Makenna Strycker’s skill and determination led her to leading the state in made free throws her senior season.
It also helped the Pioneer Lady Panthers post a six-win improvement from a year ago which included a nine-game win streak through the middle of the season.
She averaged 17.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.0 steals per game and is the Pharos-Tribune’s 2025 Loganland Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
Pioneer coach Dave McWherter talked about some of Strycker’s accomplishments this season.
“She led us pretty much in every category you can imagine. She ended the season with seven double-doubles and two triple-doubles. She led the state in made free throws, 164 of them.
“She had 20 points in each of those last three sectional games and they were obviously keying on her. So for her to still be able to do that, it just shows what tenacity and never give up attitude that she had throughout the season.”
McWherter also thought Strycker was the best player in the Hoosier North Athletic Conference this season.
“She led the conference in scoring, led us obviously in scoring, rebounding, steals, assists. She’s just a natural leader for us,” he said. “I always describe her as having a big heart and just wanting what’s best for the team, not just for herself. There was no doubt about that. So those things were huge for us. She was the MVP of that Kitchen Classic too.”
Improvement is a big part of Strycker’s story. She was a role player on Pioneer teams that went 21-5 and 21-4 her first two years of high school, teams that were led by current Ball State guard Ashlynn Brooke. Strycker averaged 2.7 ppg and 5.1 ppg her first two years.
She upped that to 12.5 ppg last season and to 17.8 ppg her senior season, finishing with a total of 916 career points.
“I just think that playing with Ashlynn just helped me to see what I needed to do, and then once she wasn’t there, obviously I had to fill those shoes ever since and those were big shoes to fill,” Strycker said. “But I think that I ended up developing my own personal game off of my experiences.”
Strycker is at her best with the ball in her hands when she’s running the point. The 5-foot-6 senior showed a natural ability of evading multiple defenders at a time, getting to the basket and drawing contact, which she did better than anyone in the state this season. She made 164 of 228 free throws (72%) on the season, averaging 6.6 makes on 9.1 attempts per game.
“I didn’t even know I was going to lead until the end of the year and it was just crazy,” Strycker said. “It was definitely a lot of work in the gym, just kind of putting up shots and then taking it to the game when I was able to get to the paint a lot and just get fouled. That really helped my season develop and it helped my team.”
The Panthers went 12-13 on the season despite an 0-6 start. They won 10 of 11 from that point and were a competitive group. They took Lewis Cass and Winamac to overtime and played HNAC champion North Judson to within 2 points.
“I think that everything just really ended up coming together as it was supposed to,” Strycker said. “Even though we had a slow start and even though things weren’t really working out, we just kind of figured everything out as a team and instead of putting so much pressure on each other, we just enjoyed our last season together.”
Strycker will continue her career at the next level as she has signed to play at Wittenberg University, a Division III program in Springfield, Ohio.
“I’m super excited about it,” Strycker said. “I think that I’m going to go in there and we’re going to have a great coaching staff that’s going to be able to help me develop into a better player than I am now today. I just think that Wittenberg was definitely the best option for me. Even though it’s not ...