12 Days of Hoops: A guide to Indiana's best girls high school basketball holiday events

Pick out the best holiday hoops tournaments, but make it festive.

Do most of these tournaments take place after Christmas? Yes. Will that stop me? Absolutely not. Will Kyle Neddenriep put a voice to this wonderful remix on our next podcast or Twitter Spaces show? Negotiations are underway. #Content

Here we go...

On the 1st day of Christmas, we all get to see: A rising star in Valparaiso

Hey, this one kind of works lyrically!

What: Valparaiso Tournament

When/where: Dec. 22 at Valparaiso

Who: Knox, Shelbyville, South Central (Union Mills), Shelbyville

Get out to see Valparaiso's Lillian Barnes. The 5-10 freshman point guard already holds offers from Milwaukee, Western Michigan and Valparaiso, and, per the Chicago Tribune, is drawing interest from Purdue, IPFW, Marquette, Miami (Ohio) and Xavier. Through 11 games, Barnes is averaging 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 steals(!!). Valpo vs. either Union Mills (28th in Class 2A RPI) or Kylee Edwards and Shelbyville in the evening session should be fun.

On the 2nd day of Christmas, we all get to see: A Class 2A jubilee

This one feels like a stretch. We are only two stanzas in. It's fine. This is fine. I'm fine. 

What: Triton Central Tournament

When/where: Dec. 27-28 at Triton Central

Who: Bloomington North, Heritage Christian, Jac-Cen-Del, Lawrenceburg, Northeastern, Salem, Southport, Triton Central

A very good (mostly) small-school event with Triton Central playing the winner of Class A's Jac-Cen-Del vs. 2A's Northeastern (both top-20 in RPI) in the second round, and Heritage Christian vs. 4A's Southport in the noon game. A Heritage Christian-Triton Central final Wednesday night would be a real Jim Dandy.

On the 3rd day of Christmas, we all get to see: Three different top-10 teams

The french hens are the IBCA Poll in this analogy. … Cluck-cluck.

What: Limestone Classic

When/where: Dec. 21-22 at Bedford North Lawrence

Who: Bedford North Lawrence, Lake Central, Noblesville

Different format for this year's event with just three teams, but all three are ranked in the top-10 of the IBCA Coaches Poll. These are a couple high-quality tests for No. 7 Lake Central, which has beaten Fort Wayne Snider and lost to South Bend Washington. No. 8 Noblesville, which could play No. 3 BNL twice in an eight-day stretch, has won three of its past four, while the host Stars have righted the ship since losing to Zionsville at Sneakers 4 Santa. Karsyn Norman, Chloe Spreen and Mallory Pride vs. Noblesville's Meredith Tippner, Reagan Wilson and Kaitlyn Shoemaker should be entertaining.

On the fourth day of Christmas, we all get to see: A return to a classic venue

This one feels like a stretch lyrically. We're not even halfway in. It's fine. This is fine. I'm fine. 

What: Coach William R. Smith Sr. IPS Basketball Classic

When/where: Dec. 27 at Broad Ripple

Who: Attucks, Shortridge, Tech, Washington

This should be a cool event with the Home of the Rockets hosting a one-day, four-game event a couple days after Christmas. Some names to know… Attucks: Daisha Bullock and Mariah Kenter; Shortridge: Shantrice Grant; Tech: Kayla Lacombe (she's averaging 22 ppg) and Jasmine Chambers. (No stats or roster available for Washington.)

On the 5th day of Christmas, we all get to see: The Hall of Fame Cla(aaaa)sic!

Ba-dum-bum-bum

What: Raymond James Hall of Fame Classic

When/where: Dec. 29 at New Castle

Who: Bedford North Lawrence, East Central, Mishawaka Marian, Noblesville

The "golden rings" of the holiday hoops season (sorry), this year's HOF field includes two teams we've already talked about and two more record-setting standouts. East Central's Josie Trabel set the program's all-time scoring record last season, and is averaging 22 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks through 14 games. She has 1,655 career points. Mishawaka Marian's Nevaeh Foster has 1,914 career points (there aren't many — maybe any — active 2,000-point scorers), and is averaging 27 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 assists per game.

On the 6th day of Christmas, we all get to see: A six-team cross-class clash

Halfway there.

What: Donna Cheatham Holiday Classic

When/where: Dec. 27-28 at Scottsburg

Who: Bishop Chatard, Charlestown, Evansville North, Indiana Math & Science, Scottsburg, West Washington

Evansville North, Chatard, West Washington, Scottsburg and Charlestown are all top-40 RPI in their respective classes, which should make for a fun couple of days of hoops. A chance for 4A's Evansville North to pad its 8-2 record with a few more quality wins.

On the 7th day of Christmas, we all get to see: A seven-team extravaganza

The top review for Vincennes University on Google Maps reads: "It is a nice university, with mostly kind folks."

What: Niehaus Lumber Classic

When/where: Dec. 29-30 at Vincennes University

Who: Corydon Central, Lafayette Central Catholic, Lanesville, Evansville Mater Dei, Evansville Memorial, Tecumseh, Vincennes Rivet

This event is littered with ranked teams and we'll get a trio of quality matchups on Day 1 with 3A No. 4 Evansville Memorial vs. 3A No. 6 Corydon Central at 11:30 and 2A No. 9 Lafayette Central Catholic at 2:30. LCC and Corydon Central play at 5:30. Class A No. 9 Vincennes Rivet will likely play one of those three in the championship on Dec. 30. Of note for Evansville Memorial: Junior Avery Kelley (16.4), senior Emily Mattingly (16.1) and sophomore Sophie Johnson (14.7) lead the team in scoring.

On the 8th day of Christmas, we all get to see: Eight games on two different days

Would this work better with the 16th day of Christmas? Well yeah, but you try creating a 12 Days of Christmas for Indiana high school girls basketball.  

What: Lake Central Tournament

When/where: Dec. 27-28 at Lake Central/Grimmer MS

Who: Hebron, Hobart, Lake Central, Lawrence Central, Munster, Portage, South Bend Adams, Washington Township

Lawrence Central brings its big trio — Jaylah and Lola Lampley and Laila Abdurraqib — to Lake Central. In the final game of the day, it'll face a Munster bunch that's 12-2 on the year and led in scoring by a freshman, Gracyn Gilliard (18.2 ppg, 49% FG and 4.9 spg). Akaomachukwu Odeluga is averaging 14.3 rpg; Trinity Hogge is good for 3.4 apg.

On the ninth day of Christmas, we all get to see: A full county tourney

We're digging deep, folks.

What: Gibson County Tournament

When/where: Dec. 22 at Wood Memorial/Gibson Southern; Dec. 23 at Princeton

Who: Barr-Reeve, Edgewood, Gibson Southern, Mount Carmel (Ill.), Princeton, Silver Creek, Sullivan, Wood Memorial

This event runs right up to Christmas with the four placement games scheduled for Friday. It's a wide-open field with six teams boasting records of .500 or better, plus a two-time returning 3A finalist in Silver Creek (the Dragons are 5-6 and open with a tough Gibson Southern bunch).

On the tenth day of Christmas, we all get to see: A 10-on-10 at C-G

I tried "10 vs. 10" and "No. 10 vs. No. 10," but 10-on-10 seemed to work best with the song. Don't @ me. 

What: Center Grove Tournament

When/where: Dec. 29 at Center Grove

Who: Center Grove, Jeffersonville, Linton-Stockton, McCutcheon

Looking for a HOF Classic appetizer? Go to Center Grove, because the 4A No. 10 Trojans are hosting 2A No. 10 Linton-Stockton. The Trojans have held seven straight opponents under 40 points and their past two foes under 25 points. Audrey Annee has settled in quite nicely as the team's leading scorer (13.7 ppg), while seniors Ella Hobson and Savanna Bischoff are combining for about seven assists per game. The Miners are 11-1 and have not allowed more than 40 points in a game this year. They're coming off a 37-26 loss to undefeated North Knox.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, we all get to see: University play way out in Ri-hi-hi-hichmond

*-University (and a host of other local schools); **-That's a short "e" sound (like in "hit") … cheers to you for making it this far. 

What: Casey Pohlenz Memorial Tournament

When/where: Dec. 22-23 at Richmond

Who: Chatard, Guerin Catholic, Indianapolis HomeSchool, Purdue Poly Englewood, Richmond, University

Intriguing event for the Trailblazers, who are 8-4 but have played a healthy number of 4A and 3A teams, including Danville, Cathedral, Lawrence Central and Roncalli. HomeSchool, University's first opponent, has a quartet of double-digit scorers led by senior Julia Bookwalter (15 ppg); Chatard (vs. University, 2:30 p.m.) is led by Caroline Bell (14.7 ppg) and Anna Caskey (9.5 ppg, 9.1 rpg). For University: Payton Seay and Kelsey DuBois are averaging a combined 34 ppg. Another note: Purdue Poly Englewood's Lailah Hadley is averaging 11.1 ppg and 6 apg.

On the 12th day of Christmas, we all get to see: A really interesting 12 p.m. start

We did it, you guys!

What: Bloom Bank Classic

When/where: Dec. 27-28 at Lebanon

Who: Greenfield-Central, Indian Creek, Lafayette Jefferson, Lebanon, Lowell, Mooresville, Perry Meridian, Pike

Indian Creek could have a very interesting two-game swing here. Greenfield-Central is a sneaky contender in the Hoosier Heritage Conference, having beaten Shelbyville and New Pal, and hung with Pendleton Heights. Should it advance, IC — which will be back at full strength with Abby Fleetwood expected to return from injury — will likely face Mooresville, which would give us Indiana commit Faith Wiseman vs. the Pios' trio of bigs: Kalyn Bunch, Randee Garringer and Rachel Harshman.

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana high school girls basketball: Guide to best holiday events