Princeton junior Jackie Young averages 32 points, 11 rebounds
Posted
Mark Howe-mhowe@timesuniononline.com
AKRON – Closing in on game day, just about every Tippecanoe Valley fan has heard about Princeton junior and Notre Dame recruit Jackie Young. But like the Lady Vikings, the Tigers are bringing a balanced attack to the Class 3A girls basketball state championship game Saturday evening in Indianapolis. Junior forward Brooke James is averaging 14.2 points per game, and classmate Hannah Brewer is adding 6.2 points a game. Between them, they average 10 rebounds a game. James had 21 points in Princeton’s semistate win over Indianapolis-Bishop Chatard. The other two starters, senior guards Kelsey Kolb-Blume and Alyssa Koberstein, shoot very little. Kolb-Blume has hit 18 two-point shots and 24 treys. Koberstein averages less than one field goal a game and hasn’t made a three-point shot this season. The guards don’t need to be especially productive with Young on the floor. The 43 points she scored in the 77-38 semistate win over Indianapolis Bishop Chatard raised her season total to an Indiana record 967 points. Young has 2,254 points in her career with a full season left, and will head to Indy averaging 32.2 points, 10.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists per contest. Princeton’s points have almost all come from the five starters. The only player off the bench averaging more than two points a game is freshman Kiare Young, at 3.4 PPG. The Tigers average 68.2 points a game, with a high-water mark of 103 points against Big Eight Conference foe Mt. Carmel (Ill.) on Dec. 8., and a low point of 29 in their only loss of the season at Bedford-North Lawrence on Nov. 28. The Tigers are also attempting to tie a state record for wins in a season. Indianapolis Ben Davis went 30-0 in winning the 4A title six seasons ago. Other fast facts: Valley left for Indy Thursday, and will practice at Bankers Life Fieldhouse today. Snow has disrupted Princeton’s schedule this week, with school cancelled Thursday and today. The Tigers will not arrive in Indy until tonight. Valley senior Caylie Teel is attempting to be the third-generation of her family to earn a state championship. Her mom, Lorene, was a five-time state champion track athlete at Wawasee. Caylie’s maternal grandfather, Bob Spearman, was on the state basketball championship team at Anderson in 1946. Valley coach Chris Kindig is not the only person trying to coach his alma mater to a state title this year. Lafayette Central Catholic alum Craig DeVault will try to win the 1A title for the Lady Knights. Kindig was in the Tippy Valley Class of 1980. Sophomore Anne Secrest leads the Lady Vikings with 17.3 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Secrest makes 65 percent of her attempts from the field and also shoots 75 percent at the free throw line. Sophomore Meredith Brouyette averages just under nine points per game, while senior Taylor Trippiedi and Teel average eight and seven, respectively.
