To slow Purdue recruit McKenna Layden, opponents will try just about everything

ARCADIA — McKenna Layden is squarely in the crosshairs of every team she faces.

It hasn't made much of a difference — the 6-2 Northwestern senior is averaging 23 points per game and nearing 1,500 for her career — and she's seen just about everything at this point, with attempts to contain her ranging from double teams and face-guarding (sometimes a little of both) to just about any type of junk defense you could imagine, including a triangle-and-2 with both players assigned to No. 11.

That sort of thing bothered the Purdue commit as an underclassman, she admits, but she's gotten used to it, aided behind the scenes by the team's boys practice players, who are instructed by coach Kathie Layden to "be all over" the Tigers' star player defensively. "That really helps me for games (and) I'm ready for the challenge when I go out there," McKenna said.

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Layden knows she has the green light. More importantly, she knows when and how to exercise her right (and abilities) as one of the state's premier scorers.

Take the Tigers' final game of 2022, for instance, a 55-52 loss to Carroll (Flora). Layden poured in 40 points that night — seven off her career-high — on 13-of-26 shooting with four 3-pointers and a 10-for-12 mark at the line. She scored all 14 of Northwestern's points in the second quarter to make it a seven-point game at half, then added 14 more over the next 8:47 to tie the score at 45 early in the fourth.

Layden scored a team-high 11 points in Saturday's 35-34 win over Hamilton Heights, demonstrating her versatility against a physical team in a game where points were at a premium.

"Individually, she took a couple off-the-dribble jump shots; she's always been confident around the 3-point line and even inside, making some post moves. That was all on display today," Kathie Layden said. "She really did a good job of taking what they gave her when it was there, really working individually on some moves, and knowing she has the height to make the pass if needed, too."

Layden's statistics and arsenal as a scorer are all impressive, but it's her understanding of the game and maturity on the offensive end that's distinguished her senior campaign, which they hope will include a second straight sectional championship.

All Layden cares about is winning, Kathie said, and she's willing to give up a chance at points rather than forcing a shot against the double-team. The goal, she continued, is to help the rest of the team realize the importance of their role in scoring. To that end, sophomore Anna Bishir and junior Lexi Hale are both averaging around 10 points per game, and Layden is averaging over four assists and just two turnovers per game.

The senior led the team in scoring against the Huskies, but the Tigers picked up nine points from Ashley Newell and seven from Hale, including the go-ahead bucket in the final minute (Newell dumped the ball over the defense to Hale inside for the point-blank jumper).

"We just tell them, 'When you're open, shoot it,'" Layden said. "They're all really good shooters, so we just try to remind them, 'You're too good of a shooter not to shoot it. One of them's going to fall, and once you see that one fall, you're going to gain your confidence back.'"

Of equal prominence Saturday was Layden's impact defensively.

A point of emphasis for her this year — "If you can't defend in college, you're not going to play," said Layden, whose older sister, 2020 IndyStar Miss Basketball runner-up Madison Layden is a junior guard at Purdue — her length allows the Tigers to really expand their 3-2 zone, Hamilton Heights coach Keegan Cherry observed, and she was a disruptive presence on the floor.

Layden jumped a pass along the sideline in the third quarter, intercepting it and managing to stay in-bounds before taking it the other way for an uncontested layup.

With the Tigers clinging to a one-point lead in the final seconds and Hamilton Heights inbounding from underneath the basket, Layden assumed the Huskies would be looking to get it to their star, Camryn Runner, and positioned herself accordingly. Runner caught the lob and drove to the basket — but she didn't realize Layden was waiting for her behind the first two defenders.

"They put me on the out-of-bounds player to help in, and as soon as she caught the ball, I timed it and tipped it right out of her hand," Layden said.

"I thought maybe if I just drove in I'd get the foul or a layup or something, but Layden got it before I could even think about it," Runner added. "It was a horrible surprise."

The win improved Northwestern to 12-3 with five games left before sectionals, including the Hoosier Conference playoffs on Jan. 20. The Tigers lead the East Division and will likely play Twin Lakes for the conference crown.

"That was a good win. Our team really stepped up," Layden said. "We had a hard game Friday, then had to come back and play a day game right after. And obviously with it being a conference game, it was just a really big win."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA girls basketball: Purdue recruit McKenna Layden scoring big