IHSAA Girls Basketball State Finals Set for Saturday

INDIANAPOLIS–The 51st Annual IHSAA Girls Basketball State Finals presented by the Indiana Fever and the Indiana Pacers are this Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The action gets started in the 1A game between the Borden Braves (24-4) and the Fremont Eagles at (28-2) at 10:30 am followed by the 2A game at 12:45 pm between the Eastern (Pekin) Musketeers (20-7) and the Oak Hill Golden Eagles (24-3).

In the evening session at 6 pm, the Roncalli Royals (27-3) go up against the Bellmont Braves (24-3) for the 3A title. In the 4A State Championship Game at 8:15 pm, it is the Center Grove Trojans (28-0) against the Norwell Knights (25-4).

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IHSAA Commissioner Paul Niedig said Monday afternoon that it’s been cool to see the community support and passion for all of the teams in the field.

“Everyone of these teams in this has a high school that’s the center of their community. That really brings a lot of enthusiasm and people are going to come up here in droves this weekend to watch their teams play. The response has been phenomenal. Indiana is special because communities still matter here,” said Niedig.

Norwell won the 3A championship in 2025 and they moved up to Class 4A due to the success factor. Norwell Girls Basketball Coach Eric Thornton, who just won his 500th career game as a coach in the semistate round, says there was a bit of an adjustment moving up to Class 4A initially to start the year.

“I think just playing the 4A bodies when there are so many more D-1 athletes than we were used to playing, which was a challenge. Plus there is excellent coaching so it’s been a tougher pathway,” said Thornton.

With his team getting ready to face Center Grove, Thornton knows that they will have their hands full facing an undefeated basketball team.

“That team is so fundamentally sound. Their defensive principles are so good. It’s really sticky. It’s hard to move the basketball let alone score against them,” said Thornton.

Center Grove Girls Basketball Head Coach Kevin Stuckmeyer, who’s in his 9th season with Center Grove, says what makes his group special is their poise and their committment to excellence. When you are undefeated on the year, there can be distractions that pop up on the way, but Stuckmeyer says his girls manage it well.

“You can’t hide the distraction or run from it. You have to handle the distraction and they do that so well,” said Stuckmeyer.

Trojan guard Gracyn Gilliard averages 26 points and four rebounds per game. She is a strong candidate for Miss Basketball. Gilliard transferred from Munster after her sophomore season and has more than 1,500 points in his career.

“She’d be the first one to tell you this. She wouldn’t be in position to win that without her teammates. I think her teammates and us coaches probably want it more than she does,” said Stuckmeyer.

Center Grove is playing a state championship game for the first time in 20 years and is looking to add its second championship in girls basketball. The last one came in 1996.

Norwell is in the State Finals for the fourth time ever and their third straight year. They would love to win back-to-back titles in two separate classes (3A and 4A).

“We’ll have to figure out a way to grind it out, but we’re excited and it’s been such a fun ride. We’re so thankful for how much the Norwell community has supported us every step of the way,” said Thornton.

From the farthest northeast corner of Indiana, the Fremont Eagles (1A) will be making the school’s first state finals appearance in any sport.

All games will air on the IHSAA Champions Radio Network, locally in Indianapolis on 93.5 and 107.5 The Fan, as well as on IHSAA TV.