As most of the schools statewide returned to session last week, our Hoosier high school hoopers
began 2021 with several noteworthy performances. Headlined by Gus Etchison’s 43-point performance
and Lilliann Frasure’s three double-doubles, this week sees six prep players from around the state
selected as recipients in Week-10 for the IBCA/Franciscan Health Player of the Week award.
Churubusco Senior Jackson Paul, North Judson-San Pierre Senior Lilliann Frasure, Hamilton
Heights Senior Gus Etchison, Northwestern Sophomore McKenna Layden, Silver Creek Senior Trey
Kaufman, and Linton-Stockton Senior Vanessa Shafford represent an experienced group selected as
honorees for Jan. 4-Jan. 9 in the recognition program coordinated by the Indiana Basketball Coaches
Association. Paul is the boys’ winner, and Frasure is the girls’ winner in District-1. Etchison is the boys’
recipient, while Layden is the girls’ recipient in District-2. Kaufman and Shafford collect boys’ and girls’
honors, respectively, in District-3.
Churubusco’s Jackson Paul put together a pair of nice performances in a couple of easy wins last
week for the Eagles. The Senior guard began his week on Tuesday, as Churubusco took care of Elkhart
Christian in short time. Paul was 10-17 from the floor, 3-6 from 3-point range, plus he knocked down six
free throws on his way to 29 points. He also approached the ever-elusive quadruple-double, grabbing
eight rebounds, handing out 13 assists, and collecting 10 steals.
As the Eagles returned to action Friday in a Northeast Corner Conference matchup against
Fremont, Paul was again steady, and Churubusco cruised to another lopsided victory. The 6-1 guard was
11-22 from the field and buried a couple of triples to score 24 points in the win. The Huntington University
commit added four assists and three steals, as he helped Churubusco to their 7-1 record.
North Judson-San Pierre Senior Lilliann Frasure has been a stat-sheet stuffer since she arrived at
the school her Freshman year. Last week she continued to add to her résumé with three double-doubles,
as she helped the Bluejays secure three more wins. Tuesday, against a much-improved Caston team, the
Senior wing scored 34 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and collected six steals in an impressive 66-31 win
over the Comets.
Thursday the Bluejays hosted Kankakee Valley, and Frasure was back at it again, helping North
Judson-San Pierre to a 59-28 success this time out. The 5-9 Senior scored a modest 19 points, but she
grabbed 14 rebounds, handed out five assists, and blocked three shots. Saturday, the Bluejays fought off
rival South Central (Union Mills), escaping with a 46-36 win. Frasure scored 25 of their 46 points, she
again posted 14 rebounds, plus she added four assists and three steals. She is headed to Indiana
Wesleyan University next year to play basketball.
Hamilton Heights’ Gus Etchison is no stranger to the big game, and Saturday he added another
one to his long list of accomplishments, but he also posted a nice pair of additional outings leading up to
the weekend. Tuesday, the Huskies headed to Lebanon to earn a 60-33 win. The Senior guard scored 21
points and grabbed eight rebounds, as Heights improved to 4-1 on the season.
Friday night the Huskies travelled to Northwestern for a Hoosier Conference game. After 32
minutes of action, plus 17 points, five rebounds, five assists, and four steals by Etchison, Hamilton Heights
won 69-47 to start the conference year 1-0. The very next day, however, was when Etchison erupted for
43 points. The 6-0 guard did everything in his power to help his team to a victory, but it wasn’t enough, as
the Huskies fell, 99-87, to Indianapolis Herron. In defeat, the Western Michigan University commit also
contributed five rebounds, seven assists, plus five steals.
Northwestern Sophomore McKenna Layden continues to adjust to her new role this year well, and
last week she aided the Tigers in earning two more victories to move to 7-4 at their season’s midpoint.
Wednesday, Northwestern travelled to Greentown to face the Eastern Comets, and they left with a
convincing win. Layden was a solid 8-16 from the floor, a nice 5-9 from deep, plus she knocked down
three free throws en route to a 24-point performance. She added nine rebounds, four assists, four steals,
and three blocked shots in the effort.
Saturday, the Tigers visited Logansport and handed the Berries a 60-40 loss. In the triumph, the
6-1 Sophomore wing was 11-19 from the field, 2-3 from beyond the arc, plus she made six free throws, on
her way to 30 points. Layden posted a double-double by adding 13 rebounds to the win, plus she
distributed six assists and collected three steals.
Silver Creek’s Trey Kaufman was outstanding in his lone game of the week. The 6-9 Senior
forward scored 27 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, and nearly posted a triple-double with his nine assists, as
he played somewhat limited minutes in the Dragons decisive win against Eastern (Pekin). Kaufman, a
Purdue University commit, was 11-17 from the field, plus he knocked down a 3-pointer and four free
throws. For good measure, he added a pair of steals and a blocked shot.
Senior Vanessa Shafford helped Linton-Stockton to a trio of impressive wins last week, as the
Miners moved to 15-1 on the season. Tuesday, against Sullivan, the University of Southern Indiana
commit helped Linton-Stockton to an easy 67-33 victory against a 10-win Sullivan team. She scored 20
points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out six assists, and collected a pair of thefts in the contest.
Thursday the Miners headed to 11-win Vincennes Rivet, where they took care of the Patriots by a
51-26 margin. Shafford posted her first double-double of the week, scoring 18 points and collecting 11
rebounds, while also handing out six assists and picking up a pair of steals. But it was Saturday where the
5-9 Senior shone through the most. In a narrow, 48-43 overtime win against previously unbeaten and #9
ranked Evansville Memorial, Shafford proved to be vital, as she knocked down the game-tying 3-pointer to
push the game into the extra stanza. She finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and she has helped
lead Linton-Stockton to the #11 ranking this week.
This is the 13th season for the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Week
program, but the first season it is 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.
Other Top Nominees for Week-10 (2020-21)
District-1 Boys: Caedmon Bontrager, Lakewood Park Christian; Connor Essegian, Central
Noble; Brycen Hannah, John Glenn; J.R. Konieczny, South Bend St. Joseph; Thomas Latham, New
Haven; Christopher Mantis, Lowell; Carson Miller, Bremen; Malachi Pearson, Logansport; Joe Reidy,
Woodlan; Blake Wesley, South Bend Riley.
District-1 Girls: Courtney Blakely, Hammond Bishop Noll; Megan Bolen, Knox; Jessica
Carrothers, Crown Point; Trinity Clinton, Penn; Cailynn Dilosa, Merrillville; Asia Donald, Hobart; Nevaeh
Foster, Mishawaka Marian; Lilly Maple, Maconaquah; Morgan Ostrowski, Garrett; Mila Reynolds, South
Bend Washington.
District-2 Boys: Brooks Barnhizer, Lafayette Jefferson; Landon Biegel, Oak Hill; Aidan Cannon,
Cardinal Ritter; Jake Chapman, Tri-Central; Brevin Hallatt, Blue River Valley; Greg Jenkins, Lawrence
Central; Neil Marshall, Delta; Logan Pinkerton, Covington; Landen Swanner, Mississinewa; Kobe Ward,
Danville Community.
District-2 Girls: Maddie Barnes, Speedway; Kenzie Fulks, Bethesda Christian; Alli Harness,
Carroll (Flora); Erikka Hill, Shenandoah; Natalie Howard, Ben Davis; Laila Hull, Zionsville; Kennedy
Martin, West Lafayette; Olivia Nickerson, Twin Lakes; Ashlee Schram, Tipton; Ashlynn Shade, Noblesville.
District-3 Boys: Dakota Capps, Clarksville; Luke Collinsworth, East Central; Kyle Crim,
Morristown; Rasheed Elemikan, Greenwood Community; Noah Gordon, Mount Vernon (Posey); Curt
Hopf, Barr-Reeve; Jaden Peetz, South Ripley; Coleman Sater, Edgewood; Blake Sisley, Heritage Hills;
Matthew Williams, Southwestern (Hanover).
District-3 Girls: Gracie Adams, Lanesville; Averi Davidson, North Central (Farmersburg);
Makayla Granger-Young, Batesville; Madison Gray, Union County; Koryn Greiwe, Columbus East; Danica
Myers, Eminence; Natalie Niehaus, Castle; Graycie Poe, North Knox; Isabella Reed, Greenwood
Christian; Alaina Thorne, Washington.
2020-21 Weekly Winners
Nov. 2-Nov. 7: District-1 girls: Courtney Blakely, Hammond Bishop Noll. District-2 girls: Olivia
Nickerson, Twin Lakes. District-3 girls: Hope Fox, East Central.
Nov. 9-Nov. 14: District-1 girls: Mariah Wyatt, Wabash. District-2 girls: Tyra Ford, Anderson,
and McKenna Layden, Northwestern. District-3 girls: Rebekah Gordon, Heritage Hills.
Nov. 16-Nov. 21: District-1 girls: De’Mour Watson, Elkhart. District-2 girls: Erikka Hill,
Shenandoah. District-3 girls: Gracie Adams, Lanesville.
Nov. 23-Nov. 28: District-1 boys: Cole Wireman, Kouts. District-1 girls: Jessica Carrothers,
Crown Point. District-2 boys: Brooks Barnhizer, Lafayette Jefferson, and Gus Etchison, Hamilton
Heights. District-2 girls: Jayla Smith, Lawrence North. District-3 boys: Kooper Jacobi, Silver Creek.
District-3 girls: Sydney Jaynes, Trinity Lutheran.
Nov. 30-Dec. 5: District-1 boys: J.R. Konieczny, South Bend St. Joseph. District-1 girls: Olivia
Smith, Fort Wayne South Side. District-2 boys: Ian Scott, Plainfield. District-2 girls: Skylie Lutz, Union
City. District-3 boys: Julian Norris, Evansville Bosse. District-3 girls: Kylee Edwards, Shelbyville.
Dec. 7-Dec. 12: District-1 boys: Caleb Furst, Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian. District-1 girls:
Ellia Foster, Bremen. District-2 boys: Brody Whitaker, Greencastle. District-2 girls: Ariana Wiggins,
Heritage Christian. District-3 boys: Logan Rohrbacher, East Central. District-3 girls: Abby Fleetwood,
Brown County.
Dec. 14-Dec. 19: District-1 boys: Christopher Mantis, Lowell. District-1 girls: Courtney Blakely,
Hammond Bishop Noll. District-2 boys: Luke Brown, Blackford. District-2 girls: Alli Harness, Carroll
(Flora). District-3 boys: Lane Sparks, Greensburg. District-3 girls: Isabella Reed, Greenwood Christian.
Dec. 21-Dec. 26: District-1 boys: Luke Goode, Homestead. District-1 girls: Jessica Carrothers,
Crown Point. District-2 boys: Brooks Barnhizer, Lafayette Jefferson. District-2 girls: Katie Burton,
Fishers. District-3 boys: Curt Hopf, Barr-Reeve. District-3 girls: Juliann Woodard, Jennings County.
Dec. 28-Jan. 2: District-1 boys: Fletcher Loyer, Homestead. District-1 girls: Courtney Blakely,
Hammond Bishop Noll. District-2 boys: Trey Flatt, Covenant Christian (Indianapolis). District-2 girls:
Ashlynn Shade, Noblesville. District-3 boys: Stephen Atkinson, Owen Valley. District-3 girls: Ali
Saunders, North Harrison.
Jan. 4-Jan. 9: District-1 boys: Jackson Paul, Churubusco. District-1 girls: Lilliann Frasure,
North Judson-San Pierre. District-2 boys: Gus Etchison, Hamilton Heights. District-2 girls: McKenna
Layden, Northwestern. District-3 boys: Trey Kaufman, Silver Creek. District-3 girls: Vanessa Shafford,
Linton-Stockton.