What I'm watching: Final week of girls basketball regular-season speckled with storylines
Here is what I'm watching entering the final week of the Indiana high school girls basketball regular season.
A star-studded cross-class clash in South Bend
Well, this should be fun: South Bend Washington, probably the most talented team in the state, is back to full strength and ready to host defending Class 4A champion Crown Point. The Panthers feature a trio of Big Ten commits – Mila and Amiyah Reynolds (Maryland), and RaShunda Jones (Purdue) – and the visiting Bulldogs counter with Jessica Carrothers (IUPUI) and Lily Stoddard (Purdue).
Tuesday: Crown Point (18-2) at South Bend Washington (19-2), 7 p.m.
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Grizzly Cubs aim to halt skid vs. Artesians
Franklin is 2-14 vs. Martinsville over the past 20 years. The Grizzly Cubs have not beaten the Artesians since the 2016 sectional tournament and have not recorded a regular-season win in the series since Jan. 2009. Another plot line to this year's meeting: two of Franklin's key contributors, senior Ashlyn Traylor and junior Adelyn Walker, previously starred at Martinsville (read more).
Tuesday: Franklin (20-1) at Martinsville (6-12), 7:30 p.m.
Dragons, Olympians collide in regular-season finale
Silver Creek is following a similar script to last season, following a loss to Bedford North Lawrence on Dec. 16 with eight straight wins. In order to extend their current streak, the defending Class 3A champs – who won 22 straight following a late-season loss to BNL in 2020-21 – have to knock off a surging Columbus East team that upset the Stars amidst its current five-game win streak.
Tuesday: Silver Creek (20-1) at Columbus East (16-3), 7:30 p.m.
Measuring stick match for Arabians
Pendleton Heights, which beat Fishers back in December, has won six of its past seven, with the lone setback (at Class 3A Rushville) coming on the heels of a wild overtime win at New Palestine the night before. Whitney and Kacey Warfel, and Hailee Brunnemer have been playing well of late, while senior Abi Rosenkrans recently returned to the lineup on a limited basis. Time to see how they stack up against Noblesville. Random aside: Pendleton Heights beat Fishers, which beat Noblesville, so if the Millers beat the Arabians, the circle will be complete.
Wednesday: Noblesville (17-4) at Pendleton Heights (15-4), 7:30 p.m.
University caps daunting schedule with two more tests
Coach Justin Blanding aimed to challenge his team in 2021-22 by stacking his schedule with the likes of Cathedral (4A), Bethesda Christian (A), Lawrence Central (4A) and Benton Central (3A), among others. The Trailblazers rose to the challenge led by Payton Seay, Patty Chikamba and Kelsey DuBois, and now look to close out the year with a couple more quality wins. Tri-West boasts a powerful scoring punch with Kenna Kirby and Isabelle Saylor, while Class 2A runner-up Tipton has lost just thrice.
Thursday: University (17-2) at Tri-West (14-7), 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: Tipton (17-3) at University, 1:30 p.m.
Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA girls basketball storylines for final week of regular season
