Week-5 of the IBCA/Franciscan Health Player of the Week Program Sees Parrish & Layton Stand Out
As Week-5 came and went, the boys seem to be in full stride just a few days into the start of their season, while the ladies continue to see a mixture of youngsters and upperclassmen standing out on any given night. As usual, three boys and three girls were selected as players of the week in their respective districts for Week-5, though it was much closer and difficult to choose this week.
Chesterton Senior Tyler Parrish, South Central Senior Sadie Marks, Anderson Junior Damien King, Faith Christian Sophomore Maya Layton, Heritage Hills Junior Trent Sisley, and Gibson Southern Junior Gabby Spink have been chosen as honorees for Nov. 27-Dec. 2 in the recognition program coordinated by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. Parrish and Marks take home boys and girls honors, respectively, in District-1. King was selected as the boys’ winner, and Layton was selected as the girls’ winner, in District-2. Sisley is the boys’ recipient and Spink is the girls’ recipient in District-3.
The Chesterton Trojans are off to a 3-0 start for the third consecutive year, and once again, Senior Tyler Parrish is in the middle of it all. Friday night, they defeated Hammond Morton, 90-65, while Saturday they took care of South Bend St. Joseph, 75-72. In the game against Morton, Parrish scored 30 points, handed out 10 assists, collected 5 rebounds, and picked up 2 steals. He was 12-17 from the field, 3-6 from downtown, and 3-4 from the free throw line. Saturday, he posted a 32-point output, plus he added 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and a steal. This time, the 6-3 guard was 5-9 from deep and a perfect 3-3 from the charity stripe.
The Satellites of South Central (Union Mills) opened Porter County Conference play last week with a pair of wins, and Senior Sadie Marks was to thank for her contributions. In a lopsided win against Boone Grove, the 5-10 forward posted a triple-double in limited action, scoring 17 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, handing out 10 assists, and collecting 4 steals in the PCC win. She was 6-9 from the field and 5-6 from the free throw line in that contest. Two days later, in a 54-45 win over Kouts on Thursday, the Senior forward scored 19 points on 5-8 shooting from the field and 9-12 from the line, plus she added 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists, as they completed their great conference start to the year.
Anderson Junior Damien King was outstanding last week, and he takes home our District-2 boys’ honor. In a 73-48 home win Friday night against the Indianapolis Homeschool Wildcats, the 6-4 guard was an efficient 10-14 from the field and 8-9 from the free throw line, scoring 28 points, plus he posted a double-double with his 10 rebounds. He added 6 steals and 4 assists in the easy win. Saturday, the Indians traveled to New Castle, where they picked up a big 62-46 road win. King was equally impressive, scoring 27 points on 13-16 shooting, posting another double-double with 10 more rebounds, and adding 4 assists and 4 steals in the triumphant effort.
As for the girls’ winner in District-2, that goes to Faith Christian’s Maya Layton. The Sophomore erupted in a 52-27 win at North Montgomery Tuesday evening, pouring in a school record 45 points on 14-23 shooting. The youngster added 16 made charity tosses, plus she chipped in 3 steals, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in the comfortable victory. Saturday, the Eagles knocked off Tri-Central, 66-54, behind Layton’s 23 points. The 5-9 guard knocked down 10 more free throws in this win, and she added 4 steals, 3 rebounds, and a pair of assists.
Heritage Hills is off to a 3-0 start, and once again Junior Trent Sisley is at the forefront of the Patriots success. Last week saw him eclipse the 1200-point and 500-rebound plateaus in a pair of wins. Tuesday, at Perry Central, Sisley went for 25 points and 14 rebounds in a 65-32 victory. The 6-8 forward added 6 blocked shots, a pair of assists, and a pair of steals to his stat line. Saturday afternoon, in a hard-fought, 53-47 win against Evansville Christian, Sisley found it tougher to score but still managed 24 points. He pulled down 12 rebounds and blocked another shot in the success.
Junior Gabby Spink of Gibson Southern was our lone winner who put together three strong efforts last week. She opened her week Tuesday with a comfortable, 66-35 win at Vincennes Lincoln. In that contest, the 5-9 guard scored 21 points and handed out 6 assists, while also tallying a pair of rebounds and a pair of steals in the triumph. Friday, in a 71-64 win against Franklin County out of Kentucky, the Junior guard scored 35 points and set a program record by knocking down a perfect 18-18 from the free throw line. Toss in 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, and she had a nice all-around effort. Saturday, in a narrow 66-63 loss to #4 Lawrence North, Spink was again solid from the free throw line (11-13), while scoring 25 points, pulling down 9 rebounds, and handing out 7 assists.
This is the 16th season for the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Week program, and the fourth season it is being presented by Franciscan Health, a corporate sponsor of the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.
Player of the Week winners are chosen each week from each of the IHSAA’s three districts. Girls’ winners will be chosen through the Monday following the IHSAA Girls State Finals. Boys’ winners will be chosen through the Monday following the IHSAA Boys State Finals.
2023-24 Weekly Winners
Oct. 30-Nov. 4: District-1 girls: Tenley Davis, Chesterton. District-2 girls: Avery Gordon, Brownsburg. District–3 girls: Hadley Crosier, Lanesville.
Nov. 6-Nov. 11: District-1 girls: Ava Ziolkowski, Crown Point. District-2 girls: Kayla Lacombe, Arsenal Technical. District–3 girls: Chloe Spreen, Bedford North Lawrence.
Nov. 13-Nov. 18: District-1 girls: Samantha Redinger, Argos, and Gracyn Gilliard, Munster. District-2 girls: Kaycie Warfel, Pendleton Heights. District-3 girls: Audrey Annee, Center Grove.
Nov. 20-Nov. 25: District-1 boys: Bryce Wilcox, Southwood. District-1 girls: Brooke Zartman, Warsaw. District-2 boys: Brady Koehler, Cathedral. District-2 girls: Lillie Graves, McCutcheon. District-3 boys: Kasym Nash, Borden. District-3 girls: Madalynn Shirley, Evansville Central.
Nov. 27-Dec. 2: District-1 boys: Tyler Parrish, Chesterton. District-1 girls: Sadie Marks, South Central (Union Mills). District-2 boys: Damien King, Anderson. District-2 girls: Maya Layton, Faith Christian. District-3 boys: Trent Sisley, Heritage Hills. District-3 girls: Gabby Spink, Gibson Southern.