Offensive Outbursts Headline Week-6 IBCA/Subway Player of the Week Awards
Surely there were a handful of nets and a few lightbulbs that needed to be replaced over the weekend, following several high-scoring performances throughout each of Indiana’s three districts. With players filling up the stat sheets, it made picking this week’s winners all that more difficult.
Merrillville Junior Keon Thompson, Danville Community Senior Dillon Ware, North Daviess Senior Jack Townsend, Mishawaka Marian Senior Christina Himelick, Marion Senior RaShaya Kyle, Winchester Community Senior Madeline Lawrence, and Vincennes Lincoln Senior Darrian Carmean were selected as recipients for the week of Dec. 9-Dec.14 in the recognition program coordinated by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.
Thompson is the boys’ honoree and Himelick is the girls’ honoree for District-1. Ware is the boys’ winner for District-2, while Kyle and Lawrence share District-2 girls’ honors. Townsend is the boys’ recipient and Carmean is the girls’ recipient for District-3.
Keon Thompson posted a pair of high-scoring performances, as Merrillville split their two games last week. Tuesday evening, Merrillville hosted Hammond Morton, and Thompson was 12-21 from the field, leading to a 34-point outing in their 84-62 victory over the Governors. He also grabbed eight rebounds, collected four steals, and blocked two shots.
The 6-3 Junior guard came back Saturday, and though the Pirates fell 69-63 at nearby Andrean, Thompson poured in 41 of their 63 points on 12-20 shooting. He was also 6-12 from behind the arc, 11-13 from the charity stripe, and his 41 points were the most by a Merrillville player since 1972. The talented Junior added nine rebounds and three steals to the effort.
Mishawaka Marian’s Christina Himelick has a reputation for being an incredibly hard-working post player, and last week a pair of double-doubles certainly back that up. Thursday evening, in a 66-53 win at South Bend Adams, Himelick was 5-11 from the field and an impressive 14-15 from the free throw line, helping her to a season high of 25 points. She added 16 rebounds and six blocked shots in the victory.
Saturday, in a 60-44 win at Fort Wayne Northrop, the 6-1 Senior continued her strong week with 24 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, and two more blocked shots. This time she didn’t need the free throw line, as she was 11-14 from the field, including 2-2 from 3-point range.
Danville Senior Dillon Ware had a pair of 30-point games in two weekend wins for the Warriors. Friday night they knocked off conference rival Southmont 84-45 in Crawfordsville. Ware was stellar, scoring 33 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, and handing out a pair of assists.
The next day, the 6-6 Senior forward helped Danville defeat Cascade at home in impressive fashion, winning 85-40. Ware shot the ball extremely well, going 10-14 from the field and 11-12 from the free throw line, en route to 31 points. He also snagged five rebounds, and dished out four more assists.
District-2 has co-winners on the girls’ side, as RaShaya Kyle and Madeline Lawrence both set records last week. On Tuesday, the 6-6 Kyle scored 42 points for Marion in a 62-31 win at Fort Wayne Wayne. The 42 points set a single-game record for the Marion girls’ program, plus she became the all-time leading scorer (1,482) in Lady Giant history, passing 1987 graduate Gina Johnson (1,481) by just one point. On the evening, Kyle was 18-24 from the field and 6-8 from the line, plus she added 13 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Saturday in a 32-28 home loss to Huntington North, the Purdue-bound Kyle scored 19 of the 28 Giant points. She also contributed 10 rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the effort. The Senior post now stands at 1,501 points for her career.
Winchester’s Madeline Lawrence was equally outstanding last week, helping the Golden Falcons to three more wins and a 12-0 record so far this season. Tuesday at South Adams, Lawrence scored 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds, plus she added four assists, two steals, and five blocked shots in the 87-44 victory. Thursday in a 71-32 home win over Wapahani, the 6-0 Senior forward posted a double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds, while also contributing five assists, two steals, and a blocked shot.
But it was in a Saturday win at Cambridge City Lincoln where she stood out the most. Lawrence obliterated the Golden Falcons’ single-game scoring record of 43 points by pouring in a career best of 52. Additionally, she grabbed 12 rebounds, handed out four assists, and collected six steals, plus she became the school’s career assist leader with an even 500. Lawrence has signed to play at Indiana Wesleyan University next season.
In District-3, North Daviess Senior Jack Townsend shredded some nets last weekend. Friday night, in a big 57-44 conference win over North Central (Farmersburg), Townsend knocked down his average of 24 points. He was a solid 9-15 from the field, while also adding four rebounds, two assists, and a steal in the victory.
Saturday, he returned to action, helping North Daviess run away from Vincennes Rivet early. In the first half alone, Townsend buried eight 3-pointers and scored 26 of his school record 47 points. In total, he knocked down 13 3-pointers on just 19 attempts, plus he managed three rebounds, an assist, and four steals. The 6-1 guard has signed with Ohio Dominican University.
Darrian Carmean spent her week helping Vincennes Lincoln to a pair of tough conference wins. Thursday evening, the 5-8 Senior guard scored 29 points in a narrow 58-55 win over Jasper. In the effort, she was 9-17 from the field, including 5-9 from 3-point range, plus she added six made free throws, a pair of rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Saturday, Carmean added another 28 points in a 72-57 victory over Boonville. This time she was just 6-19 from the field (2-6 from 3-point range), but she made up for it by shooting 14-16 from the free throw line. She also chipped in a pair of rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
This is the 12th season for the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Week program, and the eighth season it is presented by Subway Restaurants of Indiana, a banner sponsor of the IBCA. Subway, in its eighth 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. 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-6 (2019-20)
District-1 Boys: Nick Anderson, Lake Central; Landen Babusiak, Hanover Central; Nick Flesher, Andrean; Jake Friel, Hebron; Drew Hogan, Goshen; J.R. Konieczny, South Bend St. Joseph; Christopher Mantis, Lowell; Jylen Petty, South Bend Washington; Jakob Reichard, Plymouth; Charlie Yoder, Westview.
District-1 Girls: Zoe Barger, Bluffton; Erin Coffel, Bremen; Kristen Cravens, Portage; Bree Dossen, Heritage; Bailey Kelham, Garrett; Makaya Porter, Elkhart Central; Amiyah Reynolds, South Bend Washington; Mercedes Rhodes, Oregon-Davis; Brynn Shoup-Hill, Goshen; Sara Zabrecky, Munster.
District-2 Boys: Davion Bailey, Pike; Jalen Blackmon, Marion; Mason Brooks, North Putnam; Grant Brown, Madison-Grant; Luke Brown, Blackford; Gus Etchison, Hamilton Heights; Dakota Lee, Indianapolis Metropolitan; Sincere McMahon, Crispus Attucks; Gabriel McQuay, T.C. Howe Community; Pierce Thomas, Brownsburg.
District-2 Girls: Ella Collier, Danville Community; Maddi Fulks, Bethesda Christian; Sydney Jacobsen, West Lafayette Harrison; Madison Layden, Northwestern; Rachel Loobie, Franklin Central; Sydney Parrish, Hamilton Southeastern; Jayla Smith, Lawrence North; Lindsey Syrek, University; Alana Vinson, Roncalli; Taylor Westgate, Oak Hill.
District-3 Boys: Bailey Conrad, Christian Academy of Indiana; Kooper Jacobi, Silver Creek; Hunter Johnson, South Decatur; Hagen Knepp, Barr-Reeve; Josiah Ricketts, North Posey; Blake Sisley, Heritage Hills; Isaac Uebelhor, Forest Park; Kolden Vanlandingham, Northeastern; Andrew Welage, Greensburg; Gavin Yoon, Lawrenceburg.
District-3 Girls: Natalie Boesing, Our Lady of Providence; Sydney Jaynes, Trinity Lutheran; Myah Montgomery, Southridge; Natalie Niehaus, Castle; Kaybree Oxley, Tecumseh; Meredith Raley, Gibson Southern; Vanessa Shafford, Linton-Stockton; Gracie Shorter, Sullivan; Tia Tolbert, Vincennes Rivet; Ainsley Urbanski, Bloomington North.
2019-20 Weekly Winners
Nov. 4-Nov. 9: District-1 Girls: Lilliann Frasure, North Judson-San Pierre. District-2 Girls: Madison Layden, Northwestern, and Ashlynn Shade, Noblesville. District–3 Girls: Rebekah Gordon, Heritage Hills.
Nov. 11-Nov. 16: District-1 Girls: Erin Coffel, Bremen. District-2 Girls: Kendall Bostic, Northwestern. District-3 Girls: Natalie Boesing, Our Lady of Providence, and Koryn Greiwe, Columbus East.
Nov. 18-Nov. 23: District-1 Girls: Jessica Carrothers, Crown Point. District-2 Girls: Sydney Jacobsen, West Lafayette Harrison. District-3 Girls: Maya Chandler, Triton Central.
Nov. 25-Nov. 30: District-1 Boys: Nick Anderson, Lake Central. District-1 Girls: Brynn Shoup-Hill, Goshen. District-2 Boys: Gus Etchison, Hamilton Heights. District-2 Girls: Alana Vinson, Roncalli. District-3 Boys: Trey Kaufman, Silver Creek. District-3 Girls: Kylee Shelton, Bloomfield.
Dec. 2-Dec. 7: District-1 Boys: Jayden Broadnax, Garrett. District-1 Girls: Mercedes Rhodes, Oregon-Davis. District-2 Boys: Tayson Parker, Northwestern. District-2 Girls: Tyra Ford, Anderson. District-3 Boys: Tucker Biven, New Albany. District-3 Girls: Bailey Tabeling, Trinity Lutheran.
Dec. 9-Dec. 14: District-1 Boys: Keon Thompson, Merrillville. District-1 Girls: Christina Himelick, Mishawaka Marian. District-2 Boys: Dillon Ware, Danville Community. District-2 Girls: RaShaya Kyle, Marion, and Madeline Lawrence, Winchester Community. District-3 Boys: Jack Townsend, North Daviess. District-3 Girls: Darrian Carmean, Vincennes Lincoln.
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