Senior Ashlyn Traylor became an All-State performer during her lone season at Franklin.
Daily Journal file photo
When Ashlyn Traylor and her younger sister, Adelyn Walker, found out that their family was moving from Martinsville to Franklin this past fall, Traylor sent a text message to her close friend and fellow senior Kuryn Brunson letting her know that they were about to become teammates.
Brunson’s reply: “We’re going to state.”
“And that’s what we did,” Traylor said. “The whole season, that was our goal, to make it to somewhere we knew we could make it to.”
Traylor made her lone season with the Grizzly Cubs a memorable one, earning All-State honors and leading the team all the way to the Class 4A championship game. For her efforts, she is the Daily Journal’s Player of the Year.
Franklin had plenty of talent, including Brunson and three sophomore starters, returning from last season’s semistate team, so there were questions about how well Traylor and Walker would fit in. Specifically, would having two ball-dominant players — Brunson and Traylor — on the court at the same time upset the apple cart?
The answer turned out to be no; the Grizzly Cubs were the top scoring 4A team in the state while going 28-2 with an average margin of victory of 25 points. If anything, having Brunson and several other talented teammates there took pressure off of Traylor and allowed her to just play without feeling any burden to carry the team.
Traylor and Brunson took turns being the go-to girl for much of the season.
“For a while it was back and forth; she would have a game, I would have a game,” Traylor said. “If I was off a night, she could pick up what I wasn’t bringing and vice versa.”
When both of them were on — like when they combined for 59 points in a regional semifinal win over East Central — Franklin was just about unbeatable.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case in the 4A state final against Noblesville. Traylor picked up her second foul a little more than two minutes into the game and played just 4:20 of the first half while the Grizzly Cubs fell behind by 19. She came back in the second half and helped stage a third-quarter rally to get the game as close as 10, but the gas gauge eventually hit empty.
“I definitely think that if my second foul would have went the other way, the whole game would have been different,” Traylor said. “It totally changed our momentum. Sitting on the bench I was like, ‘It’s okay; we’re going to come back in the second half.’ This is what we do. We were down 14-1 against Hamilton Southeastern (before winning 74-57). So I was worried, but I knew that we could still have a chance to come back in the second half. We made a run, but it just wasn’t enough.”
Even though the season didn’t end exactly how Traylor might have scripted it, she’ll graduate with nothing but fond memories. She cracked the 1,000-point mark for her career, finishing with 1,292, and earned “Supreme 15” All-State recognition. On Tuesday, Traylor was named an Indiana All-Star.
She also got to play 30 more games with her sister — and help make Brunson’s text-message prediction a reality.
Traylor spent the bulk of her childhood in Martinsville, but even after just a few short months in Franklin, there’s no question where her loyalties are.
“Even just one year, I have had more praise, more fun, just a better experience in general than I’d had three years at my other school,” she said.
”I’m definitely forever a Grizzly Cub.”
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The 2022 All-County team for girls basketball:
Kuryn Brunson, Franklin senior: Earned “Supreme 15” All-State honors after averaging 13.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.1 steals and a team-best 2.9 assists … Had seven 20-point games, including a season high of 27 in a regional victory over East Central … Named the Class 4A Mental Attitude Award winner after leading the Grizzly Cubs to the state title game … Finished career with 1,192 points.
Lauren Foster, Indian Creek sophomore: Led sectional and conference champion Braves with 16.7 points and 3.4 assists per game … Ranked seventh in the state by making field goals at a 59% rate and made 107 of 129 free throws (83%) … Totaled 60 points in Indian Creek’s three sectional games … An honorable mention Underclass All-State selection.
Lauren Klem, Franklin sophomore: Had a reduced shooting role but was still an all-conference performer for the Grizzly Cubs, averaging 5.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.9 steals while turning the ball over just 16 times all season despite heavy usage … connected on 50 3-point shots, including four in a sectional championship victory over Center Grove.
Ashlyn Traylor, Franklin senior: Martinsville transfer made her lone season with Grizzly Cubs a memorable one, leading the team in scoring (17.3), rebounding (5.9) and steals (3.2) … Averaged 21.1 points in the postseason, helping Franklin to Class 4A state final … Ended her career with 1,292 points … Indiana All-Star and “Supreme 15” All-State team selection.
Faith Wiseman, Indian Creek sophomore: Filled up the stat sheet to the tune of 12.2 points, 10.9 rebouds, 3.2 blocks, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game on the way to Underclass All-State honorable mention … Helped the Braves win 22 games, complete a perfect run through the WIC and reach the regional final … Had 14 double-doubles and a pair of 20-rebound games.
Honorable mention
Ellie Bigelow, GCA; Savanna Bischoff, Center Grove; Aubrie Booker, Center Grove; Erica Buening, Franklin; Braylyn Clendenen, Whiteland; Gracie Crawhorn, Edinburgh; Alyssa Funkhouser, Edinburgh; Muskaan Ghuman, Whiteland; Savannah Hall, Indian Creek; Callie Hancock, Edinburgh; Ella Hobson, Center Grove; Lily Howe, Greenwood; Quinn Kelly, Greenwood; Scarlett Kimbrell, Franklin; Ayla Lollar, Indian Creek; Kylee Marlin, Whiteland; Dory O’Dell, GCA; Emily Reed, Whiteland; Dani Simon, GCA; Emily Todor, Indian Creek; Adelyn Walker, Franklin; Sydney Waldron, GCA; Rachel Wirts, Center Grove
