Makenna Strycker’s skill and determination led her to leading the state in made free throws her senior season.
It also helped the Pioneer Lady Panthers post a six-win improvement from a year ago which included a nine-game win streak through the middle of the season.
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She averaged 17.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.0 steals per game and is the Pharos-Tribune’s 2025 Loganland Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
Pioneer coach Dave McWherter talked about some of Strycker’s accomplishments this season.
“She led us pretty much in every category you can imagine. She ended the season with seven double-doubles and two triple-doubles. She led the state in made free throws, 164 of them.
“She had 20 points in each of those last three sectional games and they were obviously keying on her. So for her to still be able to do that, it just shows what tenacity and never give up attitude that she had throughout the season.”
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McWherter also thought Strycker was the best player in the Hoosier North Athletic Conference this season.
“She led the conference in scoring, led us obviously in scoring, rebounding, steals, assists. She’s just a natural leader for us,” he said. “I always describe her as having a big heart and just wanting what’s best for the team, not just for herself. There was no doubt about that. So those things were huge for us. She was the MVP of that Kitchen Classic too.”
Improvement is a big part of Strycker’s story. She was a role player on Pioneer teams that went 21-5 and 21-4 her first two years of high school, teams that were led by current Ball State guard Ashlynn Brooke. Strycker averaged 2.7 ppg and 5.1 ppg her first two years.
She upped that to 12.5 ppg last season and to 17.8 ppg her senior season, finishing with a total of 916 career points.
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“I just think that playing with Ashlynn just helped me to see what I needed to do, and then once she wasn’t there, obviously I had to fill those shoes ever since and those were big shoes to fill,” Strycker said. “But I think that I ended up developing my own personal game off of my experiences.”
Strycker is at her best with the ball in her hands when she’s running the point. The 5-foot-6 senior showed a natural ability of evading multiple defenders at a time, getting to the basket and drawing contact, which she did better than anyone in the state this season. She made 164 of 228 free throws (72%) on the season, averaging 6.6 makes on 9.1 attempts per game.
“I didn’t even know I was going to lead until the end of the year and it was just crazy,” Strycker said. “It was definitely a lot of work in the gym, just kind of putting up shots and then taking it to the game when I was able to get to the paint a lot and just get fouled. That really helped my season develop and it helped my team.”
The Panthers went 12-13 on the season despite an 0-6 start. They won 10 of 11 from that point and were a competitive group. They took Lewis Cass and Winamac to overtime and played HNAC champion North Judson to within 2 points.
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“I think that everything just really ended up coming together as it was supposed to,” Strycker said. “Even though we had a slow start and even though things weren’t really working out, we just kind of figured everything out as a team and instead of putting so much pressure on each other, we just enjoyed our last season together.”
Strycker will continue her career at the next level as she has signed to play at Wittenberg University, a Division III program in Springfield, Ohio.
“I’m super excited about it,” Strycker said. “I think that I’m going to go in there and we’re going to have a great coaching staff that’s going to be able to help me develop into a better player than I am now today. I just think that Wittenberg was definitely the best option for me. Even though it’s not very big and it’s kind of far away, I just needed to go and be able to develop who I am as a person and my game.”
McWherter thinks Strycker will continue to excel at Wittenberg.
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“She’s just really fundamentally sound in several different ways, but I really think it’s her determination to succeed that’s her biggest thing,” he said. “She just has that willpower and tenacity to be able to just try to get to the rim, making good choices of when she should drive. It just improved so much from last year. We could very easily say she’s the most improved girl on our team. And I know that doesn’t make sense since she led us in almost every category last year too, but it was all of her improvement that just basically allowed for us to go on that 10 out of 11 game winning streak that we got on this year was because of her.”
The following are capsules of the rest of the Loganland girls basketball team.
Madisyn Douglass, Caston
The 5-5 sophomore guard averaged 15.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg and 3.6 spg.
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Despite massive losses to graduation from last year’s 22-4 semi-state team and going from one of the oldest teams in the state to one of the youngest, the Comets still managed to go 7-16 with just one starter, Douglass, back in the lineup.
“I thought she had a tremendous year considering her role changed from being a role player to one that had to lead,” Caston coach Josh Douglass said. “I thought she did a really good job of adjusting and having to change her mindset and just learning how to be that leader of the team. She was the focal point of everybody’s defense every single night and she was able to adjust to that. She showed improvement in her overall maturity and leading the younger girls too, since we were so young on the floor this year.”
Aftin Griffin, Cass
The 5-1 junior guard averaged 11.8 ppg and 2.8 spg.
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The Lady Kings went 19-7, won the Cass County Tournament and repeated as sectional champions.
“We’ve seen her in every sport, whether it’s cross country, track or basketball, she’s a kid that’s going to be successful in everything she does,” Cass coach Kyle Amor said. “You see her at games, that’s how she is at practice. She’s 100% all out whenever she touches the floor and the results kind of speak for themselves. So definitely happy for her and she’s a great leader. She’s a quiet leader, but she’s an ideal kid to coach. She just does whatever I need her to do, super happy for her.”
Kandace Kroft, Winamac
The 5-7 junior point guard averaged 12.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 4.1 apg and 3.0 spg.
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The Warriors were shorthanded this year and relied on playing just five or six players most of the season. They finished the Rossville game with four players on the court. But The Warriors were still able to post a second straight 14-10 campaign and they finished in second place in the HNAC. One of their wins was at Pioneer in which Kroft hit a game-winning 3 near the end of overtime.
“She’s shown tremendous growth and improvement each of her first three years,” Winamac coach Tony Stesiak said. “She was put in a tough spot freshman year as a point guard on a rebuilding team with new coach. A lot was put on her. I think she used all the good and bad experiences she’s had and just continues to build. She’s a fierce competitor, never satisfied, always wants to try to get better. Winning is important to her. She’s one of the most competitive players I’ve ever coached. She’s got everything you need to be a great player and she continues to make progress towards that. I think there’s another level for her to get to her senior year, and I’m looking forward to seeing that because now when she steps on the floor, she’s probably going to be the most experienced player on the floor. And so those lessons as a freshman and sophomore I think will really pay off.
“She’s definitely a coach on the floor, a coach’s kid you can tell. There’s really nothing she can’t do. She can drive it, shoot it, pass it, post up a little bit. She plays really good defense, is our second leading rebounder, gets a lot of steals. Just everything that we want to do usually she’s a key part of it and I think the best is yet to come. I think she had a great year, obviously has been key in our development as a program and I’m just looking forward to her best year being her senior year.”
Mylie Sipe, Cass
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Sipe, a 5-9 senior, averaged 9.0 ppg and 4.3 rpg for the Lady Kings. She led the team in made 3-pointers (46) and 3-point percentage (33%).
“Huge senior year for her,” Amor said. “She had an up and down career with injuries and the way she shot the ball and got her body physically ready for her senior year, I think she lost about 30 pounds. She was running miles before the basketball season started and she wanted to make sure that she had a successful senior year. She was able to lead this group of young kids and she was our vocal leader of practice throughout the season. I feel like anytime we needed a big shot, she was hitting that from the perimeter for us. She just had a great senior year. I’m happy for her. A lot of our success was on her shoulders when it came to needing a shot and needing someone to score for us.”
Second team
Sadie Popejoy, Winamac
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The 5-7 guard averaged 12.4 ppg for the Warriors.
“Sadie as a freshman with some veteran players had the luxury of being just a spot up shooter and she was really good at it and took a lot of pride in it,” Stesiak said. “I challenged her at the end of last year to be more of a complete player and she really took that and ran with it. It’s probably one of the bigger jumps from a freshman to sophomore year of any player I’ve coached.
“Her ability to put the ball on the floor, to drive all the way and she’s got a tremendous pull up game. She’s a good passer. She rebounds really well. She’s very athletic, a really good defensive player. She’s really become a complete player and I think she’s got a couple more levels to go to. And I think having two guards like Kroft and Popejoy, we’re looking forward to next year. There’s not going to be too many teams that are going to have two guards like that.”
Marissa Iverson, Winamac
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Iverson, a 5-11 junior, nearly averaged a double-double at 10.5 ppg and 8.2 rpg.
“She’s a good traditional post player,” Stesiak said. “She works really hard, she’s really athletic and wants to just continue to get better. She’s always looking for an edge, a different move, a different way to use a move. She’s just really competitive to try to be the best that she can be, and you don’t see a lot of post players anymore in today’s game. She’s a little bit of a throwback, a really good rebounder.
“I think a nice goal for her and we talked about it for next year would be try to average a double-double, and she was really close this year. She’ll have that senior year drive of one last year. She’s made a lot of second teams, a lot of honorable mentions and I think next year definitely first team is something she wants to be, whether it’s any kind of media recognition or all-conference. But she’s got really good post moves and is really athletic and is just starting to really develop not just a move but the counters that you need to be a really great post player. And like I said, you don’t see a lot of them, so when you got one, you want to take advantage of it.”
Mia McKaig, Pioneer
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The 5-7 junior guard averaged 10.2 ppg and 5.6 rpg for the Panthers.
“She averaged 10 points and 6 rebounds, but her defense is just unbelievable,” McWherter said. “Her defensive intelligence, her communication, she’s a very good weak-side rebounder for us, excellent blocking out. She’s just so relentless and her toughness on defense for us, even though she struggled a little bit from the field at times this year, but she still ended up shooting about 26% from 3. I know that’s not lights out, but it was good enough. And when we needed her, she hit some fourth quarter shots for us.
“There were probably four games that we won down the stretch just because she hit some 3s in the fourth quarter, and usually by then they were face guarding her almost every game by the second half. Mia and Makenna were being face guarded in either a triangle-and-two or they were just denying them the ball man-to-man. And I couldn’t be happier with the way Mia handled herself in those situations. And she was always the person that took the ball out for us because of her intelligence and her leadership ability. She had a very good year.”
Anna Hedrick, Cass
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The 5-5 junior point guard averaged 7.9 ppg and 3.2 apg for the Kings.
“Like Aftin, one of the most athletic kids I’ve coached and I think she’s going to have an explosive senior year that I’m hoping maybe get some all-state recognition type of stuff,” Amor said. “She led us in assists, she’s one of our top assist leaders all time at Lewis Cass. I think she’s sitting at third all-time. She’s just unselfish, super athletic, high IQ. I’ve been putting the ball in her hands since her freshman year and it’s all coming to fruition. This is what you expect to happen with a kid that’s been your point guard since her freshman year. I’m excited to see what next year is going to look like for her, but she definitely was a reason why we had a sectional crown this year.”
Kellyn Cripe, Logansport
Cripe, a 5-4 senior point guard, averaged 6.7 ppg and 3.3 spg for the Berries.
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The Berries had a key loss to graduation and were injury plagued before the season event started and posted a second straight 4-19 campaign. But Cripe provided senior leadership and helped the Berries get wins against Tipton, Argos, Delphi and Frankfort.
“She’s a really quick kid,” Logan coach Chris Keisling said. “She played pretty much the whole game whenever she wasn’t in foul trouble. And she was the one that we really depended upon to try to help us get up the floor and try to show some leadership because we had such a young team around her. We had a lot of freshmen and so she was tasked with that responsibility. I thought she responded really well.
“She’s got really quick hands and is really just a great defensive player, especially on the ball and any kind of pressing situation. She’s got great anticipation. She was able to create a lot of her offense off her defense. And then she had a few games where she got hot outside and hit really well from the outside. But she definitely was our floor leader this year, there was no doubt about that.”
Third team
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Grace Colvin, Caston
The 5-7 guard averaged 7.2 ppg and 2.0 apg as a freshman.
“For a freshman to step in there and have to handle the point like she did, because we moved Madisyn off the ball, a tremendous job for Grace this year as a freshman,” coach Douglass said. “She’s got a lot of potential still and we’re really looking forward to what she can bring. But as a freshman to be able to step out there and average 7 points a game, she led us in assists on the year, she did a lot of really good things for us.
“I’m really excited for what we have coming back in the future and really pleased with the amount of growth the girls took as the year went on too.”
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Laney Davis, Cass
The 5-5 sophomore guard averaged 5.5 ppg.
“She earned our Most Improved Award this year for our team that was voted by coaches and players,” Amor said. “She had a huge sophomore year. When she broke her arm and had to sit out those six or seven games, I think we lost four of them. She was our sixth man of the year. She started half the year for us as well. She’s just a kid that when she subs onto the floor, it’s like gaining a sixth starter. In the sectional championship against Oak Hill, I think she had eight points all from the line, just aggressively attacked the basket.
“Even though she was our sixth man, she was a valuable piece and I think her junior year’s going to be huge as well. She’s a kid that I think everyone should have their eye on as far as state recognition stuff because she’s going to be special her last two years at Cass.”
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Goldie Kitchell, Logansport
Kitchell, a 5-11 junior, averaged 4.8 ppg and 4.6 rpg.
“Goldie’s a kid that has really improved from year to year,” Keisling said. “And she finally was at a point last year where we really looked to get the ball to her inside whenever we could. Her rebounding has really come along. Her hands have gotten a lot better each year. And she’s really developed a low post game and certainly just gotten better and better for us defending in the post as well and just doing a nice job. She plays with more strength and more confidence and more aggressiveness this year. And so she took some real big steps forward for us.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing what she’s going to do next year as well because each year she’s taken a nice leap for us, and if she improves again as much as she did over her freshman and sophomore years and makes that kind of improvement for next year, we’re really going to see some nice things out of her, especially with some of the other posts in the program with the freshmen coming in as sophomores next year with a year under their belt. So from that standpoint, she’s going to really lead us inside and that’s going to be exciting to see.”
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Rylinn Spradling, Logansport
The 5-7 senior averaged 4.6 ppg.
“Since I’ve been here, Rylinn has been the ultimate utility player,” Keisling said. “We needed her outside, she helped us outside. We needed her to play down on the block, she would do that. Likewise, defensively she would a lot of times have to play against kids that were bigger than her and defend kids that were bigger than her. And then sometimes she’d have to defend the quick guard outside. So those were things that she did on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively, she knocked down the shot outside as well as played down on the block when we needed her to do that and she can handle the ball for outside. And we needed her to do that. So she was just a really nice utility player for us and did a little bit of everything for us. And so her graduation we’ll definitely miss her as well.”
Ava Hubner, Cass
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Hubner, a 5-6 junior, averaged 4.1 ppg and 4.9 rpg.
“She’s one of the most athletic kids at Lewis Cass, an amazing softball player and she’s good at volleyball as well,” Amor said. “Believe it or not, this kid in junior high was one of our best track athletes as well. Everything she does, she does well at. She led us in rebounds. She’s only 5-6 and led us in rebounds. She’s just one of those strong, athletic kids that you’re glad she’s on your team and not on another team because she’s aggressive. She’s a fighter. She’s a blue-collar kid that just made our team go and a much deserved nomination for her.”
