BROWNSBURG
Kuryn Brunson and Maddie Bischoff were already familiar with one another because of their respective basketball reputations.
The Indiana girls All-Star scrimmage played Wednesday night at Brownsburg High School allowed the Johnson County residents to become a bit more in tune with the other’s hoops skill set.
Brunson, who led Franklin to a Class 4A semistate last season, scored five points and grabbed three rebounds for the Junior All-Stars in a 94-69 loss to the Indiana All-Stars, a team that included Bischoff, a former Roncalli guard who lives in Greenwood.
It was an important night for both players, albeit for different reasons.
Brunson, who missed all but the final 10 games of the 2019-20 season after tearing her right anterior cruciate ligament in AAU competition the previous summer, continues to solidify her hoops reputation.
Being chosen as one of the Junior All-Stars served as validation.
“It’s nice people see all of the hard work you put in,” said Brunson, who averaged 16.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists. “To help get my team out there, it’s very rewarding. What we did last season was the best. We did stuff that hasn’t been done at our school in a long time.
“It’s exciting to be able to play with the best juniors in the state against the best seniors in the state.”
Brunson didn’t start for the Junior All-Stars but entered the game with 6:45 remaining in the opening quarter. She rebounded her own miss for a putback exactly a minute later and converted the second of two free throw attempts at 3:22 of the second stanza.
Like most all-star gatherings, the game included little to no offensive flow, iffy defense and wholesale substituting in order to make sure the players log as similar amount of minutes as possible.
Bischoff, a smooth 5-foot-10 guard headed to Ball State University, continues Roncalli’s rich girls basketball tradition as the program’s sixth Indiana All-Star; Diane Hoereth was the first in 1986.
She tallied two points, grabbed three boards and had an assist in the scrimmage, scoring a layup in transition at 5:35 of the second quarter. The Indiana All-Stars will face the Kentucky All-Stars in Owensboro, Kentucky, on Friday before returning to Southport Fieldhouse on Saturday to complete the annual home-and-home series.
Bischoff, who finished her time at Roncalli with 1,532 points, looks forward to playing one last game at Southport.
“I have a good history there,” said Bischoff, whose career high of 39 points was there in a 61-39 sectional win over Pike during her sophomore season. “It’s one of those gyms where it’s down in the ground. I like how the gym is the center of everything.
“I am super excited about it. I think it’s a huge honor to be asked to represent my state.”
