Champion girls headline IBCA/Subway Players of the Week
McLaughlin, Sullivan, Stewart and Maikranz joined by Conner, Watson and Lairy as honorees
Homestead senior Karissa McLaughlin, South Bend St. Joseph senior Daly Sullivan, Eastern (Pekin) junior Rachel Stewart and Wood Memorial senior Brenna Maikranz propelled their teams to state championships, and the quartet leads the honorees in this week’s IBCA/Subway Player of the Week program.
The title-winning girls are joined by Elkhart Central senior Cornell Conner, Tri-West junior Tyler Watson and Evansville Bosse junior Mekhi Lairy as recipients for Feb. 20-25 in the recognition program coordinated by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.
Conner, Watson and Lairy are respective boys’ winners for Districts 1, 2 and 3. McLaughlin and Sullivan both represent girls’ District 1. Stewart and Maikranz each is from girls’ District 3.
The 5-8 McLaughlin poured in 29 points with four rebounds and six assists to spark Homestead to a 61-54 victory over Pike for the Class 4A championship. The University of Florida signee converted 8-of-18 field goals, 2-of-5 3-pointers and 11-of-14 free throws as the Spartans (28-2) claimed their first state crown.
Sullivan, a 5-10 guard, tallied 21 points with two rebounds and one assist as South Bend St. Joseph defeated North Harrison 57-49 for the Class 3A title. The Mount St. Mary’s-bound standout sank 6-of-14 from the field, 3-of-6 3-pointers and 6-of-6 free throws as the Indians (26-2) captured the school’s second 3A state title. Mount St. Mary’s, located in Emmitsburg, Md., is an NCAA Division I school in the Northeast Conference.
The 5-9 Stewart netted 20 points with four rebounds and two assists as Eastern (Pekin) outlasted Oak Hill 42-31 for the Class 2A crown. Stewart made 7-of-12 shots from the floor plus 6-of-8 free throws en route to her game-high output and as the Lady Musketeers (23-7) won their first state title.
Maikranz led Wood Memorial (28-1) to its first Class A crown, producing 26 points with one rebound and two assists as the Trojans knocked off Union City 68-43. The 5-7 guard was 8-of-14 from the field and 10-of-14 from the line to account for her big game.
The 6-3 Conner led the Elkhart Central boys (19-2) to a 68-44 victory over Elkhart Christian in the Blue Blazers’ only game of the week. Conner dropped in 36 points with seven rebounds and three steals in the decision. He converted 15-of-22 shots, 2-of-4 3-pointers and 4-of-7 free throws.
Watson averaged 36.0 points and 5.5 rebounds as the Tri-West boys improved to 20-3. The 6-0 guard opened with 28 points, six rebounds, one assist and one steals as the Bruins beat Mooresville 76-63. Watson followed with a school-record 44 points – breaking his own record of 41 points set one week earlier – plus five rebounds, three assists and three steals in a 72-64 triumph over Cardinal Ritter. In his record-breaking game, Watson was 15-of-28 from the floor, including 2-of-7 on 3-pointers, plus 12-of-14 from the line.
The 5-8 Lairy averaged 25.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 11.5 assists in propelling the Evansville Bosse boys (15-7) to a pair of triumphs. He tallied 15 points with eight rebounds, 11 assists and five steals in about 20 minutes in an 84-47 runaway over Mt. Vernon (Posey). Lairy followed with a career-high 36 points with seven rebounds, 12 assists and four steals as the Bull Dogs beat Evansville Reitz 93-68. Over both games, Lairy was 20-of-25 from the field, 6-of-10 on 3-pointers and 5-of-6 on free throws.
This is the ninth season for the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Week program and the fifth season it is presented by Subway Restaurants of Indiana, a banner sponsor of the IBCA. Subway, in its sixth season as an IBCA sponsor, encourages athletes to “train hard and eat fresh.”
Player of the Week winners are chosen each week from each of the IHSAA’s three districts. This is the final week for girls winners. Boys winners will be chosen from now through the week following March 25.
Other nominees for Week 17 (2016-17)
District 1 boys – Damezi Anderson, South Bend Riley; Jermaine Couisnard, East Chicago Central; Jack DeGroot, Winamac; Jack Ferguson, Homestead; J.J. Foster, Fort Wayne Luers; Evan Galindo, Portage; DeAndre Gholston, Gary 21st Century; Jordan Higgins, River Forest; Wyatt Hughes, Maconaquah; Tyreion Jackson, Hammond Morton; Dillan Matthes, Kouts; Will Moreau, Leo; Brandon Nichols, East Noble; Jalen Paul, Churubusco; Trace Ramsey, Valparaiso; Richard Robertson, Fort Wayne Northrop; Jordan Smith, Hanover Central; Sasha Stefanovic, Crown Point; Vinny Stone, Argos; Mitchell Walters, Goshen; Ridley Zolman, Central Noble.
District 1 girls – None.
District 2 boys – Alex Beaver, Lafayette Jeff; Dustin Brown, Monroe Central; Justin Clary, North Montgomery; Maximus Gizzi, New Palestine; Jared Grabau, South Adams; Kaleb Howard, Western; Maurice Knight, Frankton; Courvoisier McCauley, Indianapolis Manual; Spencer Pettit, Covington; Robert Phinisee, McCutcheon; Erick Shepherd, Mt. Vernon (Fortville); Nike Sibande, Indianapolis Attucks; Mack Smith, Warren Central; Ty Sparling, Kokomo; Wade Stiers, Shenandoah; Kaleb Swick, Southmont; Addison True, Eastern Hancock; Peyton West, Wapahani; Kris Wilkes, North Central; Ronny Williams, Liberty Christian; Colin York, Greencastle.
District 2 girls – Justiss Cantu, Union City; Jenessa Hasty, Oak Hill; Jada Roberson, Pike.
District 3 boys – Juston Betz, Providence; Daulton Blackwell, Mitchell; Drew Byerly, Franklin; Jackson Byrne, West Washington; Matthew Embry, South Spencer; Jonathan Foster, Columbus East; Musa Jallow, Bloomington North; Tyler Kramer, Southwestern (Hanover); Romeo Langford, New Albany; Chandler McKee, Gibson Southern; Jaylen Minnett, Terre Haute South; Jack Nunge, Castle; Grant Oexmann, Vincennes Lincoln; Joe Space, Evansville Central; Matthew Stephens, Washington; Cody Waskom, Brownstown Central; Andrew Welage, Greensburg.
District 3 girls – Cali Nolot, North Harrison.
2016-17 winners
Oct. 31-Nov. 5 – District 1 girls: Mason VanHouten, Fort Wayne Canterbury. District 2 girls: Madison Wise, Greenfield-Central. District 3 girls: Kayana Traylor, Martinsville.
Nov. 7-12 – District 1 girls: Jenasae Bishop, East Chicago Central. District 2 girls: Audrey Minix, North White. District 3 girls: Abby Wahl, Heritage Hills.
Nov. 14-19 – District 1 girls: Mary Parkman, Westville, and Aly Reiff, Whitko. District 2 girls: Amy Dilk, Carmel. District 3 girls: Katrina Christian, Crothersville, and Grace Holdeman, Bloomington Lighthouse Christian.
Nov. 21-26 – District 1 boys: Nick Mantis, Lowell. District 1 girls: Dana Evans, Gary West. District 2 boys: Tanner Lambert, Delta, and Garrett Pumphrey, Cambridge City Lincoln. District 2 girls: Nia Clark, Ben Davis. District 3 boys: Tye Collins, Loogootee. District 3 girls: Olivia Seifert, North Decatur.
Nov. 28-Dec. 3 – District 1 boys: Colin Kenney, Marquette Catholic. District 1 girls: Kyannah Stull, John Glenn. District 2 boys: Cooper Neese, Cloverdale. District 2 girls: Faith Morris, Blackford; Tayler Vauters, Riverton Parke, and Macee Williams, Fountain Central. District 3 boys: Hayden Langkabel, Morristown. District 3 girls: Paige Barrett, Scottsburg.
Dec. 5-10 – District 1 boys: Tyrese Walker, Westville. District 1 girls: Karissa McLaughlin, Homestead. District 2 boys: Kris Wilkes, North Central. District 2 girls: Rikki Harris, North Central. District 3 boys: Isaiah Dunham, Evansville Reitz. District 3 girls: Paige Schindler, Borden.
Dec. 12-17 – District 1 boys: Nathan Walpole, Whitko. District 1 girls: Dana Evans, Gary West. District 2 boys: Zach Gunn, Hamilton Southeastern. District 2 girls: Macee Williams, Fountain Central. District 3 boys: Jack Nunge, Castle. District 3 girls: Lucy Carrigan, Rising Sun, and Stacy Payton, Northview.
Dec. 19-24 – District 1 boys: Tysean Sheppard, South Bend Clay. District 1 girls: Courtney Dunlap, Argos. District 2 boys: Courvoisier McCauley, Indianapolis Manual. District 2 girls: Sydney Parrish, Hamilton Southeastern. District 3 boys: Romeo Langford, New Albany. District 3 girls: Megg Hensler, Shawe Memorial.
Dec. 26-31 – District 1 boys: Jermaine Couisnard, East Chicago Central. District 1 girls: Hannah Noveroske, Michigan City. District 2 boys: Jack Hansen, Guerin Catholic. District 2 girls: Sydney Tucker, Frankton. District 3 boys: Nick Walker, Henryville. District 3 girls: Erinn Hodges, Evansville Central.
Jan. 2-7 – District 1 boys: Michael Hemingway, Mishawaka Marian. District 1 girls: TaiYanna Jackson, East Chicago Central. District 2 boys: Sutter Foster, Wes-Del. District 2 girls: Amy Dilk, Carmel. District 3 boys: Trevor Lengacher, Barr-Reeve. District 3 girls: Amani Brown, Terre Haute South.
Jan. 9-14 – District 1 boys: Craig Young, Fort Wayne Wayne. District 1 girls: Dana Evans, Gary West. District 2 boys: Isiah James, Pike, and Billie Webster, Seton Catholic. District 2 girls: Tayler Vauters, Riverton Parke. District 3 boys: Romeo Langford, New Albany. District 3 girls: Lilly Hatton, North Harrison.
Jan. 16-21 – District 1 boys: Damezi Anderson, South Bend Riley. District 1 girls: Karissa McLaughlin, Homestead. District 2 boys: Robert Phinisee, McCutcheon. District 2 girls: Rachel McLimore, Zionsville. District 3 boys: Brady Ewing, East Central, and Jaylen Minnett, Terre Haute South. District 3 girls: Jaelah Crosby, Evansville Bosse.
Jan. 23-28 – District 1 boys: Matt Jennings, Logansport. District 1 girls: Sophia Nolan, Marquette Catholic, and Mason VanHouten, Fort Wayne Canterbury. District 2 boys: Mack Smith, Warren Central. District 2 girls: Emily Kiser, Noblesville. District 3 boys: Michael Sizemore, West Washington. District 3 girls: Kyra Whitaker, Greensburg.
Jan. 30-Feb. 4 – District 1 boys: Nathan Walpole, Whitko. District 1 girls: Sydney Freeman, Central Noble. District 2 boys: Christian Harvey, Richmond. District 2 girls: Madison Wise, Greenfield-Central. District 3 boys: Hayden Langkabel, Morristown. District 3 girls: Jorie Allen, Bedford North Lawrence.
Feb. 6-11 – District 1 boys: Jalen Paul, Churubusco. District 1 girls: Nicole Konieczny, South Bend St. Joseph. District 2 boys: Tim Leavell, Marion. District 2 girls: DeShawna Harper, Heritage Christian. District 3 boys: Cooper Bybee, Edgewood, and Matt Cornett, South Decatur. District 3 girls: Rachel Stewart, Eastern (Pekin).
Feb. 13-18 – District 1 boys: John Cory, Lowell. District 1 girls: Karissa McLaughlin, Homestead. District 2 boys: Jalen Moore, Cloverdale. District 2 girls: Justiss Cantu, Union City. District 3 boys: Tim Abel, Indian Creek. District 3 girls: Rachel Stewart, Eastern (Pekin).
Feb. 20-25 – District 1 boys: Cornell Conner, Elkhart Central. District 1 girls: Karissa McLaughlin, Homestead, and Daly Sullivan, South Bend St. Joseph. District 2 boys: Tyler Watson, Tri-West. District 2 girls: None. District 3 boys: Mekhi Lairy, Evansville Bosse. District 3 girls: Brenna Maikranz, Wood Memorial, and Rachel Stewart, Eastern (Pekin).
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