Semistate wrap: Maya Makalusky surpasses Parrish, Warsaw dazzles, 2026 Miss Basketball

Posted by author February 23, 2025 Basketball

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Joslyn Bricker, KK Holman issue opening statements in 2026 Miss Basketball race
Impressive seasons by Cathedral, Roncalli and Heritage Christian end in semistate finals
Maya Makalusky makes school history in final game

FRANKFORT — I am still buzzing over what we witnessed Saturday in the 2025 IHSAA girls basketball state tournament.

I started the day at the Berry Bowl in Logansport then ended the day at Case Arena in Frankfort so honestly, my day would’ve ruled even if the games stunk. Thankfully, they didn’t, and I have thoughts to share before we move ahead to next week’s state championship games.

Maya Makalusky

Opening with a historic note on the IU-bound senior: Makalusky broke Hamilton Southeastern’s all-time scoring record Saturday night, surpassing 2020 Miss Basketball Sydney Parrish with 1,933 points over her four-year career. Parrish graduated with 1,925 points.

Warsaw Tigers

The Tigers are really good. Like, really, really good.

They shot 52% against McCutcheon in the Class 4A semistate semifinal, then shot 41% and racked up 67 points against top-ranked Hamilton Southeastern in the nightcap. That same HSE defense surrendered 60-plus points only twice this season and had not allowed more than 50 since Jan. 28 (at Pike).

It took time for both teams to find their footing in the championship game, HSE coach Brian Satterfield observed, but the Royals allowed the Tigers to get going from 3, with Brooke Zartman accounting for four of the team’s six first-half triples.

Warsaw also did an excellent job getting to the free throw line and converting those opportunities, going 20-for-21 in the second half.

Joslyn Bricker

One of the game’s major turns came when Warsaw junior Joslyn Bricker picked up her fourth foul about two minutes into the third quarter. A Zartman 3 extended the lead to 35-27 shortly after she subbed out, but it was all Hamilton Southeastern from there, with the Royals embarking on a 16-0 run to take the lead.

By quarter’s end, Warsaw was a minus-11 with Bricker on the bench.

She returned in the fourth and set about turning the game on its head. She accounted for most of her 11 second-half points over the final eight minutes, including an early triple that got the Tigers back into their groove.

There was a noticeable shift in confidence with her on the floor, with Zartman and Winchester both returning to their level and the trio working in unison to take over the game.

“That’s what she does, man. That’s what she does,” Winchester said of Bricker, who finished with 18 points, three rebounds (two offensive), two assists and a steal. “She moves the ball, she handles the ball, she can score — she can do everything.”

“She’s a big motor for us,” Zartman added. “When she’s in, it’s going. She finishes so well and when she got going downhill and everything, it created so much for all of us.”

This all leads me to…

2026 Miss Basketball

I thought 2025 Miss Basketball was a tight race. And it is. But then I started looking at next season, and now my head might explode.

My early look at the 2026 race will extend beyond the names listed below, but here are a few juniors who issued their opening statements Saturday.

∎ Joslyn Bricker, Warsaw: See above. Also, this was her line from the semistate semifinal vs. McCutcheon: 35 points (14-19 FG, 4-6 3PT), 11 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. She scored 17 of those points amidst a 19-0 run to start the game.

“I love her so much. Nobody can guard her, and I stand by that,” Winchester said. “Nobody can guard her.”

∎ Keke Butler, Lawrence North: While Holman and Bricker went head-to-head, Butler — who will face Bricker on Saturday — was putting on a show at Southport, registering 10 of 15 points in the first half against Pike. We saw her penchant for winning plays in the regional against Pendleton Heights. She simply would not be denied that afternoon, teaming up with senior Kya Hurt to take over the game and push the Wildcats into the third weekend.

∎ KK Holman, Hamilton Southeastern: I leaned over to Mason Asher and Richie Hall late in the third quarter and whispered (OK, I actually kinda had to yell because it was super loud inside Case Arena) that we were witnessing the beginning of Holman’s Miss Basketball campaign. She was magnificent, accounting for 10 of her 17 points in the third quarter, and making big plays on both ends of the floor throughout.

“What she does on both ends is truly special,” Satterfield said. “For Kennedy to be able to attack off the dribble, see the floor, distribute — do all the things you need from the point guard, I think that’s what makes her really unique, really special.”

A statistic (and significant improvement) of note: Holman was 2-for-21 from 3 through her first 14 games. She was 12-for-27 from 3 in the 12 games leading into semistate.

A couple names to monitor at Gainbridge…

∎ Vanessa Rosswurm, Norwell: She scored 26 points against Columbia City to secure a return trip to Gainbridge for the 3A Knights, and has been great all season against a very difficult schedule.

∎ Kamri Rowland, Rensselaer Central: Rowland was really good against Sheridan, logging 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals in a physical tussle inside The Berry Bowl. She’ll have a chance to showcase her skills Saturday vs. 2A powerhouse South Knox.

Cathedral

Cathedral’s run from the middle of January through semistate was characterized by its defense. The Irish held 11 straight opponents to 50 points or fewer. That streak ended Saturday with a 72-54 loss to Roncalli.

Tough way to go out, but there’s so much to be proud of inside that Irish locker room and ample reason for excitement moving forward.

Cathedral took off in December, stringing together high-quality wins over Heritage Christian, Brownstown Central and Lafayette Central Catholic. It followed that run with a dramatic win over Bishop Chatard in the City final, then completed the sweep of the Trojans with a wild win in the sectional quarterfinals. The hero in that game? Freshman Caroline Wiggins, who averaged around 10 points, six rebounds and two steals in her debut season. She’ll be a key returner entering next season, as will junior Precious Anuka and freshman Maddy Watko, all of whom appeared in 25-plus games this year.

Roncalli

I remain very impressed with how the Royals turned things around offensively in February. After struggling to score over 50 points during their final few regular-season games, they suddenly ran like a well-oiled machine in the postseason, averaging 63.8 points over their final five games, including a 71-58 loss to undefeated Greensburg in the semistate final. (Greensburg, by the way, has allowed more than 55 points only twice this season — Silver Creek and Evansville Central).

Elliot Leffler dropped 15 points in the finale vs. Greensburg, with Brennah Cerny adding 12, Lydia Stahley chipping in 10, Reagan Turk tallying nine and Catie Rosko tallying eight points. Senior Sara Rosko went 4-for-4 at the line in the third quarter.

It was a similarly well-balanced effort against Cathedral. Leffler scored 19 points, Cerny notched 18, Sara Rosko added 13 and Catie Rosko scored 12. Caroline Schoettle added seven points and eight rebounds.

The Royals figure to be the sectional favorites entering next season.

Sheridan

Heritage Christian

The record (15-13) may suggest otherwise, but I wouldn’t call Heritage Christian’s run entirely unprecedented. The Eagles played such a difficult regular-season schedule and that experience had them ready to navigate a sectional that included both Triton Central and Eastern Hancock, one-loss Northeastern in regional and a similarly battle-tested Brownstown Central bunch in the semistate semifinal (HC out-scored BC, 38-26, in the second half en route to a 51-43 win).

Similar to Cathedral, the Eagles graduate a couple key pieces in seniors Joslyn Marshall and Casey Frost, but have two high-quality foundational pieces to build upon. Freshman Riley Johnson was the team’s leading scorer at nearly 15 points per game; junior Trinity Taylor, a 5-11 forward, clocked over seven points and 13(!!) rebounds per game in her third varsity season.

The Scorers Table

The Scorers Table is a podcast covering all things Indiana girls high school basketball, hosted by IndyStar high school sports Insider Brian Haenchen, 2010 Indiana Miss Basketball and former Purdue standout Courtney (Moses) Delks and longtime coach Danny Riego.

We’re live Sunday at 10 a.m. EST and will are planning multiple shows leading into Saturday’s state championship games, so be sure to subscribe: YouTube.com/@IndyStarHank.

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.