Six girls basketball teams from Central Indiana will viefor state championship berths across three sites Saturday: Waldron (Class A) and Bishop Chatard (3A) will travel to Jeffersonville, while Noblesville (4A) heads to Logansport. Jasper will host University (2A) and Mooresville vs. Franklin (4A).
Here is a closer look the five local semistate matchups.
Semistate preview:How each team can win; our Insider's predictions
Class 4A:Crown Point (24-3) vs. Noblesville (23-4), 7 p.m.
Noblesville's road to semistate has taken it through five of the state's best, including top-ranked Homestead and 10th-ranked Fort Wayne Snider last Saturday. The Millers have been at their absolute best this month — a total team effort led by UConn-bound junior Ashlynn Shade — but it has been an exhausting run.
"Mentally and physically we've had to bring it every single game and trying to bounce back after each one of those is a real challenge," coach Donna Buckley said.
Now the fifth-ranked Millers are faced with the defending champs and another major challenge: Containing Crown Point senior Jessica Carrothers (21.1 ppg, 52% FG, 3.7 apg, 3.7 spg).
In December, the answer was a box-and-one. The new-look defense (Noblesville typically runs a 1-3-1) caught the fourth-ranked Bulldogs off-guard and Carrothers was limited to just four points and five field goal attempts in a 57-32 victory. But bottling up the IndyStar Miss Basketball contender twice in one season will be a tall task, especially with Carrothers coming off a career-high 42-point performance (19-of-28FG) in the regional championship vs. Lake Central.
"She's a unique challenge," Buckley said of the IUPUI commit. "In terms of volume shooting, we don't see anyone quite like her. I think you have to try and give her different looks. She requires a lot of attention and we have to try and limit her touches. You can't give her easy opportunities because when she gets going she's just so good."
Crown Point has weapons beyond Carrothers — Lily Stoddard, a 6-3 Purdue commit, averages 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, while Alyvia Santiago, Brooke Lindesmith, Nikki Gerodemos and Ava Ziolkowski combine for about 20 ppg — but everything runs through Carrothers and getting her involved early will be critical in their rematch with the Millers.
Class 4A:Mooresville (19-8)vs.Franklin (27-1), 6:30 p.m.
A lot has changed since Franklin beat Mooresville, 62-37 on Jan. 7.
Most notably: The Pioneers have looked like an entirely different operation. The winners of nine straight and coming off their first regional title run since 2009, they are playing more cohesively, taking a team-approach to defending and maintaining a balanced scoring attack led by seniors Madelynn Denny, Ally Graber and Abby Young, and sophom*ores Rachel Harshman and Kalyn Bunch.
Mooresville's path to semistate required it to upset three of the region's top contenders and it's brimming with confidence entering the rematch with Franklin.
"I'm just really proud of these kids," said coach Mark Hurt, whose team started the season 2-5."They're a very tight-knit group and the way they really understand each other's game has really helped. That's probably been the most important thing."
The Pioneers have improved significantly over the past six weeks. But the same can be said for Franklin.
The second-ranked Grizzly Cubs are doing a better job sharing the ball (averaging 15 assists over past nine games), coach Josh Sabol said, while on the other end, they have tightened up and begun mixing up their defensive pressures.
In terms of personnel, seniors Ashlyn Traylor and Kuryn Brunson are the go-to players, but fellow starters Scarlett Kimbrell, Lauren Klem and Erica Beuning have been of equal importance. Adelyn Walker, Kyndell Jochim and Brooklyn York provide valuable minutes off the bench. "We feel like we have eight girls who can start and when their name gets called, they're ready to go in and produce," Sabol said.
Franklin is the more experienced of the two teams — it lost to 4A runner-up Brownsburg in semistate last year — but Sabol and his players know better than to overlook their Mid-State Conference foe. "I definitely expect it to be a dogfight," he said.
Class 3A:Bishop Chatard (18-10)vs.Silver Creek (25-2), 3 p.m.
Bishop Chatard runs11-12 players deep with a lineup overflowing with talent. Leading scorer Caroline Bell (9.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg) is an "unbelievable freak of nature" athletically, first-year coach Dan Wagner said, while Grace Adams (6.6 ppg, 2.1 apg) garnered All-City plaudits in both basketball and soccer. Rounding out the core are Izzy Davis (9.3 ppg), Kate Caskey (7.4 ppg) and Carly deCastro (5.1 ppg, 7 rpg), all of whom made critical contributions to last Saturday's regional wins over Tri-West and Indian Creek.
"Last weekend was just magical and the girls don't want it to end," Wagner said. "They are determined to keep playing."
Chatard's depth and regular-season schedule — which included Cathedral, Lawrence Central, Fishers, Heritage Christian and Westfield — has it well-equipped and eager to challenge defending state champion Silver Creek.
But the fourth-ranked Dragons won't be an easy out.
An equally athletic outfit, coach Scott Schoen's squad is headlined by Evansville commit Kynidi Mason Striverson, who scored 24 points in Silver Creek's 48-44 win over Rushville in the regional semifinals. She's a handful on her own, but opponents also have to contend with fellow seniors Lacey Tingle, Emme Rooney and Sydney Sierota.
"They are loaded, but all of us feel we can beat them," Wagner said of the Dragons. "We've been the underdog in three of the four games we've played so far and we love it. We love being the underdog."
Other semifinal:South Bend Washington (25-3)vs.Garrett (27-1), 4 p.m. (at LaPorte)
Class 2A:University (23-4)vs.Forest Park (24-3), 4 p.m.
University has faced teams similar to Forest Park this season. The Rangers have length and play a physical, blue-collar brand of basketball, not unlike Tipton, Lawrence Central and Benton Central. Part of what sets them apart, Trailblazers coach Justin Blanding said, is junior forward Amber Tretter.
Tretter demonstrated her capabilities in regionals, collecting 23 points and 11 rebounds in the semifinals, then 18 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks in the championship to lift Forest Park to its first title since 2000.
"She is a special player," Blanding said, pointing to junior guard Lydia Betz as another player to watch. "When you see (Tretter) play, she wows you right away. It's going to be a battle."
The Rangers boast experience and talent beyond Tretter and Betz — see: Ali Welp and Carley Begle — but University has its own collection of high-end talent with senior Patty Chikamba and juniors Payton Seay and Kelsey DuBois.
Chikamba, a 5-7 wing, has been a double-double machine, registering nine this season with six coming via rebounds, one via assists (she was a steal away from a triple-double vs. Greenwood Christian), one via steals and the other via blocks. She averages 14 points, six rebounds, five steals and three assists.
The junior tandem has been equally impactful with DuBois averaging 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds, and Seay leading the team in scoring (15 ppg) to go with 6.2 rpg.
"They've just been really consistent," Blanding said. "We talk a lot about what your role is and they've established those roles. Their teammates look to them (for scoring) and have done a good job assisting them and making sure the ball is in the right place."
Other semifinal:Fairfield (24-3)vs.Frankton (22-5), 1 p.m. (at LaPorte)
Class A:Waldron (24-1)vs.Tec*mseh (18-8), noon
It's a perk of having such an experienced roster. Each game has been exponentially more important than the last, but Waldron coach Anthony Thomas hasn't noticed any changes in his players' preparation or mentality. Led by Mackenzie Shaw, Bella Larrison, Hadlie Ross, Nichole Garner and Megan Boegmann, top-ranked Waldron has brought the same intensity to every practice and maintained its routine when studying film.
The players understand Saturday's semistate clash with Tec*mseh is a big game, but it's not the biggest game.
"Don't get me wrong, it's a special moment and I'm elated for them, but from a basketball standpoint, nothing has changed," Thomas said. "They understand what's ahead of us and what we need to do, but they also know it's a process. That process has gotten us this far, so why change it?"
Thomas noted similarities between his team and seventh-ranked Tec*mseh, citing its physicality and experience — though Tec*mseh focuses a little more on hammering the ball inside. "They like to play on the interior, high-low," he noted.
Tec*mseh is battle-tested group — schedule included 4A's Castle, 3A's Washington and 2A's Forest Park — led by senior Kaybree Oxley, a 5-10 guard who is averaging over 17 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists per game. It also leans on Jenna Donohoo (12 ppg) and Karsyn Flowers (9.4 ppg, 4.8 apg, 3 spg).
"(Oxley) is very smart, very athletic, very strong and she hunts rebounds," Thomas said. "For us, it's a matter of paying attention to where she's at and doing our best to keep her off the glass. But she's a great player and we already have a ton of respect for her."
Other semifinal:North White (20-6)vs.Lafayette Central Catholic (23-4), 4 p.m. (at Logansport)
Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.
