Indiana
IHSAA girls basketball Fab 15 rankings: Sectional outlooks for Central Indiana’s top teams
On this week’s The Scorers Table podcast, Courtney weighs in on if middle schoolers should be allowed to play high school and the gang discusses the state tournament format (seeding, sectionals, etc.).
It’s hard to believe but we’re only a few days away from the IHSAA girls basketball sectional draw. So with this week’s Fab 15, we’re previewing the sectional field for each of Central Indiana’s top teams (with a quick recap of their previous week). The Scorers Table will be live on YouTube following Sunday’s sectional draw show. Stay tuned for details.
1. Center Grove (19-1)
Previous ranking: 1
The Trojans cruised to a 53-38 win at Seymour on Friday. They’ll host Heritage Christian on Thursday before traveling to Hamilton Southeastern for a Saturday night clash.
Sectional 18 (at Mooresville) outlook: The Trojans are the favorite here, but Mooresville and Bloomington North (senior Mia Robbennolt is a talented player) will be difficult outs. Best case scenario, CG only has to play one (or neither) of them.
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2. Lawrence Central (20-1)
PR: 2
The Bears picked up a huge win Thursday, grinding out a back-and-forth roller coaster against rival Lawrence North. This is the first time they’ve beaten LN twice in the same season since at least 2000-01 and just the second time they’ve won consecutive games in the series.
Sectional 10 (at Cathedral) outlook: The Bears have not won a sectional game since 2001. The drought should end this year, but I think they would benefit from being placed in the same side of the bracket as Warren Central, North Central and/or Cathedral. Stack it up and give LC — which plays WC and NC this week — a chance to get its players acclimated with state tournament play and build their confidence against quality opponents.
3. Hamilton Southeastern (17-1)
PR: 3
The Royals ran their win streak to 10 games with a 64-37 win over Westfield. They’re entering the most difficult stretch of their season: at Lawrence North (Tuesday), Zionsville (Friday) and Center Grove (Saturday).
Sectional 8 (at HSE) outlook: The Royals are the favorites here, but it’s unclear by how much. If scripting their dream scenario for the first week of February, it likely ends with a win over rival Fishers in the sectional championship game — the team that’s ended three of HSE’s past four seasons (twice in the sectional final).
4. Fishers (13-5)
PR: 5
The Tigers escaped with a 40-38 win over Brownsburg on Friday. The Bulldogs out-scored Fishers 16-9 in the third quarter to draw within five, then tied it at 37 with 30 seconds left. The Tigers play their final home game Tuesday vs. Carmel, then close out with Avon (Friday), Lawrence North and Franklin Central.
Sectional 8 (at HSE) outlook: A Mudsock rematch would be fun, but there are a few intriguing possibilities for Fishers. Westfield upset the Tigers back in November, then Zionsville hung tough with them a few days later; Fishers-Noblesville has determined the Class 4A North representative in back-to-back seasons.
5. Franklin (17-2)
PR: 7
This had the potential of being a tricky stretch for the Grizzly Cubs with Mooresville, Plainfield and at Roncalli lined up, but they cleared all three teams with ease — notably a 61-39 win over the Quakers last Wednesday.
Sectional 14 (at Whiteland) outlook: The Grizzly Cubs are the heavy favorite here. It will be fascinating, though, to see who their sectional is matched up with in the next round with S13 (Center Grove/Mooresville), S15 (Bedford North Lawrence/Jennings County) and S16 (Castle) all in play.
6. Lawrence North (14-4)
PR: 4
The Wildcats have a couple opportunities left for statement wins: vs. Hamilton Southeastern on Tuesday then vs. Fishers a week later.
Sectional 10 (Cathedral) outlook: I purposefully left someone out when discussing teams for LC’s side of the bracket and that’s because the Bears and Wildcats belong on opposite sides of the bracket. Give us the possibility of a battle for Lawrence Township in a Saturday night elimination game, IHSAA lottery balls (or bingo balls, or whatever they are).
7. Noblesville (11-8)
PR: 6
The Millers took a tough loss Friday night, falling to Zionsville, 71-66 in overtime. They’ll look to bounce back this week with games against Harrison (West Lafayette) and Franklin Central.
Sectional 8 (at HSE) outlook: The Millers would likely love an opportunity to avenge that late-November loss to Carmel (8-9). Something to keep in mind: A first-round bye isn’t exactly a good thing in this sectional, because teams typically have to survive a heavyweight bout in the opening round in order to move on. They have momentum going into the second round, facing a team that’s playing for the first time in at least a week.
8. Zionsville (16-4)
PR: 9
The Eagles let an 18-point lead slip away in the second half against North Central, but bounced back quite nicely against Noblesville.
Sectional 8 (at HSE) outlook: The Eagles are 1-4 since rejoining this sectional in 2020, but have the pieces to even that record and advance to regional for the first time since 2019. They’ve beaten Carmel, lost to Fishers, knocked off Westfield in OT and, most recently, won in overtime vs. Noblesville. Zionsville travels to HSE on Friday.
9. Indian Creek (15-4)
PR: 8
The Braves fought through for their sixth 4A win of the season Saturday, outlasting Westfield, 60-55, in overtime. They were in Illinois for an MLK Day event on Monday and will host 17-3 Northview on Friday.
Sectional 26 (at Edgewood) outlook: Northview has a nice record, but the Braves remain the odds-on favorite here. The regional draw could create some intrigue with Danville and Bishop Chatard among the possible opponents (if they were to win their sectionals, obviously).
10. Hamilton Heights (18-2)
PR: 10
Hamilton Heights dismantled Western and Tipton ahead of Friday’s Hoosier Conference championship game vs. Class 3A No. 1 Rensselaer Central (18-0). That should be a heck of a tussle.
Sectional 24 (at Yorktown) outlook: Securing a fourth consecutive sectional championship will likely require the Huskies to beat Jay County and if history is any indication, they’ll play early on — which has happened in back-to-back seasons. Avoiding host Yorktown’s side of the bracket may not be the worst thing, either. The Tigers took Hamilton Heights to overtime in last year’s sectional final and are 11-8 this season.
11. Plainfield (14-5)
PR: 11
Bouncing back from that loss to the Grizzly Cubs won’t be easy for the Quakers, who have road games this week against Franklin Central and Mooresville.
Sectional 12 (at Avon) outlook: Standing by my pick of Plainfield as the favorite in this sectional, but man, this field is tough. Brownsburg and Avon seem to be contractually obligated to play at some point during sectionals (I swear, it happens in every sport I cover), so assuming the Quakers avoid intersecting with their pre-destined collision course, they’ll only have to worry about the winner — which is obviously a good thing. Plainfield is 2-0 vs. Brownsburg this year, but it’s tough to beat a team thrice in the same season; Avon handed the Quakers their first loss at the end of November and has sectional Cinderella potential.
12. Danville (17-3)
PR: 12
The Warriors scored a 4A win over Decatur Central on Wednesday, then rolled by conference foe North Montgomery on Friday. They’ll host Lillie Graves and McCutcheon on Tuesday.
Sectional 25 (at Cascade) outlook: This one will probably come down to Danville vs. Tri-West, be it in the championship game or the first round. The Warriors will likely be the favorite, but, again, it’s tough to beat a team (much less a rival) three times in the same season and the Bruins played them tough during the regular season.
13. Bishop Chatard (13-6)
PR: NR
The Trojans won the City championship in thrilling fashion, beating Cathedral in Friday’s final on an overtime buzzer-beater by sophomore Olivia Berzai.
Sectional 27 (at Chatard) outlook: The three-time defending sectional champion Trojans are the favorite and have beaten fellow frontrunner Heritage Christian twice this season. Both games were close, however, and there are potential challengers beyond those two (Brebeuf Jesuit and Guerin Catholic). Chatard closes out the regular season at Brebeuf.
14. Franklin Central (10-7)
PR: 15
Beware Franklin Central, folks. The youthful Flashes (lineup features a senior, two juniors and three freshmen) ran their win streak to seven games this week, adding Avon and Greenfield-Central to a list that already included Class A No. 3 Borden and rival Roncalli.
Sectional 11 (at Pike) outlook: This sectional — FC, Pike, Roncalli, Ben Davis, Southport and Perry Meridian — is wide-open and ripe for drama. That said, if the Flashes can go 2-2 over its final four games (Plainfield, at Noblesville, at Southport and Fishers), they’ll have some serious momentum heading in.
t-15. Lapel (16-3)
PR: 13
The Bulldogs trailed by eight after a quarter and by five at half vs. Blackford last Tuesday. They out-scored the Bruins, 11-5, in the third quarter to avert disaster and grind out a win despite shooting 33% from the field and 39% at the line. Ugly win, but the only reason Lapel (and Eastern Hancock) moved this week is because of Chatard and Franklin Central.
Sectional 40 (at Lapel) outlook: The road back to Gainbridge begins at home for the 2A runner-up Bulldogs and it’s pretty obvious whose side of the bracket they’d like to avoid: Alexandria-Monroe. The Tigers lost to Lapel twice during the regular season, but boast a high-scoring standout in junior Jacklynn Hosier. Fun fact: The past two winners of this sectional ultimately lost to Forest Park in the state finals (2022 Frankton, 2023 Lapel).
t-15. Eastern Hancock (18-1)
PR: 14
Two more sweat free wins for the Royals, who have held six of their past eight opponents under 40 points. The two exceptions? 4A foes Elkhart and Lawrence North.
Sectional 42 (at Scecina) outlook: This sectional will more than likely be decided between Eastern Hancock and Triton Central, it’s just a matter of when they play. Random draw willing, it’ll be in the championship game, though that hasn’t happened in three years (boo-hiss).
Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.
Indiana landed a commitment from one of the state’s top playmakers on Monday as Brownsburg (Ind.) High receiver Branden Sharpe announced his pledge to head coach Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers during a live broadcast on the Rivals YouTube Channel.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Sharpe chose IU over his other finalists in Purdue, Cincinnati and Vanderbilt.
“I would say the relationships I built with the coaches and the winning a National Championship,” Sharpe said. “coming from a program that’s won two state championships, that winning culture is something I want to be around and I can see myself in that system.”
As a junior Sharpe racked up 1,386 all-purpose yards with 1,143 of them receiving. He scored 15 touchdowns en route to that second-straight state championship. He becomes commits No. 7 for Indiana in the 2027 recruiting class.
“Also the fanbase the way they support them,” Sharpe said.
Sharpe visited Indiana numerous times during his process including games in the fall and recent spring practices.
“I’d say a lot fires me up about them,” Sharpe recently said. “Obviously their coaching staff develops players. I think they had 13 players drafted, something insane like that. So the way they develop players and their offensive scheme getting their players in space and giving them an opportunity to make plays is something I see myself in.
“The way they hound their players and want them to be better. Their efficient with their practices. Everything from their lifts to their practices and meetings, everything is all organized.”
Rivals ranks Sharpe as the No. 68 receiver in the country and No. 13 prospect regardless of position in the state. Other offers included West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Iowa State, Houston, Northwestern and Boston College.
A Southeastern Indiana author from Bright is turning Moores Hill into the backdrop of a thriller series
(Moores Hill, Ind.) – In a region where family roots run deep and small towns often hold big stories, Southeastern Indiana author Ray Brown is proving that inspiration can be found close to home.
Brown, who was born and raised in Bright, Indiana, and is an alumnus of East Central High School, has turned his longtime connection to Moores Hill into the foundation of an ambitious nine-book suspense series that blends hometown history, modern intrigue, and just enough mystery to make readers wonder what might really be hidden beneath the surface.
The Moores Hill Thriller Series centers on a young data security analyst who grew up in Moores Hill. Brown describes his lead character as someone readers can relate to: She’s not a superhero. She finds herself at the center of something much bigger than she ever expected.
That grounded approach may be part of what makes the series stand out. While the books include global connections and high stakes, the story always circles back to one small Indiana town and the people who call it home.
Brown says Moores Hill was the obvious choice because it has always meant something personal to him. His mother’s family came from Moores Hill, and he spent time there often while growing up. Those visits left an impression that never faded. “Almost every relative I know on that side of the family is from there,” Brown said. “It was personal before it was anything else.”
But it was not only family ties that captured his imagination. Like many locals, Brown long wondered why a town of roughly 700 people had such a remarkable building as Carnegie Hall School. Why would the Carnegie name, associated with wealth, influence, and philanthropy, make such an investment in a small southeastern Indiana community?
That question stayed with him for years. Eventually, Brown decided to create his own fictional answer. “What if there was more to the story?” he said. “What if a place like Moores Hill mattered in ways no one realized?”
That spark became the series. The books invite readers to think ‘what if’ to mysteries that, maybe, happened in the small town of Moores Hill.
What began as a local thriller has continued to grow into something much larger. “I’m nine books into a series set in a town of 700 people,” Brown said with a laugh. “I’m as surprised as anyone.”
Brown brings a unique background to fiction writing.
Before retirement, he spent decades in the corporate world of Information Security, helping protect Fortune 500 companies from threats that often hid in plain sight.
Today, he uses that same mindset in storytelling.
His experience in cybersecurity gives authenticity to the technical side of the books. It also shaped the way he approaches suspense. He researches details carefully, aiming to make readers feel as if they are walking the streets of Moores Hill themselves.
That realism extends beyond maps and buildings. Brown intentionally includes real Southeastern Indiana touches throughout the series.
Readers may recognize familiar last names, roads, and businesses. In scenes set in bars or gathering places, Brown has even included local musicians and bands, with permission. “If a scene needs a band playing, why not make it a real local band?” Brown said. “Why not make people feel like they’re part of the story?”
That connection to community matters to him.
Rather than simply borrowing the name Moores Hill, Brown says he wants to bring local people along for the ride. He hopes readers from across Southeastern Indiana will see something recognizable in the books and feel pride in seeing their corner of the world featured in an exciting new way. Even St Leon is woven into the tale as the series continues. For a region sometimes overlooked in popular fiction, that idea resonates.
The series may deal with ancient sites, hidden lineages, and dangerous secrets, but at its heart it remains a story about home – how the places we come from continue to shape us, and how even the quietest towns can hold extraordinary stories.
As Brown continues work on the next chapter, one thing is clear: Moores Hill may be small on the map, but in his imagination, it sits at the center of a much bigger world.
Books in the Moores Hill Thriller Series are available locally and online.
Standing at the roundabout outside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Bonnie Feikes held a sign reading “End ICE Detention at Miami.”
“It’s just really simple. Has nothing to do with politics, it has to do with right and wrong, and what they’re doing to these detainees,” Feikes said, “including just taking them in as detainees, is just wrong.”
Some drivers passing by honked in agreement, others yelled in support of U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement. Feikes said for her the rally is about awareness.
“Even to get them to think that, ‘well, why are these people standing out here’,” Feikes said. “If it just changes one person, it’s worth it.”
Feikes was one of about two dozen people that gathered in Speedway to protest ICE and the agency’s use of Indiana’s Miami Correctional Facility to house detainees.
It was one of nearly 30 scheduled call to action events organized by the Indiana Organizing Project that took place across the state Saturday.
Demi Abbett was at the rally outside IMS and said she supports ending detentions at the facility.
“We want our state leaders to make this happen, where they’re not allowed to find beds here. If ICE has no beds, they can detain less people,” Abbett said.
The rally outside the speedway had an unlikely connection to the detention facility outside of Kokomo.
“People have been calling it the ‘Speedway Slammer,’ which is not okay,” Abbett said. “And so we’re out here to sort of just make people aware that that’s still happening.”
When the U.S. Department of Homeland Security first announced its plans to hold more detainees in the state last year; it coined the Miami Correctional Facility the “Speedway Slammer” with a logo of an IndyCar.
The partnership with the state provides up to 1,000 beds at Miami Correctional.
IndyCar and IMS officials quickly released a corporate statement and distanced themselves from the announcement.
“We were unaware of plans to incorporate our imagery as part of yesterday’s announcement. Consistent with our approach to public policy and political issues, we are communicating our preference that our IP not be utilized moving forward in relation to this matter.”
As of now, roughly 600 men are being held at the state maximum security prison. Detainees have reported poor treatment and spoke with U.S. Representative Andre Carson when he visited last month. Following his tour and meetings with detainees and people incarcerated there, Carson called for an end to detention at the facility.
“They are not violent criminals, and they don’t deserve to be detained,” Carson said.
The last scheduled day of action event was a vigil on Mass Ave. in Downtown Indianapolis Saturday night.
A group gathered in front of the Ann Dancing artwork. People held candles, signed a banner and sang songs of resistance and hope.
Vigil organizer Kim Saylor handed out postcards with information about the movement to end ICE detention at Miami. The cards also encouraged people to write a letter to the Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction to end its agreement with ICE.
Saylor said they had to do something and wanted to create a space for people to come together.
“We sing because it hurts, and we worry about our family that doesn’t look as white as us and we help where we can,” Saylor said. “What I see here tonight is a bunch of people that care just like I do, and it doesn’t matter what you do to us, you can’t make us stop caring.”
Contact WFYI All Things Considered newscaster and reporter Samantha Horton at shorton@wfyi.org or on Signal at SamHorton.05
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