Princeton ace Young also scores 57 points in a game en route to IBCA/Subway accolades
An eye-popping 57-point performance, a pair of triple-double efforts and school-record 42-point outburst are among the achievements by those recognized in this week's IBCA/Subway Player of the Week program.
Princeton junior Jackie Young poured in a school-record 57 points en route to averaging 39.3 points over three games, while Evansville Memorial junior Emily Sullivan and South Central (Union Mills) junior Riley Popplewell each recorded a triple-double to headline the award winners.
Pacing the boys' honorees, all Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian senior Wesley Davidson did was pour in a school-record 42 points in his team's only game of the week. Those four players are joined by Indianapolis Tech junior C.J. Walker, Terre Haute South sophomore Jaylen Minnett and Richmond sophomore Destiny Perkins as recipients for the week of Dec. 8-13.
Davidson was honored in boys' District 1, while Walker was cited in boys' District 2 and Minnett took accolades for boys' District 3. Popplewell was the girls' District 1 winner, while Perkins claimed the award for girls' District 2 and Young and Sullivan were co-winners for girls' District 3.
The 6-0 Young, a Notre Dame recruit, captured Player of the Week laurels for the third time this season after exploding for a Princeton school-record 57 points with six rebounds, five assists and five steals in a 103-47 rout of Mt. Carmel (Ill.). She also tallied 28 points with nine rebounds, 11 assists and eight steals in an 89-32 thrashing of Boonville. In addition, Young netted 33 points with eight rebounds, four assists and two steals in a 68-35 triumph over Vincennes Rivet. For the week, Young shot 53-of-75 from the field, including 27-of-34 (plus 3-of-5 free throws) in the 57-point game. She finished the week with a Gibson County record 1,636 career points as the Tigers moved to 9-1 for the season.
Sullivan shared District 3 honors with Young after helping Evansville Memorial (7-0) to three victories. First, the 6-3 center scored 18 points with 12 rebounds and six blocked shots in a 61-36 win over Washington. Sullivan followed with a triple-double of 25 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocks as the Tigers beat Evansville Bosse 56-34. She almost had another triple-double to finish her week, posting 17 points, 14 rebounds and nine blocks as Memorial topped Webster County, Ky., 59-41.
Popplewell, a 5-11 forward-center, averaged 24.5 points, 15.5 rebounds, 6.0 blocks and 6.5 steals in two wins. First, Popplewell produced a triple-double of 23 points, 16 rebounds, 10 blocks and five steals as South Central (Union Mills) knocked off Portage 49-44. She then netted 26 points with 15 rebounds, two blocks and eight steals as the Satellites defeated River Forest 73-32 to improve to 5-3 for the season.
The 5-5 Perkins is the other girls' recipient after averaging 29.0 points in a pair of triumphs. First, the Richmond guard tossed in 26 points with four assists and five steals in a 77-34 victory over Franklin County. Perkins followed by scoring 32 points with four assists and four steals in a 66-59 win over Anderson. For the two games, she made 20-of-48 shots and 17-of-22 free throws.
Davidson topped boys' honorees after the 6-4 guard-forward dropped in a school-record 42 points as Blackhawk Christian posted a 98-49 victory over Woodlan. Davidson was 17-of-20 from the floor, including one 3-pointer, and added seven free throws in his big game. His performance broke the Braves' previous standard of 36 points set by Russell Byrd in 2010. Blackhawk Christian moved to 4-0 with the decision.
The 6-foot Walker averaged 29.5 points in two wins for Indianapolis Tech (4-2). First, the nifty guard scored 24 points with three rebounds, two assists and two steals in an 82-68 victory over Cathedral. Walker followed by dropping in 35 points with four rebounds, one assist and seven steals in an 85-68 triumph over Michigan City.
Minnett, a 6-0 guard, scored 32 points with one steal and two blocks in leading Terre Haute South to a 79-76 win over Avon as the Braves moved to 3-0. Minnett hit 10-of-15 shots, including 6-of-9 3-pointers, plus 6-of-8 free throws for his big game.
This is the seventh season for the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Week program and the third season it is presented by Subway Restaurants of Indiana, a banner sponsor of the IBCA. Subway, in its fifth 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 from now through the week following March 7. Boys winners will be chosen from now through the week following March 28.