Three Hamilton County girls basketball players have been selected to be on the 2018 IndyStar Indiana Girls All-Stars.
Carmel’s Amy Dilk, Noblesville’s Emily Kiser and Carmel’s Tomi Taiwo are the three county players that will be on this year’s team. The All-Stars will play three games in June — one exhibition game against the Indiana Junior All-Stars as well as home-and-home contests against the Kentucky All-Stars.
Dilk was a varsity player for the Greyhounds since she was a freshman, and has been the backbone behind a streak of three consecutive sectional championships for Carmel. Dilk did it all for the ‘Hounds, with per game stats of 17.8 points, 6.7 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 steals and 1.3 blocks. She will play basketball at the University of Michigan next season.
Kiser was also a varsity player from the start for the Millers, and was part of Noblesville’s sectional championship team as a freshman. At 6-foot-3, she plays an expert post game, averaging a double-double of 21.0 points and 13.4 rebounds, as well as 1.9 blocks per game. Kiser will join Dilk at the University of Michigan next season.
Taiwo transferred from Homestead to Carmel in her junior year and made an immediate impact for the Greyhounds. A great 3-point shooter, Taiwo drained 63 triples; she attempted 153 3-point shots for a rate of 41 percent. Taiwo averaged 16.4 points per game, and will play at the University of Iowa next season.
The three Hamilton County All-Stars were among 13 players selected for this year’s All-Stars team. The others are: Angel Baker of Pike, Jenasae Bishop of East Chicago Central, Mackenzie Blazek of Whiteland, Leigha Brown of DeKalb, Nia Clark of Ben Davis, Katlyn Gilbert of Heritage Christian, Cassidy Hardin of Center Grove, Anna Newman of Evansville North, Kayana Traylor of Martinsville and Michaela White of Pike.
The head coach for the 2018 Girls All-Stars will be Pat McKee of Columbus North. He will be assisted by DeAnn Booth of East Noble and Corie West of Avon.The 2018 IndyStar Indiana Miss Basketball will be announced from within the group of All-Stars listed above at The Star’s Indiana Sports Awards Dinner on April 29 at Clowes Memorial Hall in Indianapolis.
The Junior-Senior exhibition game is set for June 6 at a site to be announced. The first game against Kentucky will be June 8 in Kentucky at a site to be announced. The final game against Kentucky will be June 9 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
All three dates will be doubleheaders with the IndyStar Indiana Boys All-Stars.Also, the Indiana Junior All-Stars will play the Kentucky Junior All-Stars on June 1 in Kentucky and June 2 in Indiana, sites to be announced. Those events also will be girls-boys doubleheaders.
The Indiana All-Stars program was founded in 1939 when the Indiana Boys All-Stars played the state champion Frankfort Hot Dogs. The series with Kentucky began in 1940, and the girls’ portion of the All-Stars was added in 1976.
The Indiana portion of the All-Star Games is organized and produced by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. The Indianapolis Star, with its IndyStar brand, is a title sponsor and Best Choice Fieldhouse is a presenting sponsor.
Miss Basketball is selected through a balloting process of coaches and media overseen by game organizers from the IBCA. The remainder of the team is finalized by All-Star game director Charlie Hall after observing games and events throughout the season, conferring with coaches, school officials and media across the state, and reviewing votes submitted by coaches and media who each can recommend up to 12 players.
A complete list of those chosen as 2018 IndyStar Indiana Girls All-Stars follows.
2018 IndyStar Indiana Girls All-Stars
Name, School, Height, Pos., PPG, College Choice
Angel Baker, Pike, 5-8, G, 21.7, Wright State
Jenasae Bishop, East Chicago Central, 5-8, G, 18.6, Boston College
Mackenzie Blazek, Whiteland, 6-3, C, 18.4, Illinois
Leigha Brown, DeKalb, 6-1, F/G, 28.0, Nebraska
Nia Clark, Ben Davis, 5-8, G, 16.2, Miami (Ohio)
Amy Dilk, Carmel, 5-10, G, 17.8, Michigan
Katlyn Gilbert, Heritage Christian, 5-10, G, 18.5, Notre Dame
Cassidy Hardin, Center Grove, 5-10, G, 17.5, Purdue
Emily Kiser, Noblesville, 6-2, F, 21.0, Michigan
Anna Newman, Evansville North, 5-4, G, 18.2, Evansville
Tomi Taiwo, Carmel, 5-9, G, 16.4, Iowa
Kayana Traylor, Martinsville, 5-9, G, 21.4, Purdue
Michaela White, Pike, 6-0, F, 14.7, Indiana State
Head coach: Pat McKee, Columbus North
Assistant coaches: DeAnn Booth, East Noble; Corie West, Avon
Noblesville’s Emily Kiser, Carmel’s Blake Smith and Amy Dilk, and Fishers’ Toni Grace were among the players at the Top 60 Senior Workout. Kiser and Dilk were named to the IndyStar Indiana Girls All-Stars team on Tuesday. (Richie Hall)
Carmel’s Tomi Taiwo participated in the Top 60 Senior Workout and is one of three Hamilton County players on this year’s Indiana Girls All-Stars team. (Richie Hall)