Player/Team of the Week(POW/TOW) Week 8 12/30/2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          Contact: Pat McKee, 317-403-1665

Dec. 30, 2025                                                                   IBCA Director of Special Projects

Ertel, Shaw, Caldwell, Zartman, Davison, Stroud are IBCA Players of the Week;

Crown Point, Mt. Vernon, Gibson Southern boys, Valpo girls cited as IBCA Teams of the Week

            Luke Ertel posted a triple-double, three additional double-doubles and averaged 25.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 7.0 assists over five games for the Class 4A No. 7 Mt. Vernon (Fortville) boys. Thus, the 6-2 senior guard headlines the honorees in this week’s IBCA Player of the Week program.

            Crown Point senior Dikembe Shaw, Silver Creek senior Dane Caldwell, Warsaw senior Brooke Zartman, Clinton Central senior Carly Davison and Crawford County senior Emery Stroud join Ertel as Week 8 winners in the IBCA Player of the Week program for 2025-26.

            Also, the Crown Point boys’ team, the Gibson Southern boys’ team the Mt. Vernon (Fortville) boys’ team and the Valparaiso girls’ team each was cited as an IBCA/Ballogy Team of the Week for respective performances during the week of Dec. 22-27 in the recognition program coordinated by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.

            Players of the Week are selected by IHSAA district – Shaw and Zartman for District 1, Ertel and Davison for District 2, and Caldwell and Stroud for District 3. Teams of the Week are cited at the discretion of the program coordinators, former Martinsville coach Kip Staggs for boys and former Brownsburg coach Debbie Smiley for girls. Players and teams are recognized based on all performances in a Monday through Saturday week.

            Ertel and Davison are second-time winners this season. Ertel previously was honored for the week of Dec. 8-13, while Davison previously was recognized for the week of Nov. 24-29.

   Ertel totaled 129 points, 54 rebounds, 35 assists and eight steals while shooting 43-of-86 from the field, 15-of-43 on 3-pointers and 28-of-35 from the line as the Marauders went 4-1 for the week. He opened with 33 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and one steal in a 62-51 victory against Class 3A No. 3 Northview in the first round of the Henry Community Health Hall of Fame Classic in New Castle. He followed with 16 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists and three steals in a 60-56 setback to Class 4A No. 2 Crown Point in the Hall of Fame Classic final.

            The Purdue recruit scored 36 points with 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals in an 85-78 victory against Class 4A co-No. 16 South Bend Saint Joseph in the Homestead Holiday Tournament. He followed with 19 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and one steal in a 50-37 win over Class 4A No. 15 Zionsville in the second round. Ertel completed his week with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as the Marauders improved to 10-2 for the season with a 59-39 decision over Class 4A No. 14 Homestead in the event’s title game.

   Shaw averaged 20.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in earning MVP honors of the Hall of Fame Classic for Crown Point. The 6-7 forward scored 22 points with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in a 76-65 victory over Class 3A No. 2 Silver Creek. The Illinois-Chicago signee followed with 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and one steal as the Bulldogs (5-0) held off Mt. Vernon 60-56 for the Hall of Fame Classic title. For the two games, Shaw converted 13-of-25 field goals, one 3-pointer and 13-of-14 free throws.

   Caldwell posted norms of 22.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists as Silver Creek split two games in the Hall of Fame Classic. The 6-9 forward totaled 21 points, eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and  one block in a first-round setback to Crown Point. The University of Richmond recruit then tallied 23 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks as the Dragons (8-1) defeated Northview 74-62 in the third-place game.

            Shaw, Ertel and Caldwell each was selected to the Hall of Fame Classic’s all-tournament team.

  Zartman was MVP of the girls’ Hall of Fame Classic in leading Class 4A co-No. 3 Warsaw to the event championship. The 5-7 guard scored 28 points with five rebounds, two assists and six steals in a 79-41 first-round victory over Evansville Central. The Miami (Ohio) recruit followed with 19 points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block as the Tigers (13-1) defeated Class 4A co-No. 1 Norwell 71-37 in the title contest. For the two games, Zartman hit on 17-of-30 from the floor, 11-of-22 3-pointers and 2-of-3 free throws.

  Davison set school records for single-game and career scoring in keying the Clinton Central girls (12-3) to a 3-1 week. The 5-5 guard opened with 25 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block in a 48-39 decision over arch-rival Clinton Prairie. She followed with 32 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and seven steals in a 51-15 victory over Anderson Prep in the first round of the Central Indiana Holiday Classic. She then poured in a school-record 41 points with 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in a 57-54 thriller against Indianapolis Tindley. Davison completed her week with 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists as the Bulldogs (12-3) fell 64-37 in the final round to Class 2A No. 14 Alexandria.

            For the week, Davison connected on 41-of-66 field goals, 1-of-2 3-pointers and 29-of-40 free throws. That included 17-of-23 from the field and 7-of-10 from the line in the record-setting 41-point game, an output that topped the previous school record of 32 points set by Sara Parkison on Feb. 27, 2024. Davison finished her week with 1,384 career points, eclipsing the previous school standard of 1,338 points also set by Parkison.

   Stroud averaged 21.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.3 steals as the Class 2A co-No. 18 Crawford County girls (12-3) placed third in the Hauser Holiday Classic. The 6-1 forward totaled 22 points, seven rebounds, four assists, five steals and three blocks in a 39-38 first-round victory over Columbus East. She netted 19 points, 11 rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block in a 48-35 semifinal setback to eventual champion Southwestern (Hanover). The Indiana Wesleyan recruit tallied 22 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, six steals and two blocks as the Wolfpack defeated South Decatur 48-26 for third place. In the three games, Stroud hit on 27-of-53 from the field, 3-of-9 from distance and 6-of-9 from the line.

            Team of the Week honors went to Crown Point, Gibson Southern and Mt. Vernon (Fortville) for boys as well as Valparaiso for girls.

            The Crown Point boys, coached by Clint Swan, went 2-0 for the week and 5-0 for the season. The Gibson Southern boys, now 6-2 overall and coached by Mark Rohrer, won the Toyota Classic by defeating Evansville Central 65-53, Wood Memorial 74-51 and Class 3A No. 5 Princeton 61-48. The Mt. Vernon (Fortville) boys, now 10-2 and coached by Joe Bradburn, went 4-1 for the week.

            The Class 4A No. 8 Valparaiso girls, now 11-1 overall and coached by Kelly Kratz, knocked off Class 4A co-No. 1 Norwell 68-66 and host Fort Wayne Snider 56-46 in the Fort Wayne Snider Classic.

                       Valparaiso Girls TOW                                                                       Mt. Vernon (FV) Boys TOW

                            Crown Point Boys TOW                                                          Gibson Southern Boys TOW

   This is the 18th season for the IBCA Player of the Week program. This is the second season for the IBCA Team of the Week program and the second season the Team of the Week program is presented by Ballogy, an IBCA corporate partner.

            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.

2025-26 IBCA weekly honorees

            Nov. 3-8 – District 1 girls: Laniah Davis, Marquette Catholic. District 2 girls: Kenzie Koch, Eastern Hancock. District 3 girls: Gracyn Gilliard, Center Grove. Teams of the Week (girls): North Knox, South Central (Elizabeth), Warsaw.

            Nov. 10-15 – District 1 girls: Leah Shappell, Leo. District 2 girls: Adah Hupfer, Pendleton Heights. District 3 girls: Emily Parker, Boonville. Team of the Week (girls): Homestead.

            Nov. 17-22 – District 1 girls: Sarah Thompson, Oregon-Davis. District 2 girls: Kennedy Holman, Hamilton Southeastern. District 3 girls: Mollie Ernstes, Jennings County. Teams of the Week (girls): Crown Point, LaPorte.

            Nov. 24-29 – District 1 boys: Josh McBride and Nick McBride, Norwell. District 1 girls: Kendall VanderWal, Angola. District 2 boys: Brayden Thiele-Hahn, Rossville. District 2 girls: Carly Davison, Clinton Central. District 3 boys: Anthony Fresh, Charlestown. District 3 girls: Natalie Stenger, East Central. Teams of the Week (boys): Corydon Central, Plainfield. Team of the Week (girls): Maconaquah.

            Dec. 1-6 – District 1 boys: Mack Welker, Homestead. District 1 girls: Hillary Labis, Westville. District 2 boys: Drew Matelic, Speedway. District 2 girls: Riley Suarez, Hamilton Heights. District 3 boys: Wyatt Jones, Borden. District 3 girls: Hannah Higgs, Evansville Christian. Team of the Week (boys): Indianapolis Cathedral. Team of the Week (girls): Borden.

            Dec. 8-13 – District 1 boys: Charles Hardiman, Merrillville. District 1 girls: Allison Ambers, Northridge. District 2 boys: Devin Bolden, Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter, and Luke Ertel, Mt. Vernon (Fortville). District 2 girls: Elliot Leffler, Roncalli. District 3 boys: Jake Prior, Heritage Hills. District 3 girls: Maddy Shirley, Evansville Central. Teams of the Week (boys): Lawrence North, Northridge. Team of the Week (girls): Floyd Central.

            Dec. 15-20 – District 1 boys: Daniel Selking, Bellmont. District 1 girls: Konley Ault, Bluffton. District 2 boys: DeZhon Hall, Indianapolis Crispus Attucks. District 2 girls: Shania Curry, Ben Davis. District 3 boys: Noah Vance, Christian Academy of Indiana. District 3 girls: Haley Wagoner, Center Grove. Teams of the Week (boys): South Bend Riley, Taylor. Team of the Week (girls): Hamilton Southeastern.

            Dec. 22-27 – District 1 boys: Dikembe Shaw, Crown Point. District 1 girls: Brooke Zartman, Warsaw. District 2 boys: Luke Ertel, Mt. Vernon (Fortville). District 2 girls: Carly Davison, Clinton Central. District 3 boys: Dane Caldwell, Silver Creek. District 3 girls: Emery Stroud, Crawford County. Teams of the Week (boys): Crown Point, Gibson Southern, Mt. Vernon (Fortville). Team of the Week (girls): Valparaiso.

 Gene Milner

IBCA Website Coordinator