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Dec. 3, 2024 IBCA Director of Special Projects
Betten, Rosswurm headline IBCA Players of the Week;
Vincennes Lincoln, Evansville North claim team awards
Week 1 for the boys and Week 4 for the girls produced an excellent group of winners in the IBCA/Franciscan Health Player of the Week program for 2024-25, headed by Manchester senior Gavin Betten, who became his school’s all-time leading scorer, and Norwell junior Vanessa Rosswurm, who set a single-game school record for scoring.
Betten and Rosswurm are joined by Wes-Del senior Josiah Love, Jeffersonville senior Michael Cooper, Brownsburg senior Avery Gordon and Jennings County junior Mollie Ernstes as honorees for the week of Nov. 25-30 in the recognition program coordinated by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.
Also, the Vincennes Lincoln boys' team and the Evansville North girls' team each is cited as an IBCA/Ballogy Team of the Week in a new portion of the IBCA recognition program for 2024-25.
Players of the Week are chosen by IHSAA district – Betten and Rosswurm for District 1, Love and Gordon for District 2 and Cooper and Ernstes for District 3. A single team for each gender from the entire state is cited as a Team of the Week in the new part of the recognition program. Players and teams are recognized based on all performances in a Monday through Saturday week.
Betten totaled 35 points, 17 rebounds, three assists and three steals as Manchester defeated Oak Hill 76-36 in the Squires’ only game of the week. The 6-6 forward was a dead-eye shooter, converting 12-of-13 field goals, 1-of-1 from 3-point range and 10-of-11 free throws for his game-high total. Betten’s output moved his career total to 1,459 points, passing the previous record of 1,455 points set by 1990 graduate Andy Holderman.
Love was another sharpshooter – hitting 27-of-34 shots, 5-of-8 3-pointers and 4-of-5 freebies over two games – as he led Wes-Del to victories over Cambridge City Lincoln and Alexandria. The 5-11 guard opened with 34 points, five rebounds and three steals as the Warriors topped the Golden Eagles 75-63. He then tallied 29 points, four rebounds and two assists in a 64-48 triumph over the Tigers. In the two games, Love averaged 31.5 points and 4.5 rebounds.
Cooper was a standout as IBCA preseason No. 2 Jeffersonville knocked off IBCA preseason No. 4 Indianapolis Cathedral 67-65. The 6-3 guard scored 29 points while adding four rebounds, one assist and five steals as the Red Devils prevailed. A Wright State signee, Cooper sank 9-of-19 shots, 3-of-5 3-pointers and 8-of-10 free throws.
Rosswurm poured in a school-record 43 points with 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals as Norwell opened a 2-0 week with an 80-48 victory over Fort Wayne Concordia. The 5-10 guard followed with 22 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and two steals as the Knights moved to 6-3 with a 64-56 decision at Angola. Rosswurm hit 16-of-28 shots, 4-of-9 3-pointers and 7-of-7 free throws in the record-setting game. For the week, she averaged 32.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists and was 24-of-49 from the floor, 7-of-19 from distance and 10-of-11 from the line.
Gordon averaged 28.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in a 1-1 week for then-IBCA No. 12 Brownsburg (6-2). The 6-6 center netted 20 points with four rebounds and two blocks in a 66-60 setback to IBCA No. 3 Hamilton Southeastern. She bounced back to produce 36 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks in a 67-58 victory over then-IBCA No. 16 Columbia City. For the week, the Purdue recruit hit 24-of-40 from the field and 8-of-10 from the line.
Ernstes tallied 25.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.0 steals in a 1-1 week for Jennings County (2-4). The 6-0 guard scored 20 points with four rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocked shots as the Panthers fell to Jeffersonville 66-55. She came back strong, though, pouring in 31 points with 10 rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block in a 49-47 victory over Pendleton Heights. Ernstes converted 18-of-44 field goals, 4-of-18 3-pointers and 11-of-12 free throws in the two games.
Vincennes Lincoln, which went 5-0 for the week, is the first boys’ winner in the IBCA/Ballogy Team of the Week program. Senior Luke Hall averaged 17.6 points and 3.6 rebounds as coach Dave Mahurin’s Alices defeated Pike Central 66-34 in their opener, then beat four Illinois schools in the Capital Classic in Lawrenceville, Ill. – Fairfield (67-39), Richland County (60-30), Red Hill (81-58) and host Lawrenceville (83-63). Senior Joel Sanders added 16.4 points and 8.8 rebounds, while sophomore Colton York contributed 9.0 points, junior Jadon Miller tallied 6.8 points and senior Joshua Clegg netted 6.0 points and 4.0 assists.
Evansville North claimed girls’ Team of the Week honors after the Huskies went 2-0 to move to 3-2 for the season by knocking off Castle 57-32 and beating previously undefeated Bloomington South 54-52 in overtime. Senior Libby Blythe averaged 17.0 points, while sophomore Brooke Silva tallied 16.5 points in the two games.
This is the 17th season for the IBCA Player of the Week program and the fifth season the awards are being presented by Franciscan Health Sports Medicine, an IBCA corporate partner. This is the first season for the IBCA Team of the Week program. The Team of the Week program is presented by Ballogy, another IBCA corporate partner.
Winners are chosen each week in the Player of the Week program from each of the IHSAA's three districts, and one Team of the Week is selected from the entire state. Former Martinsville boys’ coach Kip Staggs oversees the selection of boys’ honorees. Former Brownsburg girls’ coach Debbie Smiley oversees the selection of girls’ honorees.
Coaches may nominate players and teams via buttons on the IBCA website (in.nhsbca.org). Coaches must be a current-year member for their players and/or team to be selected for a weekly award. Girls' winners are chosen from now through Monday following the IHSAA girls' State Finals. Boys' winners are chosen from now through the Monday following the IHSAA boys' State Finals.
2024-25 IBCA weekly honorees
Nov. 4-9 – District 1 girls: Laniah Davis, Marquette Catholic. District 2 girls: McKenzie Koch, Eastern Hancock. District 3 girls: Brynn Owens, Austin. Team of the Week (girls): Center Grove.
Nov. 11-16 – District 1 girls: Lillian Barnes, Valparaiso. District 2 girls: Jacklynn Hosier, Alexandria. District 3 girls: Brooklynn Renn, Silver Creek. Team of the Week (girls): South Knox.
Nov. 18-23 – District 1 girls: Addison Baxter, Columbia City. District 2 girls: Maya Makalusky, Hamilton Southeastern. District 3 girls: Jalyn Davidson, North Central (Farmersburg). Team of the Week (girls): Warsaw.
Nov. 25-30 – District 1 boys: Gavin Betten, Manchester. District 1 girls: Vanessa Rosswurm, Norwell. District 2 boys: Josiah Love, Wes-Del. District 2 girls: Avery Gordon, Brownsburg. District 3 boys: Michael Cooper, Jeffersonville. District 3 girls: Mollie Ernstes, Jennings County. Team of the Week (boys): Vincennes Lincoln. Team of the Week (girls): Evansville North.
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