There is plenty of change this season around the area prep girls basketball scene.
One change not expected though is that the Northern Lakes Conference frontrunners once again should be Warsaw and Northridge.
The Tigers rolled to not only another championship in the league a season ago, but won Class 4A sectional, regional and semi-state titles. Coach Lenny Krebs’ team capped a 26-2 campaign with a 65-59 loss to Lawrence North in the Class 4A in the state title game.
Warsaw, which is 138-55 under Krebs the past eight seasons, has won the last four NLC titles by going 28-0 in league play. The Tigers were dominating a season ago, averaging 71 ppg. and winning by an average margin of 31 ppg.
Northridge, an area power for nearly the last two decades under longtime coach Doug Springer, fashioned a 21-5 season in 2024-25. The Raiders went 6-1 in the NLC and lost 60-44 to Warsaw in the regular season and 71-54 to the Tigers in the Warsaw Sectional. The Raiders won by an average of 20 ppg. a season ago.
Warsaw and Northridge both return plenty of firepower this time around.
The Tigers welcome back a pair of Indiana All-Star hopefuls in seniors Joslyn Bricker and Brooke Zartman. The pair of guards, who combined to average 37 ppg. a season ago, were both Indiana Junior All-Stars in 2025. Bricker has committed to Butler and Zartman to Miami of Ohio.
Warsaw has beefed up its schedule this season and will play in the Hall of Fame Tournament and the Sneakers for Santa event at Brownsburg.
The Raiders will be led by a stellar 1-2 punch of Lily Scholl and Camryn Conley. Scholl, a 5-10 junior forward, averaged 15.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game a season ago. Conley, a 5-11 senior guard, averaged 9.7 ppg.
The ICGSA preseason polls have Warsaw at No. 5 and Northridge at No. 9 in Class 4A with NorthWood at No. 10 in Class 3A.
Northridge will play at Warsaw on Jan. 10.
Here’s a quick look at the teams in the NLC in alphabetical order.
CONCORD
Coach: Brandon Abel (18-26 in third season).
2024-25 Record: 9-13 (2-5 NLC)
Players to watch: Senior: Shelby Emerick (10.4 ppg). Juniors: Shiloh Smith (6.5 ppg.), Viv Casey (2.6 ppg).
Key newcomers: Senior: Zaza Zilm. Juniors: Kailyn Gonzalez, Hayden Minder, Kylee Anglemyer. Sophomore: Brooklyn Ganger.
Coach Abel says: “As we enter my third season at Concord, this is the most confident I have felt in our players ability to understand and execute our system at this point in the season. Year in and year out the NLC is consistently a tough conference to compete in. This year will be no different. On any given night we expect to have a tough game in NLC play. We have to play really good basketball to finish at the top of our league.”
GOSHEN
Coach: Shaun Hill (100-83 in ninth season)
2024-25 Record: 7-15 (1-6 NLC).
Players to watch: Seniors: Kaelyn Marcum (4.4 ppg.), Yesenia Medina, Dakota Powers, Brenna Yoder. Sophomore: Sueann Watt (4.8 ppg.)
Key newcomers: Amari Yoder Lind (4.2 ppg., 5.8 rpg., transfer from Bethany Christian. Mia Winship, Layla Evans and Charlemagne Miller.
MISHAWAKA
Coach: Justin Overholser (2-21 in second season)
2024-25 Record: 2-21 (0-7 NLC)
Players to watch: Seniors: Reese Brugh (4.5 ppg.), Grace Matherly (4 ppg., 8 rpg.), Holly Shine (3 ppg., 5 rpg.). Junior: Millie Mammolenti (6 ppg.). Sophomore: Grace Betzer (3.5 ppg.)
Key newcomer: Sophomore: Ednyia Johnson
Coach Overholser says: “We are going to keep expanding these young ladies’ knowledge of the game and just try to get them to play hard every minute they are on the court. We have the majority of our scoring, rebounding, etc. coming back. The NLC is a grind year in and year out top to bottom. Having two top ten teams in the state doesn’t help. It’s going to be a great conference with some good basketball being played.”
NORTHRIDGE
Coach: Doug Springer (321-122 in 19th season)
2024-25 Record: 21-5 (6-1 NLC).
Players to watch: Seniors: Camryn Conley (9.7 ppg.), Macey Riegsecker (2.4 ppg.). Juniors: Lily Scholl (15.8 ppg., 6.2 rpg.), Alli Ambers (3.4 ppg.), Zoe Yeater (2.9 ppg.).
Key newcomers: Junior: Adelynn Miller. Sophomores: Jada Walker, Morgan Gorball.
Coach Springer says: “We lost two very experienced players who are playing at the next level, and our sixth man to Warsaw via transfer. However, we do return five players with varsity experience and over 35 ppg. We have some talented young players who are ready to step into prominent roles. Once they get comfortable playing at the high end Class 4A varsity level, they will be impact players. If we can stay together and communicate with each other, we will have the opportunity to compete for championships. We are very excited to continue to build our program and compete for conference and sectional championships.”
“The NLC is looked at as perennially one of the top basketball conferences in Northern Indiana and that should not change this year. The NLC has great coaches who are passionate about basketball! You have to be prepared for every game. Warsaw represented the NLC in the Class 4A state championship game last season, and they have a lot of returnees that keeps them at the top of the NLC for this upcoming conference season.”
NORTHWOOD
Coach: Taylor Burkhart (51-25 in fourth season)
2024-25 Record: 17-7 (5-2 NLC)
Players to watch: Seniors: Ella Balasa, Brooke Johnson. Junior: Addie Davis
Key newcomers: Junior: Claire Hill. Sophomores: Taryn Marcum, Palyn Andrews. Freshmen: Ivy Leeper, Ja’Mya Nelson.
Coach Burkhart says: “This season’s team is not only younger but will embrace a new starting five as the Black Swish does not have any returning starters. The team will rely on leadership from its seniors, Ella Balasa and Brooke Johnson. We look forward to the new season, with a focus on purposeful defense and fundamentals, to compete at a high level. The NLC is an overall competitive conference which provides challenges no matter who we play. Warsaw and Northridge have been top contenders for several years and I expect they will compete at a high level again this season. Our goal is to play fundamental basketball and compete to the best of our ability.”
PLYMOUTH
Coach: Micaela Schalliol (49-46 in fifth season)
2024-25 Record: 13-9 (4-3 NLC)
Player to watch: Sophomore: Chloe Horton (10.4 ppg., 4.8 rpg., 38% from 3-point range).
Key newcomers: Senior: Sophia Polando. Juniors: Olivia Warner, Peyton Ellinger. Sophomores: Lydia Wray, Paige Frank. Freshman: Hayden Shipley.
Coach Schalliol says: “We are young this season, but we knew this was coming graduating five seniors last season. The energy is strong in the gym; we just have a lot the girls are learning as a lot of them are being put into different roles and learning how to play with one another. The NLC is always a tough conference. Warsaw and Northridge are always at the top. We need to be ready any NLC night because every night playing an NLC team it will be a battle.”
WARSAW
Coach: Lenny Krebs (138-55 in ninth season)
2024-25 Record: 26-2 (7-0 NLC)
Players to watch: Seniors: Joslyn Bricker (19 ppg., 5.3 rpg.), Brooke Zartman (17.8 ppg.), Alexis Neely (9.5 ppg., 4.6 rpg., 3.8 apg.), Kyra Kiser, Erin McManus, Kelsey Wrenn (was a varsity letterwinner as a sophomore, injured last season).
Key newcomers: Junior: Cayleigh Goheen. Sophomores: Raegan Robinson, Madison Branam.
Coach Krebs says: “While we lost a senior all-star in Brooke Winchester (now at Ball State), we have two junior all-stars back in Joslyn Bricker and Brooke Zartman. We have three of our top four scorers back and the expectations are high. While we will miss those four seniors more than we realize, I believe the kids in that locker room understand what it takes to be successful. Can we duplicate what we accomplished this past season? That is a question no one knows the answer to.
“I think this team is going to show up and play hard every single night. They love to compete and they hate to lose. We have some kids who are capable of scoring with the ball and I think we are going to be a good shooting ball team. I am sure we will have some nights where we don’t shoot as well as we are capable of, but I think we can score in a lot of different ways. I think we will be a solid defensive team that makes teams work to score, as we have some kids who have really bought into playing defense.
The NLC is still a conference where you will need to play your best basketball each night out. Northridge is always a tough game. Northwood held us to the fewest points of any school in the conference. Wawasee jumped out to a big lead against us a few years ago. Our seniors have a goal of winning the conference all four years of their high school career, so we will need to show up ready to play every single night in the NLC.”
WAWASEE
Coach: Derek Gilreath (38-32 in fourth season)
2024-25 Record: 13-10 (3-4 NLC)
Players to watch: Seniors: Emerson Krull, Taelyn Tom.
Key newcomers: Sophomores: Bailyn Likens, Audra Weaver, Scarlett Hardy, Chasity Kelich. Freshman: Addi Barger.
Coach Gilreath says: “Our team will be very young and inexperienced. They will look to learn how to compete at the varsity level and should display a lot of growth throughout the season.”