5-time state champion Kathie Layden retiring as Northwestern girls basketball coach

Kathie Layden, one of the greatest Indiana high school basketball coaches of all-time, is retiring as Northwestern girls coach, she told the Kokomo Tribune following Saturday's 55-54 loss to Norwell in the Class 3A Sectional 23 championship game. Layden won five state championships and nearly 400 games in her 23 seasons as head coach with stops at Tri-Central, Western and Northwestern.

Layden, a Taylor High School and University of Evansville grad, went 203-65 over 11 seasons at Northwestern, with back-to-back 3A titles in 2018-19 and a 4A runner-up finish in 2020 (combined record of 85-5 over those three seasons). Those Tigers teams were led by her oldest daughter, Madison, who graduated with 2,360 points, 509 rebounds, 713 assists and 539 steals over four varsity seasons, and finished runner-up for 2020 IndyStar Miss Basketball. Madison is currently a junior guard at Purdue.

Kathie's youngest daughter, McKenna, was a freshman on the 2020 team and has led the Tigers to a record of 49-16 in the three years since. The 6-2 senior Purdue recruit finished her career with over 1,500 points and nearly 600 rebounds.

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Prior to her arrival at Northwestern, Kathie coached at Tri-Central, where she won three state titles from 2001-10, and Western (2010-11). She holds a career record of 385-165 in 23 seasons as head coach.

Kathie coached alongside her dad, Dave Wise, at Tri-Central and Northwestern, and her husband Jeff, at Northwestern.

"I'm looking down and I'm seeing Kathie, Jeff, Dave – they're all coaching (and) there's the girls out there," Joyce Wise, Kathie's mom, told the Kokomo Tribune in 2020. "It doesn't get any better than that."

The 2022-23 Northwestern Tigers finished 17-5 with notable wins over Eastern Hancock, Bishop Chatard, and Hamilton Heights.

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana girls basketball: Kathie Layden retiring as Northwestern coach