Preview: With MaKaya Porter back in lineup, Marian girls ready for 3A tournament push

Marian girls basketball coach Steve Scott is extremely confident as postseason play prepares to tip off.

Why shouldn't he be.

His Class 3A No. 8 squad is on a roll heading into their own sectional opener versus Jimtown Tuesday night. Marian beat a much-improved Jimtown team 59-29 in their Northern Indiana Conference meeting during the regular season.

There's also the factor that postseason nemesis Washington will now be competing in the Class 4A state tournament. The nationally ranked Panthers sidelined strong Marian teams in the sectional title games each of the past two seasons. Washington, undefeated this season including a 76-29 league win over Marian, was 3A state champions in 2022 and state runner-up in 2021.

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Scott's squad, led by All-Star hopeful Nevaeh Foster, is a huge favorite to claim its first sectional since 2020.

The Knights are not only 19-5, but 4-0 versus the sectional field. Marian won its final six games of the regular season and its closest win over a sectional foe was an 18-point win over rival Saint Joseph. Also, all five of Marian's losses were to Class 4A teams. The Knights were also NIC runner-up to Washington at 10-1 after downing Glenn 70-35 in their league finale Wednesday night.

"We're playing as well as we have all year, but I told our kids after the draw that now is not the time to slump off," said Scott of his message to his team. "Now is the time to work even harder and to kick it in.

"I take no one lightly. But I feel that we have been tested with our schedule this season. I feel that helps us. We have played the best of the best when you talk about 4A teams like Washington and Northrop and Bedford North Lawrence.

"I think our kids are extremely hungry and on a mission to do something in the tournament. I think now with Washington up in 4A it does give our kids more juice for the tournament."

The Knights, who won three sectional titles in Scott's first three years from 2018-20, boast one of the state's best in Nevaeh Foster. The senior guard, who went over 2,000 career points this season, is averaging 25 points and six rebounds per game. The Western Kentucky commit has been on a mission all season after being snubbed for the Junior All-Star team a season ago. Foster hit a program record eight treys and had 35 points in the regular-season finale win over Glenn last week.

"Nevaeh just needs to continue to play the way she has all season for us," Scott remarked. "She's played at a high level all season."

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The Knights have also been bolstered by the return of star senior MaKaya Porter. The athletic forward returned to action Jan. 21 after being sidelined the entire season due to a knee injury. Porter, who averaged 19 points and almost 10 rebounds per contest a year ago and was a Junior All-Star, had 20 points in her season debut in a win over Luers.

"Having her back just creates more problems for teams we play," said Scott of Porter. "She's a matchup nightmare for teams. It gives us one more player that teams have to honor and gives us four kids who can score 15-20 points any given night."

Scott, who is 123-31 in his sixth year at Marian and 297-174 overall in his 20th season, says the keys to success are simple ones for his veteran group.

"We just need to keep playing team ball, continue to gel with MaKaya back and not care who scores for us," Scott stated. "And we have to lock in on defense. That's an area we have to make sure we take care of."

New Prairie is the only other team in the five-team field at Marian with a winning record. Coach Aimee Litka's squad lost 81-57 to Marian in an NIC contest. The Cougars are led by the junior trio of Jayden Flagg, Morgan White and Jolie Johns and senior Eva Dodds. All four average in double figures.

Fairfield a force in 3A

Fairfield is another area team to watch in Class 3A tournament play.

Coach Brodie Garber's Falcons, who checked in at No. 7 in the latest ICGSA poll, sit at 22-2. Fairfield won its final 11 games of the regular season and its pair of losses were to 4A teams Fort Wayne Snider and Columbia City.

The Falcons, who lost in the Class 2A semistate game 35-34 to Frankton a year ago, won the Northeast Corner Conference championship and have an average winning margin of 26 points a game. That is the ninth best per game margin in the state.

"I feel like the girls are playing really good basketball right now," coach Garber said.  "Beating a good Central Noble team twice in a few days was really important.

"Our mindset is to play one game at a time.  All year we have focused on the next game on our schedule. It really helps that the majority of our players have had a decent amount of post season experience.  The five starters have played a big part in our last two seasons success.

"We need to continue to do two things well.  Take care of the basketball (we are averaging 9.3 turnovers per game as a team).  Also continue to play great defense."

Fairfield is led by senior two-sport star Brea Garber. The 6-0 forward has over 1,000 career points on the hardwood and totaled over 1,000 kills on the volleyball court during her prolific prep career in Benton. Garber, the daughter of coach Garber, will play hoops at Indiana Wesleyan.

The Falcons rely on a veteran, well-balanced team approach and a stingy defense. They are allowing just 28 points a game, the third best mark in the state.

Fairfield also hosts its own five-team sectional and will face West Noble. The Falcons beat West Noble 76-16 Friday night to finish the NECC season undefeated at 10-0. The win was the 75th for Fairfield's stellar senior group of five, the winningest class in program history.

LaVille faces tough road in 2A

The tournament draw was not overly kind to LaVille.

The Lancers, though, are not about to back down from a challenge. First-year coach Nick Amor's squad had 16 wins this season going into the regular-season finale Saturday night at Culver, the most since the 2017-18 team won 16 games. They also won the Bi-County Tournament title for the first time in 30 years.

LaVille, whose last sectional title came in 2003, now takes aim at a tough draw in the Class 2A North Judson Sectional. The Lancers face the hosts, who they lost to 31-23 during the regular season, in a first-round matchup. A win there and LaVille meets Wheeler in the semifinals with a potential title game versus South Central at the end. The Lancers beat defending sectional champion South Central 42-39 on Nov. 5. The Satellites have just three losses, but also lost to North Judson 36-32.

"I felt it was probably the toughest draw we could've gotten," noted Amor, who played basketball at LaVille. "It would have been nice to switch places with South Central in the bracket. However, I think the girls are ready for a little redemption against North Judson. A game where we played strong defensively but only shot 9-of-44 from the field.

"I think they are equally as eager to finish the season with a sectional win as they were to get the TCU Bi-County championship game. They've gotten a taste of success and are not satisfied yet."

LaVille relies on its stingy defense, only allowing 31 points a game., which ranks 12th best in the state. The Lancers are led offensively by their senior duo of Lucy Sherk and Heaylyn Kwiatkowski.

"We are in the groove defensively and I am proud of the way they are playing," said Amor. "We have to continue relying on it, but we also need to start finishing the opportunities that we are getting on the offensive end.  Our season field goal percentage is 15 percent from three and 40.5 percent from inside the arc. If we want to have post season success we have to get to the rim and increase the interior percentage."

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: The Marian girls basketball team is aiming for a long postseason run