(NEW CASTLE) – The 2015 City Securities Hall of Fame Classic on December 29 and 30 guarantees history in the making when for the first time in Indiana high school basketball history two players who have each previously surpassed 2,000 career points face each other.

The occasion will take place when Princeton, led by senior Jackie Young, faces Lebanon and their senior star Kristen Spolyar in the second semifinal of the girls Classic on Tuesday, December 29 at the New Castle Fieldhouse at approximately 12:30 PM.

The two leading scorers in Indiana girls high school basketball a season ago, Young (39.6 ppg) and Spolyar (37.8 ppg) again pace all Indiana scorers this season, recently ranked as the #2 and #3 scorers in the United States in statistics gathered by MaxPreps.com.  Both will enter the Classic already in the top 10 in Indiana high school girls career scoring totals – Young has totaled 2,765 points as of December 22, ranking 4^th all-time and Spolyar comes to the Classic with 2,380 career points, placing 10^th all-time.

Although Hall of Fame research documents five girls games and three boys games in which eventual 2,000 point scorers faced each other in Indiana high school history, this marks the first time that two players already above the threshold will face off.

2015 Girls’ City Securities Hall of Fame Classic

New Castle Fieldhouse – Tuesday, December 29, 2015

11:00 AM (ET) Noblesville vs. Benton Central

to follow             Princeton vs. Lebanon

6:07 PM                Consolation Game

to follow             Championship Game

The four-team lineup for this year’s Girls Classic carries a combined record of 49-6 as of December 22, including a pair of undefeateds.

The first game begins at 11:00 a.m. (ET) with Benton Central (13-0) facing Noblesville (13-3).  The second game will feature Princeton (12-0) versus Lebanon (11-3). Losers of the afternoon games will meet in the consolation game at 6:07 PM with the championship contest to follow.

Noblesville (13-3, IBCA #16, ICGSA 4A #18) returns from a 4A regional finals appearance last season with plenty of remaining talent.

5’10” senior Alexis Shannon averages 19.1 points and 4.1 rebounds, 5’11” senior Katelyn O’Reilly averages 16.3 points and 7.9 rebounds, while 6’2” sophomore Emily Kiser averages 8.8 points and 7.4 rebounds

Donna Buckley earned her 200^th career win in December and on December 22 claimed her 105^th win at Noblesville, making her the winningest coach in program history.

Noblesville will make their 2^nd appearance in the girls Classic. The Millers hosted the 1985 event, losing to Tipton, then defeating Forest Park in the consolation game.  Keck coaches her 2^nd team in the event – she led Greenfield-Central into the 2007 event, where they lost to Terre Haute South, then defeated Huntington North to win the consolation game.

Benton Central (13-0, IBCA #13, ICGSA 3A #3) enters the Classic winners of 38 consecutive regular season games, dating back to February 2014.  Since the start of the 2008-09 season, they have the highest winning percentage of any girls basketball program in Indiana (159-23, .874).

6’2” senior Kaylan Coffman (Evansville) paces the Bison at 17.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game while hitting 57.5% of field goals this season.  5’4” senior Bayley Goodman (Purdue Calumet) averages 11.8 points and 6’0” senior Katie Shields totals 10.8 points and 5.2 rebounds while 5’7” junior Madison Tolen averages 9.0 points and 6.0 rebounds for the season.

Head coach David Baxter has a 116-16 record in six seasons at Benton Central, which is tied for the fewest losses of any girls program in Indiana in that timeframe, and carries a 192-98 career record in 13 years including his tenure at Attica.

Benton Central will make their 2^nd appearance in the girls Classic.  They participated in the 1985 event at Noblesville, defeating Forest Park, then losing to Tipton in the championship game.

Princeton (12-0, IBCA #4, ICGSA 3A #1) has won 38 consecutive games as of December 22, including last year’s 3A state championship.  Including their undefeated 2013-14 regular season, Princeton has won 63 of their last 64 regular season games, dating back to December 2012.

They are led by 6’0” senior guard Jackie Young (Notre Dame), who averages 39.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 4.5 steals per game.  Young currently ranks 4^th in Indiana high school girls basketball career scoring at 2,765 points, 25 behind Skylar Diggins for 3^rd place and 104 behind Stephanie White for #2 all-time.  On pace to set the Indiana high school career scoring mark (Damon Bailey holds the boys record at 3,134; Young is on pace for 3,319 by the end of the regular season), Young became the 1^st girl in Indiana high school history to surpass 1,000 points in a season when she tallied 1,003 last year.  In eight of Princeton’s first 12 games, Young has scored as many or more points as the opposing team, including a high of 53 on November 20 against Gibson Southern.

5’11” junior Brooke James averages 13.9 points and 6.7 rebounds, 5’6” sophomore Kiara Young averages 8.6 points and 5’9” senior Hannah Brewer averages 5.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

Tigers head coach Charlie Mair has a 96-16 mark in his 5^th season leading Princeton.  Including a lengthy career at North Posey, Mair has a career record of 435-277 in 35 seasons.

Princeton makes their 1^st appearance in the girls Classic.  The Princeton boys participated in the 2009 event.

Lebanon (11-3, ICGSA #9) features their own high scorer in 5’10” senior Kristen Spolyar.

Spolyar (Butler University) averages 37.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.6 steals and 4.1 assists this season and set the Lebanon girls single-game record and tied the school record belonging to Hall of Famer Rick Mount with 57 points in a December 4 win against Crawfordsville.  10^th in Indiana girls career scoring, she enters the Classic 41 points short of North Judson’s Debbie Bolen for 9^th place.  Spolyar has outscored the opposing team five times so far this season, including three consecutive games between November 28 and December 4.

5’6” junior Brooke Montgomery averages 12.6 points and 4.1 steals and 5’10” senior Peyton Terrill averages 8.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

The Tigers have won 17 or more games each of the last five seasons, including three 20-win campaigns and four sectional championships.  Their 111-26 record (.810) since the start of the 2010-11 season is among the best in Indiana in that span.

Head coach Beth DeVinney is 72-17 in her fourth season at Lebanon and has 284 career wins in her 20^th season, following stints at Pike and Seymour.

Lebanon makes their second appearance in the girls Classic, following their 2005 event championship.  Led by tournament co-MVP Maggie Boyer, Lebanon defeated eventual 4A state champion Castle, then Carmel in the event at New Castle.

HISTORY:

The prestigious event will be held for the 32^nd time for girls.

Selecting from the best teams in the state, the girls’ tournament has included 18 teams that went on to win a state championship that season, including 11 state champions and five state runner-up teams in the past 13 years alone. 2014 Girls Classic champion Heritage Christian became the 8^th team in history to win the Classic and an IHSAA class championship in the same season with their 2A championship on March 7.

22 young women who went on to win Indiana’s Miss Basketball title have participated in the girls Classic, including each of the last seven Miss Basketball winners (Skylar Diggins, Courtney Moses, Bria Goss, Jessica Rupright, Stephanie Mavunga, Whitney Jennings and Ali Patberg). 9 women to have played in the Classic were named McDonald’s All-Americans and 8 girls Classic alums have played in the WNBA.

Girls legends who have played in the Classic include Stephanie White, Katie Gearlds, Shanna Zolman, Lisa Shepherd, Abby Conklin, April McDivitt, Kelly Faris, Jennifer Jacoby, Jodie Whitaker, Shrya Ely and Tiffany Gooden, among others.