Outside the Huddle and Bounce are counting down who it feels are the top 50 individual girls basketball players in northeast Indiana heading into the 2022-23 season.
Today, we unveil five of the best in the area at positions No. 20-16.
No. 20: Emilia Diaz, Wayne
Diaz has been at the center of Wayne’s rebuild the last several seasons and could really reap the benefits of that this season. At least four times last season she had one of the best performances in the entire area. She sets the pace of everything Wayne does because she has an extremely high motor. She isn’t just quick, but also able to make reads in quick and tight situations as she traverses the floor. She led Wayne with 11 points per game last season, also posting 4.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Her 14 double digit scoring games were highlighted by 19 and 20 point performances against South side and North Side.
COACH’S QUOTE ON EMILIA DIAZ
“She is our leader! We will look to her to do it all for us, on both ends of the floor. She leads by example.” – Wayne coach Lacia Gorman
No. 19: Addie Shank, Bishop Luers
Shank has laid claim to potentially being the best post in the SAC and area. She is a consistent performer that works well inside and doesn’t waver in her aggression or approach in the post. She averaged 10.7 points and 11.2 rebounds last season, also adding 1.7 blocks per game. She plays much bigger than her around 6-foot stature and it is tough to ever win a battle with her if she is within five feet of the rim on either end of the floor. Through 41 games of her high school career over two seasons, Shank is nearly averaging a double double. Forget about the double digit rebounding games, twice last year Shank pulled down 22 rebounds (vs. South Side and Lakewood Park) and posted a 28 point/12 rebound effort against Marion.
COACH’S QUOTE ON ADDIE SHANK
“Addie is a double-double machine when it comes to points and rebounds. Addie’s energy on the offense and defense glass brings us a lot of second chance points on the offensive end and on the defensive end fuels are fastbreak. Addie is a team leader that sets the tone for us every game with her energy.” – Bishop Luers coach Mark Pixley
No. 18: Madi Vice, Central Noble
Vice was handed the reigns to this program a while back and she has really done a tremendous job of keeping the program on the high end of the NECC leading the way ever since. While being Central Noble’s primary ball handler and averaging 3.2 assists per game, she also led the Cougars with 5.8 rebounds. That shows how much Vice can do a bit of it all, leading the Cougars too in points (14.1) and steals (3). Leading in all of those categories is huge; shooting 53 percent from the field and 42 percent from the three point line is great too. Under a new coach who prides his teams on quality shooting, Vice could see her value rise even higher as a senior.
COACH’S QUOTE ON MADI VICE
“I have high regards for Madi and her skill set. Her leadership and ability will set the tone for our team and the success of this season. She will definitely leave her mark as one of the all time greats at CN basketball.” – Central Noble coach Sam Malcolm
No. 17: Faith Riehl, Lakeland
When healthy, Riehl has been one of the top performers in the NECC in each of the last two seasons. That healthy part has been a strain but she will come into her senior season on the up and up. She missed eight games last season, but led the Lakers in scoring at 15.3 points per game, in rebounding (6.3) and steals (3.1). She is a workhorse who came off an ACL tear to return in 10 months and start last season with a 22 point/8 rebound effort showing how there is no quit in her. Riehl shot 52 percent from two point range and 76 percent from the foul line last season.
COACH’S QUOTE ON FAITH RIEHL
“A leader and 3 year starter. [She] runs the floor well, hoping for a full season without an injury. One of our consistent three point shooters and a good defender. Will be expected to score a lot, defend, and run the floor.” – Lakeland coach Dale Gearheart
No. 16: Kayla Gibbs, Carroll
Gibbs is an extremely multi faceted player who finds success with our without the ball in her hands. Her movement on offense created a lot of great looks for both her and Charger teammates last year as she became a highly improved three point shooter, hitting 38 percent from deep while also hitting a team best 76 percent from the free throw line. She is going to be a great leader for the Chargers in her senior season because of her willingness to take on a variety of roles and give 100 percent in them. Defensively, she is top 5 in the SAC because of how well she reads defenses, roles into passing lanes and never takes a trip down the floor off, averaging 2.8 steals per game. On top of all of that, she also scored a team second best 11.6 points per game last season.
COACH’S QUOTE ON KAYLA GIBBS
“Kayla is one of those versatile players you can insert at any position and she will excel. This year we had her play the point position to run our offense. Kayla stepped it up without a complaint and performed extremely well. She was second in scoring and led the team in free throws percentage. This is a great example of Kayla to do whatever the team needs for the team to be successful.” – Carroll coach Mark Redding
These opinions represent those of Bounce and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Bounce on Twitter at Bounce_OTH
2 Trackbacks / Pingbacks