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OXFORD – Brandi Richardson made an early statement for her case to be an Indiana All-Star next season.
The Lafayette Jefferson point guard caused matchup problems with her speed June 9, even against national player of the year Skylar Diggins. Richardson scored 14 points to lead the Junior All-Stars, but she couldn’t help her squad overcome a dominant Indiana All-Stars team.
The seniors left Benton Central’s Arena Gymnasium with a 91-78 victory but unhappy with their play.
“We got all the kinks out early, which is good,” said Miss Basketball Diggins, who finished with 19 points. “It’s our first time playing with each other, and I thought we did well toward the end.
“We just have stuff we still need to work on.”
Richardson scored 10 first-half points and helped the juniors take an early second-half lead.
“She was the reason we were able to compete with them in the first half and why we were able to go ahead of them in the second half,” said juniors coach Mark Redding.
Richardson thought she accomplished her goal, which was to prepare the Indiana All-Stars for their weekend series against Kentucky.
“I went out there and played hard and made my teammates better,” said Richardson, who also had four rebounds, two assists, and a steal. “Hopefully that senior team can do what they need to do when they go play Kentucky.”
Benton Central’s Skyler Gick started on her home floor. She hit just 1 of 4 3-pointers and scored five points with two assists and a block in 14 minutes.
“I had a little bit of nerves,” Gick said. “You feel a little bit of pressure playing in your own gym.”
The senior squad led the entire first half but surrendered the lead two minutes into the second half. Courtney Moses’ 3-point play put the juniors up 49-47.
“I think we definitely are getting them prepared for Kentucky,” said Moses, who has verbally committed to Purdue. “You don’t want to go in thinking you are going to lose. We got down early, and we stayed mentally tough throughout the whole game.
“We were right there.”
The seniors countered with a 21-5 run, sparked by Diggins’ five straight points and ending with a Gick trey.
Penn State-bound Alex Bentley helped the seniors stay afloat in the first half, scoring 12 of her game-high 21 points. Bentley made 7 of 12 shots.
“Offensively, she is the one who kept us in the game,” said All-Stars coach Stan Benge, who also coached Bentley at Ben Davis. “The rest of the girls were a little tentative. She felt a little more comfortable out there.
“Hopefully as the week progresses, everyone will step it up.”
Diggins, who was the Naismith and Gatorade national player of the year, rebounded from a slow first half to score 19 points and dish a game-high five assists.
The future Notre Dame point guard said the idea was to get more opportunities for Gick, who will play at Valparaiso.
“I said, ‘Skyler, it is your world – take over,’ ” Diggins said. “She can create at will. Her being here at her hometown, I am not sure if she was a little nervous or what, but she handles herself very well.
“She is a great teammate whether she is playing defense or off the ball or if she has the ball in her hand.”
Heritage Christian’s Kelly Faris, who will play at Connecticut next season, added 11 points for the seniors. Western Michigan recruit DeAirra Goss had nine rebounds.
Fort Wayne Canterbury’s Tabitha Gerardot tied Richardson with 14 points to lead the juniors. Purdue recruit Dee Dee Williams scored four points and pulled down two rebounds, and Moses had nine rebounds. Oak Hill’s Ashley Pickering had six blocks.
The Indiana All-Stars will be back in action June 11 against a different set of juniors at New Albany. The team then will host Kentucky June 13 at Conseco Fieldhouse before heading south for a June 14 follow-up tilt at Bellarmine in Louisville.
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