Marian's Nevaeh Foster on fire; Panthers open by winning pair
Marian girls' basketball coach Steve Scott predicted in the preseason that Nevaeh Foster would have a "monster" senior season.
Foster, the stellar guard for the Knights, is surely off to a monstrous start.
The smooth and hard-working Foster, known as the ultimate gym rat, poured in 66 points as the Knights opened their season with wins over Bremen (53-36) and Mishawaka (56-27).
"She's off to a phenomenal start," said Scott of his 5-9 backcourt ace. "And it's more than just her scoring. She's one of our better rebounders, is getting more assists and had like 15 steals in our first two games. She's just been all over the place on the court for us."
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Foster is not only averaging an eye-popping 33 points-per-game to start the season. She is also averaging 10 rebounds, 7.5 steals and 3.0 assists per game and shooting 58 percent from the field on 68 percent from two-point range and 44 percent from 3-point land.
Foster averaged 19 points as a junior in pacing the Knights to a 20-6 mark. Marian lost to eventual Class 3A state champion South Bend Washington 76-44 in the sectional final. This year, the Panthers will compete in Class 4A in the state tournament series due to the IHSAA's success factor. Washington was state runner-up in Class 3A in 2021.
Foster, who has committed to Western Kentucky, entered the season first in program history with 1,541 career points. She has been a force since day one of her freshman year in pacing Marian to a 61-17 record the past three seasons.
Scott, now in his sixth season at Marian and 20th overall, believes Foster's play will continue to just get better. The Knights are currently without star senior MaKaya Porter. The ultra-athletic forward suffered a knee injury in the summer and is likely out until at least January.
"Nevaeh is going to get her points," Scott remarked. "She can do it all. She does not force things. She's one of the best shooters in the area, can drive it and is really good now at getting a rebound and taking it the length of the floor.
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"I think that deep down she knows she needs to carry the scoring load more for us right now. We have MaKaya out and some new players who have not played varsity ball before. It's going to take us some time."
Scott, who is 108-26 at Marian with the program's only three sectional championships in 2018, 2019 and 2020, also feels that his star has something to prove. Foster somehow was left off the Junior All-Star team last season.
"It was ridiculous that she was not a Junior All-Star," said Scott frankly. "I think that since she was snubbed that she is hungry and has something to prove this season."
Panthers post pair of wins
Washington coach Steve Reynolds admitted he was a little nervous heading into a pair of games Saturday in the Lake Central Classic.
His mega talented team made sure to set his mind at ease though.
The prolific Panthers, despite having three key players in Kira Reynolds, Rashunda Jones and Monique Mitchell slowed by injuries, blasted Portage (80-27) and topped host and No. 6 Lake Central (51-35) to open their campaign.
"I was extremely happy," said Reynolds. "We were kind of limping into Saturday and had not had all of our players together for many preseason practices. I really had no clue what I would get.
"But our energy was great and things really went better than I thought they might. I think last year's experience showed up."
Senior Amiyah Reynolds led the way for Washington. The Maryland bound point guard and Miss Basketball candidate had 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists versus Portage and nine points, eight rebounds and five assists in the win over Lake Central.
"Amiyah is just a special player," said coach Reynolds of his daughter. "I can ask her for whatever I need out on the court and she can go out there and do it."
Sophomore Kira Reynolds had 35 points and 32 rebounds in the two wins. The 6-4 force averaged a double double as a freshman and had a state finals record 24 rebounds in the title game.
Coach Reynolds gave huge props to his team's work on defense, led by sophomore guard Ryiah Wilson.
"Our defense is absolutely better than last year," coach Reynolds noted. "We held Lake Central to just 15 points through the first three quarters. It was a phenomenal performance.
"Ryiah just causes havoc. She's our catalyst on defense. She had one of the best defensive performances I've ever seen on Saturday."
Washington, which finished 28-3 last season, allowed just 37 points per game. They had an average winning margin of 31 points per game.
NIC clash: No. 1 vs. No. 1
Marian and Washington, arguably the two frontrunners for the Northern Indiana Conference title, will hookup for an early season clash Friday night at Marian. In the most recent ICGSA (Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association) polls released Monday afternoon, Washington was ranked No. 1 in Class 4A and Marian got the No. 1 nod in 3A.
Washington won the NIC crown at 11-0 a season ago. Marian finished at 10-1 with just a 65-53 loss to the Panthers.
Coaches Scott and Reynolds have a little different take on the rivalry.
"It's still a big game, but it's probably lost a little luster now that they are in 4A," said Scott. "The thing is that Washington is so talented. They could beat some small college teams."
Reynolds says he is always stoked for the Marian contest.
"We circle the Marian game every year," said the Washington mentor. "It's a rivalry. I credit Marian for helping get us where we are now. A few years ago we had to go through them. We can't wait until Friday night."
Marian will play at Plymouth Tuesday night and then host Washington. The Panthers have the week off until the conference clash.
Scott says there are several keys for his team to compete with a Washington squad that boasts Division 1 talent up and down its roster.
"We have to handle their defensive pressure and keep them off the offensive boards," noted Scott. "We can't let them just play ping pong with the ball off the glass."
The Panthers checked in at No. 1 in the IBCA (Indiana Basketball Coaches Association) poll released Sunday night, which ranks teams statewide regardless of class. Marian was No. 12 in that poll.
Panthers set for celebration
Washington will celebrate its record-setting state title on Tuesday, Nov. 15.
The Panthers will receive their state title rings among other festivities prior to their home game versus NIC foe Riley.
Conference standings
Northern Indiana Conference (through Saturday games)
Marian 2-0 (1-0), New Prairie 2-0 (0-0), Washington 2-0 (0-0), Elkhart 1-0 (0-0), Penn 1-0 (0-0), Jimtown 1-1 (0-0), Glenn 1-1 (0-0), Adams 1-1 (0-0), Riley 1-1 (0-0), Clay 0-1 (0-0), Saint Joseph 0-1 (0-0), Bremen 0-2 (0-1).
Northern Lakes Conference (through Saturday games)
Wawasee 2-0 (0-0), Goshen 1-0 (0-0), Northridge 1-0 (0-0), Concord 1-1 (0-0), Mishawaka 1-1 (0-0), NorthWood 0-0, Plymouth 0-1 (0-0), Warsaw 0-1 (0-0).
Other area teams
Triton 2-0, LaVille 1-1, LaPorte 0-2, Michigan City 0-1.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: IHSAA basketball: Marian's Foster is off to an impressive start
