On an emotional night, Gus Etchison poured in 41 points in his only game of the week, and the Hamilton Heights High School junior leads the honorees in this week’s IBCA/Subway Player of the Week program.
Lake Central Senior Nick Anderson, Silver Creek junior Trey Kaufman, Goshen junior Brynn Shoup-Hill, Roncalli senior Alana Vinson, and Bloomfield junior Kylee Shelton join Etchison as recipients for the week of Nov. 25-Nov. 30 in the recognition program coordinated by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.
Anderson is the boys’ winner and Shoup-Hill is the girls’ winner for District 1. Etchison is the boys’ honoree and Vinson the girls’ honoree for District 2. Kaufman and Shelton received the District 3 boys’ and girls’ awards, respectively.
Last Wednesday, Etchison lit up the scoreboard, knocking down six of nine 3-point attempts and nine of 11 free throw attempts, on the way to his 41 points. The 5-11 guard also grabbed five rebounds, handed out a pair of assists, and collected six steals, helping his Hamilton Heights Huskies to a 71-69 overtime win against the Lebanon Tigers.
In District 1 last week, Nick Anderson posted a pair of nice shooting performances, helping Lake Central to a 2-0 start to the season. Monday night the Indians picked up a 58-47 win over nearby Andrean, as the 6-2 guard buried four 3-pointers and 13 of 14 free throws, en route to 35 points on the evening. He added four rebounds, two assists, and two steals to the cause.
Saturday at South Bend Washington, the senior guard again shot it well from the line, going 12-13 on free throws, while knocking down three more treys and scoring 31 points. He added an identical four rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the narrow 58-56 win.
Down South, Trey Kaufman was strong in his only outing of the week Wednesday, an impressive 75-40 victory over Columbus East. The 6-8 junior forward was dominant at both ends of the floor, as he scored a game-high 36 points, while collecting 12 caroms and blocking five shots on the night for his IBCA #4 ranked Silver Creek Dragons.
6-3 front-liner Brynn Shoup-Hill had three nice games over the holiday, helping Goshen to a 2-1 record during that span. On Tuesday, the junior approached a triple-double, with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and seven blocked shots in a 50-44 win against Columbia City. She also handed out a pair of assists.
Saturday, the Redhawks played in the Tippecanoe Valley Classic, falling 39-30 to Bremen in the afternoon contest. In defeat, Shoup-Hill still managed 18 points, nine rebounds, and five blocked shots. She returned later that evening in impressive fashion, scoring 31 points, grabbing 15 rebounds, and blocking five more shots in a big 55-42 win over the host Vikings.
Alana Vinson had it going last week as well, with a pair of nice performances. Wednesday the Senior wing helped Roncalli to a 67-52 win against a gritty Cardinal Ritter squad. She was an efficient 8-12 from the floor, 4-6 from 3-point range, and 6-7 from the line, scoring 26 points in the contest. She was active elsewhere, adding seven rebounds, a pair of assists, and three steals.
The Eastern Illinois University commit returned to action Saturday, but fell in a tight one 63-60 at Center Grove. Still, Vinson scored 24 points on 3-4 shooting from 3-point range, plus she grabbed four rebounds, handed out two assists, collected three steals, and blocked a shot in the effort.
Our District-3 girls’ winner, Kylee Shelton, had her best week of the season to date, helping Bloomfield to a pair of road wins. Tuesday evening, the 5-10 wing helped the Cardinals pick up a 49-38 conference win at Shakamak, as she tallied 23 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and an impressive eight steals.
Saturday, in a 54-48 victory at Owen Valley, the junior posted 30 points, partly due to a tremendous defensive effort, as she stole the ball 13 times in the win. She also added three rebounds and six assists in the contest.
This is the 12th season for the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Week program, and the eighth season it is presented by Subway Restaurants of Indiana, a banner sponsor of the IBCA. Subway, in its eighth season as an IBCA sponsor, encourages athletes to “train hard and eat fresh”.
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.
