Indiana

Insider: Here are 10 must-see Central Indiana girls basketball sectional matchups

Published

2 years ago

January 29, 2024

Insider: Here are 10 must-see Central Indiana girls basketball sectional matchups

The sectional round of the girls high school basketball state tournament begins Tuesday and there are a lot of good games around the area (and the state, for that matter).

Here are my picks for the 10-best matchups in Central Indiana.

The Scorers Table will be hosting LIVE recap shows this week. Stay tuned for details.

SECTIONAL PREVIEWS: 4A | 3A | 2A | A

Insider: 10 takeaways from sectional draw

10. Decatur Central vs. Ben Davis, 7:30 p.m. Wed., at Pike

On paper, Decatur Central should have the advantage over Ben Davis. It has double the wins (as of Thursday) and a solid young core with Kenadi Passley-Banks, Soriah Gouard, Havana Thompson and Kassie McMasters. But it would be unwise to write off the Giants with legendary coach Stan Benge patrolling the sidelines. Plus, they’re trending up with a win over Pike and competitive losses to Lawrence North and Westfield.

9. East Central vs. Whiteland, 6 p.m. Tues., at Whiteland

Whiteland finished above .500 for the first time since 2018-19 last season. Now it’s looking to win its first state tournament game since 2017. Standing in its way: East Central, which was hit hard by graduation last year, but was involved with a few narrow finishes down the stretch. Don’t expect a ton of points from this one, but it should be a close one.

8. Lutheran vs. Eminence, 7 p.m. Tues., at Eminence (aka The Eel Tank)

These are the top-two teams in Sectional 59 and their Jan. 13 meeting was decided by five points (Lutheran won). The Saints have more than doubled last season’s win total (5) and boast a nice 1-2 punch with Grace King and Caitlyn Brooks; Eminence has one of the area’s top small-school talents in Sophia Saucerman. Both teams are experienced, so there shouldn’t be much of a feeling-out process here.

7. Brownsburg vs. Avon, 7 p.m. Tues., at Avon

Avon snapped a 27-game losing streak vs. Brownsburg in December, beating the Bulldogs for the first time since Jan. 3, 2008. Can they recreate that magic to extend their season? It’s a rivalry game in sectionals — expect the unexpected. If that’s not enough, Avon has an electrifying scorer in junior guard Aniah Smith and Brownsburg boasts a 6-6 center in Purdue commit Avery Gordon.

More: Avon’s Aniah Smith ‘makes the hard things look so easy.’ And she’s just getting started.

6. Lapel vs. Alexandria, 7:30 p.m. Wed., at Lapel

This is the third meeting between these fiery combatants in 2023-24. The big question: Can Lapel hold Jacklynn Hosier in check? The junior guard went for 27 points in their first meeting, but was limited to 15 points on 4-of-14 shooting with five turnovers at the Madison County tournament earlier this month. Then again, it may not matter if Lapel’s Laniah Wills and Madelyn Poynter are on their game.

5. North Central vs. Warren Central, 7 p.m. Tues., at Cathedral

Another quick turnaround from Friday. Warren Central, which beat NC, brings some serious firepower with senior Denyha Jacobs and sophomore Denell Jacobs. North Central rebounded from an 0-7 start with a run to the Marion County tournament finals, and has picked it up down the stretch. It rallied from an 18-point deficit to upset Zionsville, hung with Lawrence Central, then rallied to beat Pendleton Heights.

Her sister’s career casts a big shadow. Now, Talia Harris forming own path with Fishers.

4. Brebeuf Jesuit vs. Bishop Chatard, 6 p.m. Tues., at Bishop Chatard

The Braves get first crack at dethroning the defending regional champion Trojans, who beat Guerin Catholic by two in OT, Brebeuf by a point and Heritage Christian by four in double overtime to win their third consecutive sectional crown last season. A few young up-and-comers will be on display here, too, with Chatard sophomore Olivia Berzai and Brebeuf freshman Jailen Bowling. The Braves beat the Trojans by 14 on Friday.

3. Greenfield-Central vs. New Palestine, 6 p.m. Wed., at Pendleton Heights

Using the regular season as a barometer here. Greenfield-Central had three players score in double figures and shot 43% as a team, but still needed overtime to beat New Pal thanks to a 19-point (four 3-pointers), eight-rebound and six-assist performance by senior Allie Blum. Winner here likely advances to face the host Arabians.

2. Triton Central vs. Eastern Hancock, 6 p.m. Fri., at Scecina

The two best teams in the bracket, both ranked inside the top 15. Eastern Hancock, one of the favorites to win it all in 2A, beat Triton Central by nine back in early November, but the past two postseason meetings between these two teams have been much closer (triple overtime in 2022).

1. Sectional 8 semifinals

Hedging a bit here, but the matchups are set: Zionsville vs. Hamilton Southeastern/Westfield and Noblesville vs. Fishers/Carmel. Any combination of those matchups will be fascinating. HSE had to rally from a 10-point deficit to beat Zionsville last Friday; Westfield took the Eagles to overtime in early December. Noblesville lost to Carmel, while the Millers-Tigers matchup has decided the eventual 4A north champion in both of the past two seasons. A side plot: With reclassification on the horizon, this could be the final year of the vaunted Class 4A Sectional 8 tournament as we know it.

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

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Indiana

Retro Indy: Five years ago Covid confined March Madness to Indiana

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2 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Retro Indy: Five years ago Covid confined March Madness to Indiana

Just three days before Selection Sunday in March of 2020, the NCAA announced that March Madness, like so many other events that spring, would be cancelled due to the new virus upending life. The decision marked the first time in tournament history that the final weeks of the college basketball season would not be played, squashing Atlanta’s plans to host the Final Four.

When the following year rolled around, the NCAA decided that March Madness would not succumb to the virus once more.

With a vaccine only on the horizon and hundreds of Americans still dying each day, the organization announced in November of 2020 that while the tournament would go on, it would certainly not be business as usual. All 67 games, NCAA officials said, would be held in one location. Central Indiana was the first choice as Indianapolis had been on tap to host the Final Four April 3-5.

The plan, said NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt in a November 2020 IndyStar article was to present “a safe, responsible and fantastic March Madness tournament unlike any other we’ve experienced.”

In January the NCAA made it official: All games would be played in and around Indianapolis in a modified version of a bubble.

Holding the tournament in one place just made sense, NCAA officials told IndyStar. Unlike in a typical year when a winning team would travel multiple times before the championship, this system would minimize travel, which could inadvertently expose players and coaches to the virus.

Two months later when the tournament kicked off on March 18, 55 of the 67 games were scheduled to be played in Indianapolis venues, such as Gainbridge (then Bankers Life) Fieldhouse, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indiana Farmers Coliseum and Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse. Purdue’s Mackey Arena and IU’s Assembly Hall also hosted games.

While the first Covid vaccine had arrived a few months earlier, few people outside of first responders and the most vulnerable had been immunized, so in an effort to avoid large crowds, the Indianapolis sites all capped tickets at 25% capacity. That meant only 17,500 people could attend games at the largest venue, Lucas Oil Stadium. The college arenas allowed far smaller audiences, with IU limiting attendance to 500 people.

A week before the tournament began Marion County Public Health Department officials and Mayor Joe Hogsett asked attendees to make smart public health choices, such as social distancing and obeying the face masks mandate. Referees donned masks as much as possible as did coaches and players on the bench.

The NCAA regularly tested athletes, administering 28,311 tests Covid tests during the tournament, 15 of which came back positive.

Post-mortems after the tournament asked whether the NCAA had made the right call. Two high profile deaths occurred in the aftermath of the tournament — one a University of Alabama superfan who had traveled to Indy for the games and the other a St. Elmo bartender. But proving a direct link between their deaths and the tournament would prove impossible, and some public health experts said the NCAA had done everything it could to protect athletes and fans short of canceling the event.

A study conducted by IU, Regenstrief researchers and others that appeared in August 2021 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that while mask wearing had theoretically been compulsory, about a quarter of attendees at the games were either not wearing masks or doing so inappropriately. Still, in an IndyStar article about the study Indiana Sports Corps president Ryan Vaughn termed the event “a resounding success.”

The following year, with a vaccine widely available and far fewer daily deaths from the virus, the tournament returned to a typical schedule, concluding in New Orleans’ Ceasars Superdome. More than 69,00 fans attended the final games, according to the NCAA. Local authorities had lifted the mask requirement by this point.

“Last year was about survival. Just having championships in any way, single site, keep everybody safe and be successful,” Gavitt said in an NCAA news release in late April 2022. “I think this year was about advancing.”

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Federal legislation that Braun calls ‘crazy’ is aimed at Bears and Indiana – Indianapolis Business Journal

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14 hours ago

March 26, 2026

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Federal legislation that Braun calls ‘crazy’ is aimed at Bears and Indiana – Indianapolis Business Journal

U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Greg Casar, D-Texas, say the bill would protect taxpayers from being extorted by team owners for huge subsidies. The legislation would likely face an uphill climb in the Republican-controlled Congress.

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Indiana

Record warmth followed by strong storms tonight | March 26, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH-TV) – Strong thunderstorms likely later this evening with all severe weather threats possible. It is going to be warm and windy with record highs today. Much cooler air works into Indiana for the end of the week.

TODAY: Partly cloudy conditions later this afternoon with warm and breezy conditions. It is going to be a beautiful and summer-like day across parts of Indiana. We will look for high temperatures to climb into the lower eighties which will set a new daily high record. The record for today is 80 set back in 1907. Winds will be gusty out of the southwest near 20 to 30 mph.

TONIGHT: A cold front approaches the state bringing a really good chance of strong to severe thunderstorms. A few thunderstorms may develop out ahead of the main line and some of those thunderstorms could contain some large hail along with a tornado risk as well. We are under a level 3 risk of strong storms out of a level 5. So there is confidence that a lot of these storms could reach severe criteria. Threats would be damaging winds and large hail. The tornado risk is low across parts of Indianapolis but it is not zero. A slightly higher risk of tornadic activity is possible in northern sections of Indiana.

Heavy rainfall could also lead to some flooding in parts of the state. Areas may see anywhere between 1 to 3 inches of rainfall.

Best timing on the thunderstorm activity will be anytime after 8:00 p.m. and lasting until Friday morning around 4.

TOMORROW: A few early morning rain showers will be possible on Friday. The main weather story is that it will be much cooler. High temperatures will climb around 49 which is below our normal high of 56. Winds switch direction out of the northeast and it will be a bit breezy at times as well. Low temperatures late Friday night into Saturday morning will drop into the upper twenties.

7 DAY EXTENDED FORECAST: A chilly start early Saturday morning but we will see lots of sunshine for the afternoon. High temperatures will climb around 52 for the afternoon.

Cloud cover returns on Sunday but it will be dry for the most part. Look for high temperatures to climb into the lower 60s.

Warmer next week with temperatures reaching the low and even middle and upper 70s by the middle part of the week. A dry start on Monday with some scattered showers possible on Tuesday and Wednesday.