Postseason Awards: Class 1A

Now that the season is complete, I wanted to circle back and offer up a handful of awards based on how everyone performed throughout the 2018-2019 season. With regards to the Freshmen (2022) class, I created a specific All-State team and Freshman of the Year award just for them, so you won’t see them in any of the other groupings except for maybe Honorable Mention All-State. As it specifically concerns the All-State teams, part of my decision was a judgement call based on skill and ability, but I also considered statistics and team success into the equation. At the end of the day, this is simply an attempt to honor girls who I thought stood out this season.   MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER Emma Nolan, 2019, 6-1 F, Marquette Catholic H.S. (Saint John’s) This was a tough choice all the way around. Twin sister Sophia Nolan was outstanding throughout the state tournament, and especially in the Semi-State and State Finals. But this is a season award, and Emma was more consistent over the course of the entire season. She has good skill, a high basketball IQ, and a great motor. Her understanding of situations and when to score versus when to contribute in other ways is more like a point guard than a power forward. MOST VALUABLE PLAYER Grace Waggoner, 2019, 5-11 F, Vincennes Rivet H.S. (Indiana) When I consider players for the Most “Valuable” Player award, I try to think about which of the top teams would struggle the most if you removed one player from their roster. This season, in Class 1A, it has to be Grace in my mind. She put up tremendous numbers, and she was the backbone of the Rivet roster from beginning to end. I feel like if you remove her from their roster, instead of finishing 29-1 this season, they are probably closer to 15-8 entering the Sectional, maybe lose to Loogootee there, or they get knocked off by Tecumseh in the Regional.   MOST IMPROVED PLAYER Rylee Dowers, 2020, 5-8 W, North Vermillion H.S. Sometimes the improvement of just one player can really affect a team at the 1A level. This year it was the improvement of Rylee that helped North Vermillion rise up from a 12-13 team a season ago to 24-3 this time around, including a Sectional title. No one was sure what Rylee would contribute entering the season, and there were thoughts she might even provide bench depth. However, she ended up as North Vermillion’s second leading scorer (13.2), and she led them in assists (4.0), rebounds (5.7), and steals (4.0).   COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR Jhordan McGuire, 2019, 5-8 F, University H.S. Jhordan suffered an ACL injury in July of 2017, and while she did manage to appear in five games last season, she just wasn’t back to 100% at that time. This season she helped a deep and talented University team to a 24-3 record, a Sectional Championship, and a Regional Championship. Jhordan averaged 10.5 points and 7.3 rebounds, while providing a strong and somewhat intimidating inside presence.   FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Kaybree Oxley, 2022, 5-9 F, Tecumseh H.S. Kaybree took Southwestern Indiana by storm this year, helping Tecumseh go from 11-12 a year ago to 19-6 this season, plus helping them win their first Sectional title since 2012. The versatile forward is strong and aggressive on the glass, but she can also play out on the floor some. There has to be a lot of excitement for the Lady Braves, with her having three more seasons yet to play.   1st TEAM ALL-STATE Mariah Day, 2019, 5-10 F, Jac-Cen-Del H.S. 18.2p, 4.3a, 6.0r, 2.2s Emma Nolan, 2019, 6-1 F, Marquette Catholic H.S. (Saint John’s) 19.9p, 2.3a, 8.3r, 2.4s Sophia Nolan, 2019, 6-1 F, Marquette Catholic H.S. (Saint John’s) 17.7p, 2.9a, 7.9r, 1.8s Lindsey Syrek, 2020, 6-2 F, University H.S. 17.5p, 1.7a, 11.2r, 5.0b Grace Waggoner, 2019, 5-11 F, Vincennes Rivet H.S. (Indiana) 22.5p, 2.3a, 7.4r, 2.9s   2nd TEAM ALL-STATE Maddi Fulks, 2020, 5-4 G, Bethesda Christian School 21.4p, 5.5a, 4.4r, 5.0s Katie Kinker, 2019, 5-11 F, Oldenburg Academy (Bethel) 20.6p, 1.7a, 6.5r, 2.0s Naomi McDaniel, 2019, 6-0 F, Attica H.S. (Parkland) 17.3p, 12.0r, 3.3s, 2.0b Isabella Reed, 2021, 5-8 F, Greenwood Christian Academy 21.1p, 3.5a, 15.1r, 2.4s Mercedes Rhodes, 2021, 5-7 W, Oregon-Davis H.S. 22.8p, 4.0a, 5.5r, 5.0s   3rd TEAM ALL-STATE Gracie Adams, 2021, 5-9 F, Lanesville H.S. 16.1p, 3.1a, 9.6r, 4.4s Jewel McCormick, 2020, 6-0 C, Springs Valley H.S. 21.2p, 8.6r, 1.0s, 2.8b Rylee Morris, 2019, 5-9 W, Indianapolis Lutheran H.S. 18.5p, 3.2a, 7.0r, 3.4s Kelcie Thomson, 2019, 5-3 PG, Northfield H.S. 12.0p, 4.4a, 5.9r, 3.7s Tia Tolbert, 2020, 5-9 W, Vincennes Rivet H.S. 13.3p, 3.9a, 5.5r, 2.6s   FRESHMEN ALL-STATE TEAM Mariah Claywell, 2022, 5-7 G, Union City H.S. 13.2p, 2.7a, 4.9r, 3.0s Taylor Gerke, 2022, 5-8 W, Lakewood Park Christian Academy 14.4p, 2.0a, 5.9r, 2.2s Skylie Lutz, 2022, 5-6 G, Union City H.S. 15.7p, 1.4a, 3.7r, 1.1s Ally Madden, 2022, 6-0 C, Blue River Valley H.S. 11.8p, 9.6r, 1.0s, 2.5b Kaybree Oxley, 2022, 5-9 F, Tecumseh H.S. 16.7p, 2.6a, 9.0r, 5.3s   HONORABLE MENTION ALL-STATE Addison Ainscough, 2021, 5-8 W, Barr-Reeve H.S. Brooke Andrus, 2019, 5-7 G, University H.S. Sahara Bee, 2020, 5-11 F, Morgan Township H.S. Katie Bell, 2020, 5-9 F, LaCrosse H.S. Kalena Bumbala, 2020, 5-5 G, Indiana School for the Deaf Jocelyn Cox, 2021, 5-7 F, North Central H.S. (Farmersburg) McKenzie Crowder, 2021, 5-5 G, North Vermillion H.S. Ariel Dale, 2019, 5-6 G, Northfield H.S. Averi Davidson, 2021, 5-5 G, North Central H.S. (Farmersburg) Jaimie Diedam, 2019, 5-4 G, South Newton H.S. Rylee Dowers, 2020, 5-8 W, North Vermillion H.S. Morgan Dunlap, 2020, 5-7 G, Argos Community H.S. Kenadie Fernung, 2021, 5-2 PG, Tri-Central H.S. Tyanna Graber, 2019, 5-4 G, Loogootee H.S. Addi Graves, 2019, 5-6 G, White River Valley H.S. Abbey Guidry, 2019, 5-5 G, Rock Creek Academy Piper Hensley, 2019, 5-5 G, Crothersville H.S. Chloe Holder, 2020, 5-10 F, Tecumseh H.S. Clare Hunsberger, 2020, 6-0 C, South Bend Trinity School Sydney Jaynes, 2021, 6-2 F/C, Trinity Lutheran School Chloe Jolloff, 2021, 5-6 PG, Lakewood Park Christian Academy Brooklynn Jones, 2021, 5-7 F, Loogootee H.S. Emmery Joseph, 2019, 5-2 PG, Marquette Catholic H.S. Anya Kauffman, 2019, 5-6 G, Bethany Christian School Kassidy Keltner, 2020, 5-10 F, West Washington H.S. Kyra Kennedy, 2021, 5-6 W, Northfield H.S. Paige Ledford, 2021, 5-11 F/C, Jac-Cen-Del H.S. Jhordan McGuire, 2019, 5-8 F, University H.S. Heather Pautler, 2021, 5-10 F, Daleville H.S. Karissa Pluimer, 2019, 5-11 W, Attica H.S. Anya Pothorski, 2020, 6-0 C, Indiana School for the Deaf Savannah Prewett, 2020, 5-7 G, Anderson Prep Academy Hannah Puent, 2020, 5-8 F, Indiana School for the Deaf Sheridan Robbins, 2021, 5-8 W, Orleans H.S. Sara Rose, 2019, 5-6 G, North White H.S. Rian Russell, 2020, 5-6 G, West Washington H.S. Katelyn Sauer, 2020, 4-11 PG, Oregon-Davis H.S. Maddi Sears, 2020, 5-7 G, University H.S. Kylee Shelton, 2021, 5-9 W, Bloomfield H.S. Courtney Skjeveland, 2019, 5-3 PG, Indiana School for the Deaf Caressa Sloss, 2019, 5-11 C, Cannelton H.S. Madison Stamm, 2020, 5-8 W, Anderson Prep Academy Malea Toon, 2019, 5-11 F/C, Bloomfield H.S. Madison Van Gorden, 2019, 5-8 F, Southwestern H.S. (Shelbyville) Aniya Washington, 2021, 5-3 G, Tindley H.S. Emmy Wells, 2020, 6-0 F, Morgan Township H.S. Courtney Williams, 2021, 5-4 G, North Central H.S. (Farmersburg) Lindsey Williams, 2019, 5-7 G, Blue River Valley H.S. Amber Wolf, 2020, 5-10 F, South Central H.S. (Union Mills) Morgan Wood, 2019, 5-6 G, Waldron H.S.   Header photo of Emma Nolan of Marquette Catholic High School; photo courtesy of Kale Wilk of the Northwest Indiana Times at nwitimes.com.