Postseason Awards: Class 2A

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 Madison Jones, 2019, 5-7 G, Western Boone H.S. (Davenport) This was actually an incredibly easy choice, as Madison lit up scoreboards all season long, en route to a 28.3 scoring average. What’s more impressive, is that she didn’t really force shots either. She was a hot 54% from the field, a solid 36% from 3-point range, and a steady 77% from the free throw line. But what stands out most are the MULTIPLE 40 and 50-point games, plus a four-game stretch in which she put up 180 points (a 45.0 ppg average), including a 59-point effort against North Montgomery and a 50-point outing in a 69-67 win over Class 3A State Runner-Up Benton Central. She finished her memorable season with 763 points, putting her at 2125 for her career. MOST VALUABLE PLAYER Sydney Freeman, 2019, 5-7 PG, Central Noble H.S. (Ball State) In Class 2A, there were a handful of kids who qualified for this award, but I felt there was no one more important to their team than Sydney. If you’ve ever watched Central Noble play, when they struggle, it’s either because she’s being hounded or sitting on the bench. But when she turns it up, watch out. Sydney has mounted many comebacks since she started Varsity on Day-1 of her Freshman year. She is the traditional point guard every team needs, because while she can score it in bunches, she’s very unselfish, she’s always poised, she gives great effort, and she is a willing and capable defender. Don’t get me wrong, Meleah Leatherman (2019) was also very important to Central Noble’s success the last four years, but Sydney will be irreplaceable at the point for the Lady Cougars, who move up to Class 3A now.   MOST IMPROVED PLAYER Natalie Boesing, 2020, 5-10 F, Our Lady of Providence H.S. How improved is Natalie? Well, she more than doubled her scoring to 21 points per game this season, she increased her rebounding from 6 to 9 rebounds a game, and she has yet to appear in our 2020 rankings (last updated in December). But I promise you, she will be in there when we update them in a month. Natalie has sort of a European style of game. She has good North / South speed, some length, and she plays with effort. She kind of looks like a power forward at times, but she has ball skills and a dangerous perimeter shot that she gets away quickly. Plus, she has typically been a year-round tennis player, ranked highly statewide in that discipline, but now her focus is switching to basketball, and she has already begun drawing Division-I and Division-II hoops interest.   COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR Madeline Lawrence, 2020, 6-0 F, Winchester Community H.S. Choosing Maddie for this award was tough, because she technically didn’t miss any high school games. She did, however, “come back” from a February 2018 ACL injury and miss the entire Spring & Summer. She had her ups and downs this season, but as the season wore on, she began rounding back into the player she was a season ago, and she once again helped lead the Golden Falcons back to Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the Class 2A State Finals. She also earned a spot on this year’s Junior All-Star Team. If she can get back to 100% and stay healthy, look for her to have another great season in 2019-2020, and I anticipate Winchester making another deep run because of her talents.   FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Kelsi Langley, 2022, 5-9 W, Taylor H.S. This season in Class 2A, there weren’t necessarily any Freshmen who put up otherworldly numbers, but there were several who were very good. Choosing Kelsi here was tough, as there are probably a half-dozen girls I could see arguments for. But considering Taylor was just 3-20 a season ago, her arrival was part of a resurrection for the Lady Titans, as they posted a 13-8 record this time around. Kelsi is a long, fluid, and smooth wing who shoots it with range well-beyond the 3-point line. As she gets older and stronger, look for her to turn into a multilevel scorer instead of primarily a jump-shooter.   1st TEAM ALL-STATE Lilliann Frasure, 2021, 5-9 W, North Judson-San Pierre H.S. 19.6p, 5.3a, 9.0r, 4.9s Sydney Freeman, 2019, 5-7 PG, Central Noble H.S. (Ball State) 18.3p, 4.6a, 4.7r, 5.0s Madison Jones, 2019, 5-7 G, Western Boone H.S. (Davenport) 28.3p, 3.4a, 5.1r, 4.2s Madeline Lawrence, 2020, 6-0 F, Winchester Community H.S. 16.4p, 4.7a, 6.2r, 2.5s Makinzi Meurer, 2019, 5-4 G, North Knox H.S. (Evansville Track & Field) 24.9p, 4.4a, 6.5r, 5.0s 2nd TEAM ALL-STATE Maya Chandler, 2020, 5-7 PG, Triton Central H.S. 14.4p, 4.2a, 5.1r, 3.7s Cassidy Crawford, 2019, 6-0 W, Tipton H.S. (Saint Francis-Indiana) 22.6p, 2.6a, 9.0r, 3.3s, 2.0b Madeline Schumacher, 2019, 6-0 F, North Judson-San Pierre H.S. (IU-South Bend) 17.6p, 1.9a, 4.7r, 2.2s Vanessa Shafford, 2021, 5-9 W, Linton-Stockton H.S. 16.7p, 4.1a, 7.9r, 2.7s Taylor Westgate, 2020, 6-1 F/C, Oak Hill H.S. 14.6p, 1.1a, 8.1r, 2.0s 3rd TEAM ALL-STATE Jordyn Barga, 2019, 5-11 F, Monroe Central H.S. (Kentucky Wesleyan) 16.9p, 3.3a, 9.2r, 1.6s Courtney Blakely, 2021, 5-6 PG, Hammond Bishop Noll Institute 20.4p, 4.5a, 4.0r, 3.0s Natalie Boesing, 2020, 5-10 F, Our Lady of Providence H.S. 21.0p, 1.2a, 9.0r, 3.2s Meleah Leatherman, 2019, 6-1 F/C, Central Noble H.S. (Saint Francis-Indiana) 15.9p, 1.4a, 10.2r, 1.5b Tenleigh Phelps, 2021, 5-10 F, Triton Central H.S. 14.9p, 2.3a, 7.0r, 1.1s FRESHMEN ALL-STATE TEAM Karsyn Cherry, 2022, 5-7 G, Lafayette Central Catholic H.S. 12.3p, 3.2a, 5.1r, 2.6s Jaleigh Crawford, 2022, 5-11 W, Elwood Community H.S. 8.9p, 2.2a, 6.8r, 2.7s Kelsi Langley, 2022, 5-9 W, Taylor H.S. 12.4p, 1.5a, 6.5r, 2.3s Graycie Poe, 2022, 5-3 PG, North Knox H.S. 12.7p, 2.3a, 4.5r, 2.1s Halle Shelt, 2022, 5-7 G, Park Tudor School 10.5p, 3.7r, 1.3s HONORABLE MENTION ALL-STATE Taylor Austin, 2021, 5-4 G, Lake Station Edison H.S. Cionna Bailey, 2020, 5-11 F, Milan H.S. Hannah Bolton, 2020, 5-3 G, Monroe Central H.S. Emme Boots, 2021, 5-7 W, Bluffton H.S. Taylor Boruff, 2019, 5-11 F, Taylor H.S. Aubrey Burgess, 2021, 5-5 G, Linton-Stockton H.S. Davinique Campbell, 2019, 5-10 F, Park Tudor School Becca Chamberlin, 2020, 5-5 G, Winchester Community H.S. Katlyn Cherry, 2019, 5-3 PG, Hebron H.S. Isabell Claywell, 2020, 5-5 PG, Eastern-Pekin H.S. Erin Coffel, 2020, 5-7 G, Bremen H.S. Tori Combs, 2019, 5-9 F, Cloverdale H.S. Sydney Cook, 2019, 5-11 F, Wapahani H.S. McKenzie Cooper, 2020, 5-7 W, Eastern-Greentown H.S. Jeanie Crabtree, 2020, 5-6 W, Eastern-Greentown H.S. Bailey Everett, 2019, 5-6 G, Covenant Christian School Karlee Feldman, 2019, 6-1 C, Bremen H.S. Rose Fuentes, 2021, 5-6 W, Hammond Bishop Noll Institute Addie Gardner, 2020, 5-10 W, Frankton H.S. Hannah Graft, 2019, 5-2 PG, Winchester Community H.S. Madison Gray, 2021, 5-10 F, Union County H.S. Christian Haggard, 2020, 5-8 W, Thea Bowman Leadership Academy Jenessa Hasty, 2019, 5-7 G, Oak Hill H.S. Kammie-Jo Hayes, 2019, 5-11 C, Tell City H.S. Erikka Hill, 2021, 5-8 F, Shenandoah H.S. Jossie Hudson, 2019, 6-0 F, Evansville Mater Dei H.S. Laini Joseph, 2021, 5-8 W, Winamac Community H.S. Bailey Keim, 2020, 5-3 PG, North Miami H.S. Ashya Klopfenstein, 2019, 6-0 F/C, Westview H.S. Tranaé Mann, 2021, 5-6 G, Indianapolis Washington H.S. Jenna McFarland, 2021, 5-7 W, Northeastern H.S. Karli Miller, 2019, 5-8 W, Andrean H.S. Shelby Miller, 2019, 5-11 F, Winchester Community H.S. Kelsey Mitchell, 2019, 5-6 W, Tipton H.S. Tatum Neal, 2019, 5-5 G, Clinton Prairie H.S. Kathryn Perry, 2021, 5-1 G, Shenandoah H.S. Emmie Pugh, 2019, 5-7 F, Cambridge City Lincoln H.S. Kaela Robey, 2019, 5-8 F, Oak Hill H.S. Kira Robinson, 2019, 6-3 C, Winchester Community H.S. Elexah Roepke, 2019, 6-0 C, South Ripley H.S. Jayla Rogers, 2019, 5-10 F, Shortridge Magnet H.S. Samantha Shrum, 2020, 5-9 W, Cloverdale H.S. Addy Simpson, 2019, 5-7 G, Crawford County H.S. Sierra Southard, 2019, 5-5 PG, Frankton H.S. Rylie Stephens, 2020, 5-10 W, Triton Central H.S. Lexi Thompson, 2019, 5-10 W, Lafayette Central Catholic H.S. Adrianna Trexler, 2019, 6-0 F, Oak Hill H.S. Reece VanBlair, 2021, 5-7 W, Alexandria-Monroe H.S. Kiley White, 2020, 5-7 W, Seeger H.S. Ilani Williams-Harris, 2020, 5-7 G, Covenant Christian School   Header photo of Madison Jones of Western Boone High School; photo courtesy of weboathletics.com.