Columbia City's Addi Baxter preps for Butler with strong performance for Indiana All-Stars
GREENFIELD – Addison Baxter is going to miss her dog. Who wouldn't miss a Labrador?
But other than that sad separation that might bring a few tears next week, the Columbia City star guard is ready for college. Butler is her next stop. And on Wednesday night, in the girls Indiana All-Stars' 81-71 victory over the Junior All-Stars, Baxter looked prepared for the college game as she finished with 13 points and a team-high eight assists.
'Obviously, I'm going to have to work for my spot,' said Baxter, Columbia City's all-time leading scorer with 1,859 points. 'But I should be able to come in and play right away. Coach (Austin) Parkinson does a great job of getting everybody experience and we have a lot of good players coming in — a lot of players with size, which I'm not used to playing with going to a small school at Columbia City. I'm excited.'
Baxter looked comfortable Wednesday, running the show and getting her teammates involved. The All-Stars were limited to nine players due to injuries and graduation for Lawrence Central's Jaylah Lampley. The game, which is normally played with the college rules of 10-minute quarters, was limited to eight-minute quarters due to the lack of depth available.
Indiana All-Stars girls history: Year-by-year rosters
Indiana All-Stars girls history: Which schools have most? Players list by school
Miss Basketball Maya Makalusky of Hamilton Southeastern led the All-Stars with 15 points, five rebounds and two assists, hitting 7-for-11 from the free-throw line.
'I thought we played well for a getting a team together that's never played together before,' Makalusky said. 'We were a little rusty. The junior girls have been playing AAU and we haven't, even though we've all been working to stay in shape. I thought we were prepared for that.'
The All-Stars had trouble shaking the Juniors, who were led by Warsaw's Brooke Zartman, who finished with 14 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the 3-point line, and Lawrence North's Ke'Adriah Butler, who went for 11 points. But the seniors took control down the stretch.
'I thought we played pretty well,' said All-Stars coach Stacy Mitchell of Warren Central. 'Most of these girls probably haven't played a competitive game since the end of the high school season. It took a while for them to get their legs back, just the timing and movement. But once they got that back, we were good. Basketball is just about space and timing.'
Mitchell said he was impressed with the 5-9 Baxter, who averaged 23.5 points during her senior season. In addition to points, she set school records for assists (523) and steals (478).
'I was very impressed with her court vision,' Mitchell said. 'She's kind of a like a defensive back on defense, too. She plays well in space, anticipating steals. She's a very good leader.'
The seniors shot 10-for-22 from the 3-point line, including a 3-for-3 night from Brooke Winchester of Warsaw. Baxter, who was 1-for-2 from the arc, said that is one area of her game she hopes to improve on as she gets to Butler.
'I'm an attacker, I'm a slasher and obviously I'm facilitator,' she said. 'But I feel like to stretch my game and make me more of a harder guard is to expand my outside shot.'
But for now, she is enjoying behind around other like-minded players on the All-Stars. And when she leaves for Butler on June 15, she will miss her lab (and yes, her family and friends, too). But the next chapter looks enticing.
'It's bittersweet,' she said. 'But I think I'm ready for the next chapter with the competition and to be pushed a little bit more. I'm blessed to have the opportunities I do and to be going there to be with a family like they have at Butler.'
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