Lapel's Laniah Wills looks to move past an Eastbrook opponent during the Bulldogs 59-45 win vs. the Panthers last season.

Brian Gill | For the Times-Post

Lapel’s Taylor Mroz shoots a three pointer against Greenfield-Central.

Tom Russo | The Times-Post

Lapel’s Laniah Wills fights for position against Eastern Hanock.

Tom Russo | The Times-Post

By Brady Extin | The Times-Post

LAPEL — The Lapel girls basketball program has had its best stretch of success in school history over the last two seasons.
Two sectional titles, two regional titles, one semistate championship and one trip to the state finals.
For head coach Zach Newby, though, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for both him and his team to grow and change the way they approach things.
After stepping down from the head coaching position over the summer for a brief period, Newby has come back with a new outlook on things.
“I’m a little bit more energized with my family pushing me to get back into it. It lets me be relaxed while at the gym knowing that they know it’s where I’m supposed to be and it’s where they want me to be,” Newby said. “It also allowed me to say to the girls that I’m going to come back, but things are going to look a little different. Not that what we were doing before didn’t work — I just think it could be better.”
With Newby still at the helm, the Bulldogs will look to continue their winning ways. In six seasons under his leadership, the team is 105-47. The state finals trip in 2023 was the first in school history, and the sectional title that year was the first since 2007.
The team followed that up with sectional and regional titles in 2024, a Madison County championship and a 23-5 record.
“We’ve got kids that have been part of countless sectional, regional and semistate games in all their sports. The championships that some of these kids have is insane,” Newby said. “Just bringing that winning attitude and knowing what it takes to win is huge. That’s a huge advantage that we have over everyone else.”
The Bulldogs lost a strong senior class that was part of both of those successful seasons in Maddy Poynter, Jocelyn Love, Annalee Stow, Rosemary Likens and Gracie Clark.
Poynter was the team’s second-leading scorer at 15.4 points per game and was the team’s top assist-getter, averaging 3.3 per game.
Stow, Likens and Love were all mainstays in the lineup, and Clark saw minutes off the bench.
The group combined to score 29.6 points per game.
“We have to be able to guard, and we have to buy into that end of the floor. We lost a lot of offensive experience, so we’re going to have to buy into the other end of the floor and are going to have to get stops and steals,” Newby said. “We’re going to need to score in transition, rather than relying on the half-court so much with some of those players gone.”
Those losses will put even more of the scoring weight on the shoulders of junior forward Laniah Wills.
One of the top underclassmen in the state last season, Wills was voted to the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Underclass Small School All-State team and was among 24 players to play in the 2024 All-Star Futures Game.
She averaged a team-high 19.3 points and 12.8 rebounds per game, along with 2.0 steals and 1.7 assists.
Her 23 double-doubles were the top mark in the state, as well as her average of 12.8 rebounds.
As a ball-dominant player, and with the graduation of nearly 30 points per game around her, those numbers are expected to go up even more this season.
“She’s been working all offseason in the weight room, and you can physically see the difference in her strength. Her willingness to play the perimeter and attack is something I’ve seen,” Newby said. “She’s always been a ball-dominant player, but she’s been playing with Maddy Poynter who was the same way. Now, with her being our only ball-dominant person, it’s opened things up quite a bit for her. I’ve seen some good things from her at practice. She’s going to be a super tough guard for teams.”
Now an upperclassman, Wills has seen her leadership role on the team expand as well.
“Laniah understands the game so well. She can tell kids in practice, ‘Hey, that works out here in practice against our JV kids, but that is not going to go in a game.’ She’ll stop and teach somebody something, too,” Newby said. “She’s a natural leader, and now she’s learning to refine that. We’ve talked about her approach and delivery to teaching, and that’s getting better.”
Around her are some players expected to also have much bigger roles than they did last season.
Junior Sophie Goodwin played in 26 games last year and averaged 2.9 points per game, and senior Taylor Mroz was a regular part of the Bulldogs’ rotation, averaging 2.3 points.
Both will be key parts of the Bulldogs lineup.
Two newcomers to the squad are expected to play key roles as well.
Senior Tatum Harper is playing for the first time since her freshman year and brings a ton of athleticism to the team, and sophomore transfer Jane Armington has impressed early on in practice.
“Tatum is coming back out, and her athleticism is going to be very useful out on the basketball floor. Sophie is going to have a big year. She played great for us last year,” Newby said. “And then Jane has been super impressive so far at practice. We’ve got some pieces, that’s for sure.”
Junior guard Amyiah Nunn will have a role as well but is working back from an ACL injury suffered last winter.
“That hasn’t worked out as quick as she thought it would, but I think that she will get back, and she is going to be a huge piece for us,” Newby said.
Senior Brooklynn Boles and sophomores Addie Bodenhorn and Layla Dawson are back with the team as well.
The season opens for Lapel at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on the road at Greenfield-Central.

2024-25 Lapel girls basketball roster
No. Name Grade Pos. Ht.
0 Layla Dawson So. G 5’5”
1 Sophie Goodwin Jr. SG/PG 5’8”
2 Bella Roland So. G 5’7”
3 Jane Armington So. G 5’6”
11 Laniah Wills Jr. G/W/F 6’0”
15 Addie Bodenhorn So. W 5’6”
22 Tatum Harper Sr. G 5’5”
23 Amyiah Nunn Jr. G 5’8”
25 Taylor Mroz Sr. F 5’7”
32 Brooklynn Boles Sr. PF 6’0”
40 Sophie Gabbard So. F 5’7”
Head coach: Zach Newby

2024-25 Lapel girls basketball schedule
Date Opponent Time
Nov. 5 at Greenfield-Central 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 9 vs. Anderson 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 12 vs. Oak Hill 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 16 vs. North Central 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 19 at Hamilton Heights 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 22 at Frankton 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 26 vs. Guerin Catholic 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 27 at Alexandria 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 3 at Yorktown 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 7 vs. University 12:30 p.m.
Dec. 11 vs. Madison-Grant 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 14 vs. Tipton 1 p.m.
Dec. 17 at Eastern Hancock 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 19 vs. Monroe Central 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 2 vs. Winchester 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 7-11 Madison County Tournament TBD
Jan. 14 at Sheridan 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 16 vs. Shenandoah 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 21 vs. Pendleton Heights 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 23 at Muncie Central 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 28 at Wapahani 7:30 p.m.