free throw attempts, plus he posted six rebounds, five assists, and four steals in the victory. The next day, the Stetson University commit scored it well again, making 11-21 shots, knocking down another seven 3-pointers, and scoring 32 points in a 78-49 win against Jay County. He added four caroms, dished out eight assists, and pulled in five steals in success. Brown currently sits at 2541 career points and is now 9^th all-time in state history.

The Roncalli Royals and Senior Madelyn Bischoff played just one game last week, but it was a hard-fought, 55-48 victory against the always tough Columbus North Bulldogs. The 5-9 guard came up huge for the Royals, making 13-22 shots, 4-7 from deep, plus 3-4 from the line, on her way to a game-high 33 points. Bischoff added four thefts, an assist, and blocked a shot, helping Roncalli finish the regular season with a 17-4 record.

South Decatur Senior Lane Lauderbaugh is a double-double machine, and last week he helped the Cougars to a trio of Mid-Hoosier Conference wins by posting a pair of double-doubles. Monday night, they headed to Southwestern (Shelbyville), where they had to battle for a tough 77-70 road victory. The Senior forward scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the win, plus he knocked down three shots from deep and all four of his free throw attempts. He also added three assists and a steal in the effort.

The next night, Tuesday, the Cougars hosted crosstown rival North Decatur, winning by a comfortable 81-49 margin. Lauderbaugh was outstanding, making 17-25 shots, 5-6 from 3-point range, plus a pair of free throws, en route to 41 points. The 6-7 forward added 10 rebounds, seven assists, and collected a steal as well. The 41 points was a new career-high for Lauderbaugh. In their final game of the week, Friday, against Hauser, the Senior forward struggled with foul trouble, but still managed to score 13 points in another easy victory, this time by a score of 87-54.

Lanesville Senior Gracie Adams has put together an outstanding final season, and that only continued in a pair of outings last week. Monday, in a lopsided win at Southern Conference foe Crothersville, the 5-9 Adams had a complete game in limited action. She was a solid 8-16 from the field, she made both of her charity tosses, scoring 18 points, plus she grabbed six rebounds, handed out seven assists, collected five steals, and blocked a shot.

Friday, though, she shone brightly in a 73-49 win against Scottsburg. Adams made 16-25 shots from the floor, she was a hot 6-8 from downtown, plus she was an efficient 7-9 from the free throw line, nearly outscoring the Warriors herself with 45 points. The Senior forward also contributed seven rebounds, six steals, an assist, and a pair of blocked shots, helping the Eagles to a 19-3 regular season record.

This is the 13^th season for the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Week program, but the first season it is presented by Franciscan Health, a corporate sponsor of the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.

Player of the Week winners are chosen each week from each of the IHSAA’s three districts. Girls winners will be chosen through the Monday following the IHSAA Girls State Finals. Boys winners will be chosen through the Monday following the IHSAA Boys State Finals.

Other Top Nominees for Week-13 (2020-21)

District-1 Boys: James Hernandez, Washington Township; Brauntae Johnson, Fort Wayne North Side; Fletcher Loyer, Homestead; Willie Miller, Lake Station Edison; Marcus Northern, South Bend Washington; Jackson Paul, Churubusco; Joe Reidy, Woodlan; Luke Saylor, Heritage; Carter Stoltzfus, Northridge; Naylon Thompson, Fort Wayne Luers.

District-1 Girls: Courtney Blakely, Hammond Noll; Allison Capouch, Kouts; Hailey Cripe, Pioneer; Asia Donald, Hobart; Nevaeh Foster, Mishawaka Marian; Bailey Hartsough, Lakeland; Hanna Knoll, Angola; Lilly Maple, Maconaquah; Trinity Thompson, Michigan City; Sidney Wagner, Tippecanoe Valley.

District-2 Boys: Brooks Barnhizer, Lafayette Jefferson; Jalen Blackmon, Marion; Mason Brooks, North Putnam; Grant Brown, Madison-Grant; Jake Chapman, Tri-Central; Brady Hunt, Delta; Logan Pinkerton, Covington; Braden Smith, Westfield; Pierce Thomas, Brownsburg; Kobe Ward, Danville.

District-2 Girls: Katie Burton, Fishers; Carley Culberson, Yorktown; Kenzie Fulks, Bethesda Christian; Layla Gold, Park Tudor; Erikka Hill, Shenandoah; Rayah Kincer, Franklin Central; McKenna Layden, Northwestern; Ally Madden, Blue River Valley; Teresa Maggio, McCutcheon; Reagan Wilson, Noblesville.

District-3 Boys: Matthew Arthur, New Washington; Jack Benter, Brownstown Central; Luke Collinsworth, East Central; Langdon Hatton, North Harrison; Cade Jones, Eastern (Pekin); Trey Kaufman, Silver Creek; Lane Sparks, Greensburg; Jahni Summers, Evansville Harrison; Caleb Swearingen, Northview; Mitch Yeend, Shelbyville.

District-3 Girls: Katherine Benter, Brownstown Central; Alaysha Brandenberger, Boonville; Lauren Foster, Indian Creek; Madison Gray, Union County; Sydney Jaynes, Trinity Lutheran; Kaybree Oxley, Tecumseh; Ali Saunders, North Harrison; Gracie Shorter, Sullivan; Jasmine Walker, Clarksville; Ava Weber, Corydon Central.

2020-21 Weekly Winners

Nov. 2-Nov. 7: District-1 girls: Courtney Blakely, Hammond Bishop Noll. District-2 girls: Olivia Nickerson, Twin Lakes. District–3 girls: Hope Fox, East Central.

Nov. 9-Nov. 14: District-1 girls: Mariah Wyatt, Wabash. District-2 girls: Tyra Ford, Anderson, and McKenna Layden, Northwestern. District-3 girls: Rebekah Gordon, Heritage Hills.

Nov. 16-Nov. 21: District-1 girls: De’Mour Watson, Elkhart. District-2 girls: Erikka Hill, Shenandoah. District-3 girls: Gracie Adams, Lanesville.

Nov. 23-Nov. 28: District-1 boys: Cole Wireman, Kouts. District-1 girls: Jessica Carrothers, Crown Point. District-2 boys: Brooks Barnhizer, Lafayette Jefferson, and Gus Etchison, Hamilton Heights. District-2 girls: Jayla Smith, Lawrence North. District-3 boys: Kooper Jacobi, Silver Creek. District-3 girls: Sydney Jaynes, Trinity Lutheran.

Nov. 30-Dec. 5: District-1 boys: J.R. Konieczny, South Bend St. Joseph. District-1 girls: Olivia Smith, Fort Wayne South Side. District-2 boys: Ian Scott, Plainfield. District-2 girls: Skylie Lutz, Union City. District-3 boys: Julian Norris, Evansville Bosse. District-3 girls: Kylee Edwards, Shelbyville.

Dec. 7-Dec. 12: District-1 boys: Caleb Furst, Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian. District-1 girls: Ellia Foster, Bremen. District-2 boys: Brody Whitaker, Greencastle. District-2 girls: Ariana Wiggins, Heritage Christian. District-3 boys: Logan Rohrbacher, East Central. District-3 girls: Abby Fleetwood, Brown County.

Dec. 14-Dec. 19: District-1 boys: Christopher Mantis, Lowell. District-1 girls: Courtney Blakely, Hammond Bishop Noll. District-2 boys: Luke Brown, Blackford. District-2 girls: Alli Harness, Carroll (Flora). District-3 boys: Lane Sparks, Greensburg. District-3 girls: Isabella Reed, Greenwood Christian.

Dec. 21-Dec. 26: District-1 boys: Luke Goode, Homestead. District-1 girls: Jessica Carrothers, Crown Point. District-2 boys: Brooks Barnhizer, Lafayette Jefferson. District-2 girls: Katie Burton, Fishers. District-3 boys: Curt Hopf, Barr-Reeve. District-3 girls: Juliann Woodard, Jennings County.

Dec. 28-Jan. 2: District-1 boys: Fletcher Loyer, Homestead. District-1 girls: Courtney Blakely, Hammond Bishop Noll. District-2 boys: Trey Flatt, Covenant Christian (Indianapolis). District-2 girls: Ashlynn Shade, Noblesville. District-3 boys: Stephen Atkinson, Owen Valley. District-3 girls: Ali Saunders, North Harrison.

Jan. 4-Jan. 9: District-1 boys: Jackson Paul, Churubusco. District-1 girls: Lilliann Frasure, North Judson-San Pierre. District-2 boys: Gus Etchison, Hamilton Heights. District-2 girls: McKenna Layden, Northwestern. District-3 boys: Trey Kaufman, Silver Creek. District-3 girls: Vanessa Shafford, Linton-Stockton.

Jan. 11-Jan. 16: District-1 boys: Connor Essegian, Central Noble. District-1 girls: Jessica Carrothers, Crown Point. District-2 boys: Kobe Ward, Danville. District-2 girls: Zakia Rasheed, Bishop Chatard. District-3 boys: Owen Dease, Evansville Reitz. District-3 girls: Koryn Greiwe, Columbus East.

Jan. 18-Jan. 23: District-1 boys: Cole Wireman, Kouts. District-1 girls: Lilliann Frasure, North Judson-San Pierre. District-2 boys: Brody Whitaker, Greencastle. District-2 girls: Ashlynn Shade, Noblesville. District-3 boys: Lincoln Hale, Linton-Stockton. District-3 girls: Diana Burgher, North Harrison.

Jan. 25-Jan. 30: District-1 boys: Jalen Jackson, Carroll (Fort Wayne). District-1 girls: Ayanna Patterson, Homestead. District-2 boys: Luke Brown, Blackford. District-2 girls: Madelyn Bischoff, Roncalli. District-3 boys: Lane Lauderbaugh, South Decatur. District-3 girls: Gracie Adams, Lanesville.

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