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Indianapolis Star
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
WNBA All-Star Game: Four-point shots, Napheesa Collier scoring record, Skylar Diggins triple-double
INDIANAPOLIS – The WNBA All-Star Game apparently has the same allergy to defense the NBA All-Star game does. Team Collier scored 49 points in the first quarter and had 82 at halftime and pretty much led by more than 20 points over Team Clark most of the game. It finished a 151-131 Team Collier win as its captain Napheesa Collier set a WNBA All-Star Game scoring record (36 points) and Skylar Diggins set a record for assists (15) and had the first triple-double in a WNBA All-Star Game. Here are a few takeaways from Saturday night's WNBA All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse: This year, the WNBA All-Star Game added a few wrinkles, from hockey-like live-ball substitutions to 4-point shots. Shots from AT&T logos placed 28 feet from the rim (six feet behind the usual 3-point line) were worth four points, and they were popular. "I'm just all four-point shots. Four-point shots. More, more, more. You don't realize how much they add up. We didn't take that into account," Caitlin Clark told the ESPN broadcast as Team Collier built a healthy 22-point lead at halftime. Team Collier was 12-of-28 on 4-point shots with Collier hitting 4-of-5 and Allisha Gray hitting 3-of-5. Team Clark was 8-of-37 on 4-pointers. ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo wasn't a fan of the innovation. "I've got an opinion that might not be popular, I guess I'll share it... So I love that AT&T donates money to charity when players hit the 4-point shot, that's phenomenal... I don't like the 4-point shot," Lobo said. "The WNBA All-Star Game was more competitive before the players were all just launching the ball." With a little help from the 4-point shot and an absence of anything that resembled defense, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier scored 30 points through the first three quarters, hitting 11 of her first 12 shot attempts. Collier hit four shots from the 4-point logos and finished with 36 points. Arike Ogunbowale set the All-Star Game scoring record last season with 34 points. Skylar Diggins, the 2009 IndyStar Miss Basketball out of South Bend Washington, set a WNBA All-Star Game record with 15 assists Saturday. Diggins' record-breaking assist was a double-record breaker as it led to another Napheesa Collier 4-point shot, which pushed the Lynx star's scoring total to 36 points, breaking the WNBA All-Star Game scoring record. Sue Bird held the previous assists record with 11 in the 2017 All-Star Game. Diggins finished with the first-ever triple-double in a WNBA All-Star Game: 11 points, 11 rebounds, 15 assists. Kelsey Mitchell started in favor of her injured Fever teammate Caitlin Clark and scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting with two rebounds and two assists. Aliyah Boston, selected as a starter on Team Clark, had nine points, six rebounds and two assists.
Indianapolis Star
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Back home again in Indiana: Jackie Young, Skylar Diggins have 'full circle' moment as WNBA All-Stars
INDIANAPOLIS – Seattle Storm point guard Skylar Diggins called it a full-circle moment. The same could be said for Las Vegas Aces point guard Jackie Young. Diggins led South Bend Washington to an IHSAA Class 3A state championship as a sophomore in 2007, finished her four-year career third on the state's all-time scoring list (2,790) and won IndyStar Miss Basketball in 2009. Young, a Princeton Community alum and the 2016 IndyStar Miss Basketball, holds the state's all-time scoring record (3,268) and guided the Tigers to 53 consecutive wins and the 2015 Class 3A state championship. Two Indiana basketball legends are back in their home state as 2025 WNBA All-Stars. In 49 other states it's just basketball, but this is Indiana, as the saying goes. And it really doesn't get much more Indiana than this. "It's pretty special, us both being from Indiana, having this moment here, having this opportunity," said Young. "Being an all-star in Indiana, being from Indiana, is super special. I've just been taking it all in this weekend, having a lot of fun experiencing it with my friends and family — and I'm excited to play, too." "I've spent a lot of time here in Indianapolis and I've already seen a lot of familiar faces," added Diggins, whose family from South Bend will be among those making the trip for Saturday's game. "My kids are excited to be here and what better place to host it than Indiana?" For Diggins, having her children in attendance has made this year's event even more memorable. The seven-time WNBA All-Star quipped instead of telling them how it was "back in her day," they'll be able to experience it first hand. "That's a big deal." "I don't take it for granted," Diggins later added. "It's amazing." As for the return to Indiana — specifically the massive photos of her (and the other WNBA All-Stars) located around town — Diggins expected nothing less. "I guess I didn't know any better," Diggins said of the uniqueness of Indiana basketball. "This is Indiana. It's basketball. Hoosier Hysteria is real," she smiled. "From the moment you can stand up, they put a ball in your hands, but it's around, inside, outside, 3-on-3, 5-on-5. I always grew up playing the game. It's the most accessible sport. … It's a culture that comes with the game of basketball in Indiana. Being here and being from here, the love of basketball is still with me to this day." Young has never strayed far from her small-town roots and her trip to Indiana included a return to Princeton — as most usually do. She visited the recently opened Princeton YMCA (located inside her old elementary school) on Thursday, where she hosted a youth basketball camp and was honored with a mural recognizing her careers at Princeton High, Notre Dame and Las Vegas. "That's a small town, so we never would have thought a YMCA would actually open. And having a mural there in the gym is pretty special," Young said. "I spent a lot of time growing up in Princeton, playing basketball in Princeton. I'm just happy for the younger generation that they'll have more opportunities than I had growing up." Young's appearance at Princeton came a few hours after she announced a new partnership with Skechers. oung said it was important for her to work with a brand that allows her to "stay true to herself." To that end, they gave out shoes to the Tigers' middle school and high school girls basketball teams as part of the day's festivities. (Young promised she'll hook up the boys team, too.) "They allow me to do things that I want to do and that's giving back to my community (and) the little girls growing up," Young said. "When I was a young girl, that's what I wanted, so to be in this position and to be able to give back to my community is special," she continued. "I always try to do that anytime I'm home — go to games, go to practices, whatever it is. Being that role model in my community (and) giving back to the younger generations, it's super important."
Indianapolis Star
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Girls basketball recruiting: HSE's nationally ranked PG likes 4 schools but keeping door open
WESTFIELD – KK Holman has a top four colleges. Well, sort of. The nationally ranked point guard is still open to offers and interest from other colleges, but she took official visits to Marquette and Wisconsin last month and has visits to Arizona State and Florida scheduled for the end of the month. It's a short list, but with the caveat things are subject to change. Narrowing the scope, even while leaving the door open for further recruitment, has made things less stressful for the 2026 Hamilton Southeastern girls basketball standout, who was in Westfield over the weekend for the final AAU tournament of her career with IGB. The four schools atop Holman's list were chosen based on the relationships they've built with her over the past 2-3 years. "The way they've talked to me and (recruited) me, that's been really important and really stood," she said. More: Lapel's Laniah Wills commits to Butler. 'That's a pressure off my shoulders. I feel very good about it.' As for her visits to Marquette and Wisconsin, players from both teams were "really welcoming" to Holman, who had the opportunity to spend "a lot of time" with them and was able to hear their insight on the coaches, what they thought of the program and how they felt. Holman will be a major addition for whichever college she chooses. The 5-10 point guard is rated as a four-star recruit by ESPN and ranks just outside the top 50 (No. 51) in their national 2026 rankings, second-highest among Indiana prospects (Lawrence Central's Lola Lampley is ranked 20th). Holman looked smooth in her game Saturday afternoon, aggressively attacking the glass and showing off her tenacity both defensively and as a passer. Asked where her focus has been this summer, the Junior Indiana All-Star cited the mental side of the game. She's been working closely with 2010 Indiana Miss Basketball Courtney Moses Delk on mindset training for the past year, and has taken to journaling and visualizing before games. Statistically, Holman was a star for the semistate runner-up Royals last season, averaging 12.2 points on 49% shooting, 5.8 assists, 5.3 rebounds, just 1.8 turnovers and 2 steals. She's positioned to clear 1,000 career points and will be at the forefront of a young HSE outfit alongside classmate Kayla Stidham, who recently committed to Ball State. The Royals graduated six seniors, including IndyStar Miss Basketball Maya Makalusky, Kayla Brinley and Addison Van Hoesen. "We have a lot of rebuilding to do with a lot of underclassmen coming up to fill those spots," Holman said. "We just need to get more comfortable with them and each other. This year's still going to be good, we just need to get more comfortable and rely on each other more." As for the season ahead, specifically the national rankings and her place among the state's top 2026 Miss Basketball contenders, Holman doesn't see it as pressure. "Lola at Lawrence Central and Myah (Epps) at Homestead are both great players," she said, citing two of the other preseason frontrunners. "I would be happy with any of us getting it."
Indianapolis Star
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Things 'always circled back to Butler' for 2026 commit Joslyn Bricker. 'A dream come true'
When someone asked Joslyn Bricker what her dream school would be growing up, she always answered Butler. The Warsaw senior basketball standout didn't know much about the coaching staff or school in general at the time — aside from "Hoosiers," one of her all-time favorite movies, filming inside Hinkle Fieldhouse — but she knew a number of Butler grads and everyone had positive things to say about their experience. "They all loved it," she told IndyStar on Thursday morning. Butler maintained a prominent place on Bricker's list of potential destinations as she learned more about the university and its women's basketball program, and over the past few weeks, her interest was reciprocated. Coach Austin Parkinson offered Bricker a scholarship during a campus visit earlier this month and on Wednesday, she made things official, verbally committing to the Bulldogs. Lapel's Laniah Wills commits to Butler: 'That's a pressure off my shoulders. I feel very good about it' Bricker said Butler "kind of sells itself" with its prestigious academics and, for her individually, the proximity to home and importance of faith to the coaching staff. "The relationships I've formed with the coaches, they're just great people," she continued. "I felt that way about everyone we met on my visit. It felt like a big hug and a really good fit for me." A 5-8 point guard and 2026 IndyStar Miss Basketball candidate, Bricker averaged 19 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.6 steals last season for Class 4A state runner-up Warsaw. She shot 59% from the field, 43% from 3 and 82% from the line, and enters her senior season with over 1,000 career points. Bricker said Parkinson, a former point guard himself, compared her game to that of New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson — which is who her dad had been encouraging her to play like. "That was kind of like, 'Wow, he has a really good grasp and understanding of my game and how I want to play,'" she said. "That was really impressive." These past few weeks have been "a whirlwind" for Bricker, who added offers from Butler, Florida Gulf Coast, Penn, Southern Indiana and Belmont to an already extensive list earlier this month. She visited Butler on June 11, then took trips to Belmont and Ball State — two of the other schools she was "very interested in" — a week later. Scheduling those visits consecutively made it easier to compare schools, she said, but it was "exhausting and a lot to process." And in the end, "it always circled back to Butler." After talking through things with her parents earlier this week, Bricker reached out to Butler freshman Addi Baxter to ask the Columbia City grad about her experience and why she chose the Bulldogs. "Everything she told me was reassuring of what I was feeling, too," Bricker recalled. "We're very similar, have similar values in the way we look at things, so hearing all the great things she had to say and why she chose Butler helped it make sense for me." Bricker is Butler's second in-state 2026 commit, joining Lapel's Laniah Wills, a 6-0 wing. "It's a dream come true," Bricker said. "I know the coaches and some of the players and they're all just really great people. … I'm excited to build something special with special people."
Indianapolis Star
21-04-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana women's basketball gets transfer who earned an ESPN 'SportsCenter' No. 1 top play
Indiana women's basketball added to its backcourt with the commitment of guard Jerni Kiaku. The 5-7 starter at Duquesne earned an ESPN "SportsCenter" top play of the day on March 20 after a buzzer-beating shot to beat Longwood. Jerni Kiaku stats 2024-25 at Duquesne: 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals 2023-24 at Duquesne: 6.6 points Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. 2022-23 at North Carolina Central: 10.7 points, 1.4 steals Jerni Kiaku eligibility She has one year of eligibility. Shay Ciezki is the lone contributing guard returning for the Hoosiers. They have added Chloe Spreen and Phoenix Stotijn in the transfer portal, as well as incoming freshmen Maya Makalusky, the IndyStar Miss Basketball, and Navaeh Caffey, Missouri's top high school player.
