Season Update: The MIC

The featured image is of Mary Wilson Mary Wilson 5'10" | SF Center Grove | 2021 State IN of Center Grove High School. Periodically throughout the season, I want to take the time to look in on several of the state’s conferences. I’ll take a peek at what teams are performing well, who the top prospects are, upcoming games, etc. Widely considered one of the best, if not the best, conferences in the state is the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (also known as "the MIC"). With the MIC being founded in 1996, it’s eight original members included Ben Davis, Carmel, Center Grove, Lawrence North, North Central (Indianapolis), Terre Haute North Vigo, Terre Haute South Vigo, and Warren Central. In 2013, however, Terre Haute North Vigo and Terre Haute South Vigo moved to Conference Indiana, while Lawrence Central and Indianapolis Pike entered from Conference Indiana. The Terre Haute schools were the only schools with less than 2,000 students. Now Lawrence Central is the smallest school with around 2,300 students. Ben Davis has been the semi-dominant force in girls’ basketball so far, winning 11 of the 24 conference titles (three were shared titles). Lawrence North is second, having won their seventh title last season, along with the 2020 Class 4A State Championship. No one else holds or shares anymore than three MIC titles at this time. Currently six of the teams are above .500, one team is at .500, and one team is under .500 in terms of overall record, but it’s a wide open race as to who can win the 2020-2021 MIC crown. What’s impressive about this conference is that on any given night, any team can beat any other team. They all play outstanding non-conference schedules, so they are prepared for the spotlight, and all of these teams have college prospects on their rosters.  

School	Record	Conference	Schedule Strength
North Central	5-1	1-0	21
Lawrence Central	4-1	1-0	93
Ben Davis	3-1	1-0	5
Warren Central	4-3	2-1	17
Lawrence North	5-4	1-1	8
Carmel	4-1	0-1	3
Center Grove	4-4	0-1	27
Pike	2-5	0-2	25

Schedule strength is figured out of 400 qualifying schools in the state, regardless of classification.   North Central (Indianapolis) North Central might have the most talented roster top to bottom in the state. They have started the season strong at 5-1, with their only loss coming just before Thanksgiving to Bedford North Lawrence, 65-57. They already have nice wins over Westfield, Brownsburg, and MIC opponent Lawrence North, but the schedule gets much tougher just before Christmas, as they travel to Ben Davis (12/8) for the first round of the Marion County Tournament, then travel to Carmel (12/18), before hosting Mount Vernon (Fortville) (12/19). The Second half of the season doesn’t get any easier for the Panthers either. They have gotten strong play from Senior forward  Meg Newman Meg Newman 6'3" | PF North Central (Indianapolis) | 2021 State #84 Nation IN , Senior forward  Nakaih Hunter Nakaih Hunter 5'11" | PF North Central (Indianapolis) | 2021 State IN , Junior guard  Tanyuel Welch Tanyuel Welch 5'10" | PG North Central (Indianapolis) | 2022 State IN , and Sophomore wing  Ava Couch Ava Couch 5'10" | SF Indy North Central | 2023 State IN . The return of Junior forward Ramiah Elliott has been big. She’s an elite track star with height and length. Lawrence Central Lawrence Central is trying to put together just their fourth winning season in the 2000s, and their first back-to-back winning seasons. Out to a 4-1 start, they are well on their way. Their lone loss came in the opener at the hands of perennial Class 3A power Heritage Christian, 65-54. They got some work done right before Thanksgiving, though, picking up a nice conference win against Pike, and then knocking off a solid Covenant Christian (Indianapolis) team last Tuesday. The Bears suffered some 2020 graduation losses, but they still have some nice pieces to lean on. Senior athlete Da’Naria Washington Da’Naria Washington 5'9" | SF Lawrence Central | 2021 State IN (15.4p, 3.2r, 6.0a, 3.4s) and Senior guard  Madison Guyse Madison Guyse 5'7" | SG Lawrence Central | 2021 State IN (12.2p, 3.6r) lead the team this year. Freshman guard Denyah Jacobs (9.5p, 2.0r, 2.3a, 3.0s) has been a nice surprise, and Junior transfer  Montasia McAllister Montasia McAllister 5'10" | SG Lawrence Central | 2022 State IN (6.4p, 3.2r, 3.2s) is just starting to find her footing. Ben Davis Despite all of their success when this conference was first formed, the Lady Giants have taken more of the spoiler approach the last few seasons. They are always feisty and fast, and they cause a lot of problems defensively. With a "new" coach in the fold, they have seen some different players step up, and they’ve already knocked off Fishers, Brownsburg, and MIC foe Warren Central. Their one loss was at the hands of Hamilton Southeastern. They have a big game coming up with North Central (Indianapolis). Senior front-liner  Natalie Howard Natalie Howard 6'0" | PF Ben Davis | 2021 State IN (12.0p, 4.0r) is back and leading the way so far. Athletic Sophomore front-liner  Taylor Guess Taylor Guess 6'1" | PF Ben Davis | 2023 State IN (8.5p, 6.3r, 2.3b) has given them great minutes, and Northwestern University softball commit Kansas Robinson (8.0p, 5.0r, 2.8a, 2.0s), a Junior wing, has given them a nice boost as well. Several other talented underclassmen also help. Warren Central The 2018 Class 4A State Champion, Warren Central has gotten off to an uneven start this season, though they have put several new faces on the floor early this year. Their biggest win was probably the 45-44 nail-biter they pulled out against MIC opponent Center Grove, but they also have another nice win against Cathedral. Sophomore forward Asiah Baxter Asiah Baxter 5'10" | SF Warren Central | 2023 State IN (13.3p, 9.7r, 2.0a, 2.0b) and Sophomore guard  Sanaa Thomas Sanaa Thomas 5'5" | PG Warren Central | 2023 State IN (9.0p, 3.8r, 4.7a) bring back the most experience for the Warriors. Senior wing  K’La Talley K’La Talley 5'6" | SG Warren Central | 2021 State IN (10.6p, 7.6r) and Junior guard  Le’Aije Ellington Le’Aije Ellington 5'6" | SG Warren Central | 2022 State IN (10.3p, 4.8r) played mostly off the bench last year, but both are talented athletes who can make plays at both ends of the floor. Sophomore front-liner Imani Benson (2.3p, 4.7r) is someone whose production could increase significantly as she sees more court time. Lawrence North The 2020 Class 4A State Champion, Lawrence North pulled out a huge 43-40 victory Tuesday night at Carmel, as Senior guard  Jayla Smith Jayla Smith 5'11" | SG Lawrence North | 2021 State #73 Nation IN returned from an injury to knock down about a 27-foot hop-back jumper at the buzzer for the win. The Wildcats saw a number of 2020 graduates take a lot of production with them. Once you get past Smith, really only Sophomore wing  Monica Williams Monica Williams 5'10" | SF Lawrence North | 2023 State IN and Senior front-liner  Sydnee Hughes Sydnee Hughes 5'11" | PF Lawrence North | 2021 State IN have significant Varsity experience. Williams has really improved her skill and has been outstanding so far. Junior transfer  Ariel Helm Ariel Helm 6'0" | PF Lawrence North | 2022 State IN has been strong up front for the Wildcats, while Sophomore athlete Laniya Early Laniya Early 5'10" | SF Lawrence North | 2023 State IN is also bringing nice energy and talent to the lineup. Senior wing Aniyjha Graves and Sophomore forward Makayla Washington-Cobb have also provided solid minutes off the bench for Lawrence North this season. Carmel Carmel was previously unbeaten before Tuesday’s loss to Lawrence North, and they’ll remain one of the favorites this season to win the MIC title. Their schedule is a who’s who of teams, as they’ve beaten Homestead, Heritage Christian, Zionsville, and Hamilton Southeastern already...and it remains that strong the rest of the year. Junior wing Kate Clarke Kate Clarke 6'1" | SF Carmel | 2022 State #56 Nation IN (18.4p, 2.8r) is shooting at a 36% clip from 3-point range, to go along with 86% from the free throw line. Senior forward  Bridget Dunn Bridget Dunn 6'3" | PF Carmel | 2021 State IN (13.6p, 6.2r, 2.8a, 2.2s) has been steady each time out, providing a little something at both ends of the floor. Senior forward  Riley Pennington Riley Pennington 5'9" | PF Carmel | 2021 State IN (5.6p, 3.6r) and Junior post  Emily Roper Emily Roper 6'0" | PF Carmel | 2022 State IN (3.8p, 5.4r, 2.0a) have been huge off the bench for the Greyhounds, while Sophomores Hannah Lach Hannah Lach 5'10" | SF Carmel | 2023 State IN (3.8p, 3.4r, 2.2a) and  Mackenzie Thomas Mackenzie Thomas 6'1" | C Carmel | 2023 IN (2.0p, 3.8r) have flashed nice potential. Center Grove The Trojans are a very intriguing team, because they like to control tempo, they are usually very sound defensively, and they like to knock down a lot of long-range jumpers. They have been on kind of an emotional roller-coaster so far, having started 1-3 with a couple of heartbreakers, then following that up with yet another Johnson County title. Their loss in the MIC was 45-44 to Warren Central. Senior wing Mary Wilson Mary Wilson 5'10" | SF Center Grove | 2021 State IN (17.1p, 3.4r, 2.3s) is the heart and soul of this year’s team. She has already buried 24 3-pointers in just eight games. Sophomore guards  Ella Hobson Ella Hobson 5'4" | PG Center Grove | 2023 State IN (7.9p, 3.5r, 2.5a) and  Emily Karr Emily Karr 5'6" | CG Center Grove | 2023 IN (4.1p, 4.1r, 2.9a) have really stepped up into much more critical roles this season, and Freshman guard  Aubrie Booker Aubrie Booker 5'8" | CG Center Grove | 2024 State IN (7.0p, 2.8r) has been big early in her rookie campaign. They’ll need someone to give them improved play along the frontline in order to compete against MIC competition. Indianapolis Pike It wasn’t until their tenth game last season that Pike won it’s second game, before falling to 2-19 overall on the year. Having won two of their first three games this season, and being much more competitive each time out, the Red Devils are hoping to approach double-digit wins again, though their schedule is as tough as anyone’s on this list. Their next big opportunity is in their rivalry game with North Central (Indianapolis) tonight. Junior wing Jaelynne Murray Jaelynne Murray 5'11" | SF Pike | 2022 State IN (16.7p, 6.7r, 2.0a, 3.0s) has turned the proverbial corner in the last six to eight months and really become a star. She’ll need to continue being big for them these next couple of months. Senior guard  Joslynn Spears Joslynn Spears 5'7" | CG Pike | 2021 State IN (12.0p, 4.0r, 2.0a) has also played well. Getting back Senior post  Arial Ford Arial Ford 6'1" | C Pike | 2021 State IN (6.3p, 6.0r) definitely helps inside, plus Junior guards Lauren Horton (7.7p, 3.3r, 2.7s) and Jordyn Payton (5.0p, 6.0r) give them an offensive boost outside.