For the fifth season in a row, Bounce and Outside the Huddle are counting down who they feel are the top 50 individual players in northeast Indiana heading into the 2023-2024 season.
Today, we continue on the girls hoops side with positions No. 20-16.
No. 20 – Giselle Eke, Bishop Dwenger
After a couple of years of being out of the main SAC picture, Bishop Dwenger was bolstered big time by Eke’s emergence last season as one of the area’s top interior players. She can be flat out dominant in the post and knows how to use her height to an extreme advantage. During the 2022-2023 season, Eke averaged 8.2 points, 5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game while a focus on slowing her on the inside became the focus of everyone’s scouting report.
COACH’S QUOTE ON EKE:
“Giselle had a good summer and committed to D-1 St. Francis of PA before the season started. She is our most experienced player and is our anchor on defense. I think she will take a big step forward this year offensively and will be one of the top players in the FW area.” – Bishop Dwenger coach Steve Wiktorowski
No. 19 – Makenzie Fuess, Norwell
Fuess’ scoring last season was the 10th best in program history and that is a rich history including a 37 point game against Oak Hill that briefly stood as the best scoring game in team history. Defensively, she had 1.9 steals per game to go with her 15.8 points and 3.1 rebounds. She has established herself as half of Norwell’s most recent high end 1-2 punch.
COACH’S QUOTE ON FUESS:
“Makenzie gives us so much senior leadership and experience. She is an awesome teammate and give us great toughness. Makenzie took a huge step for us last season and, as always, enjoys the process of putting the work in to improve. Makenzie is a relentless worker and it shows each day on the court. She is so hard to guard and brings energy and havoc to lead our team on the defensive end. Makenzie is a winner and plays with that passion we will need to accomplish our team goals.” – Norwell coach Eric Thornton
No. 18 – Sydney Gorman, Wayne
One of the very best shooters in the area, Gorman broke the Wayne record for threes in a game with nine (9/15) against Whitko last season and has hit 159 in her career after hitting 33 percent of her deep shots last season in Wayne’s best effort since before 2000. Gorman averaged 9.8 points and 1.7 assists per game.
No. 17 – Annika Davis, Bishop Luers
Davis was one of the players selected Underclass Top 100 after last season and it was a perfect reminder that she possesses a ton of talent after her return season. Davis is a tremendously evasive offensive player that has shown ability to score at all three levels and is a high end distributor as well. Last season, she averaged 10.8 points and team highs with 1.9 steals and 2.2 assists per game.
COACH’S QUOTE ON DAVIS:
“Five tool basketball player that can do it all on the court.” – Bishop Luers coach Mark Pixley
No. 16 – Hailey Cole, Bellmont
Cole has become a bookend of the current era of Bellmont basketball, using her diversity to help elevate the program over her career. She is coming off a 10.8 point, 7.6 rebound per game season where she really expanded her game where she’s just as smooth hitting a mid lane floater as she is a three pointer. She also led Bellmont with 3.1 steals per game last season. She is a multi sport athlete, surpassing 1,000 career assists in volleyball this fall and it is part of what keeps Cole so agile come winter.
COACH’S QUOTE ON COLE
“Hailey is going to be the centerpiece of both our offense and defense again this year. Words can’t really describe how important she is to this team. Her athleticism is unmatched which makes her impossible to guard. She can shoot the three, drive to the rim, and make post moves all at high levels. She is also a huge presence in the center of our zone by altering shots and being a strong rebounder.” – Bellmont coach Andy Heim
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