It was like a new world for Peyton Honchar.
When she was in third grade, her family moved from Canada to Northwest Indiana. Discovering a new hobby helped Honchar adjust to the new reality.
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“There are a lot of differences between Canada and America, even though we’re next-door neighbors,” she said. “When I moved down here, I hadn’t played any sports, but my friends told me to try everything. That’s when I first played basketball.”
It became an immediate passion for her.
“I loved it from the start,” Honchar said. “As soon as I started playing basketball, I had a hunger for it. It was an outlet for me.”
Now in her third varsity season for Morgan Township, Honchar has emerged as a leader, both in the locker room and on the court. The 5-foot-10 junior forward is a captain and is averaging a team-high 13.1 points and 8.4 rebounds for the Cherokees (9-1), who won nine games all of last season but are ranked No. 6 in Class 1A in the state coaches poll.
“We’re starting a freshman, two sophomores, a junior and a senior,” Morgan Township coach Rick Budka said. “We’re very young. We put a lot of responsibility on Peyton. She knows when the right time is to crack a joke at practice to keep it loose. But I also know that if she’s working hard, everyone else is going to follow suit.”
Honchar said she had an eye on cracking Morgan Township’s varsity roster as a freshman, although Budka might not have been aware of that.
“When she was a freshman, if I got two words out of her when we talked, that was a successful conversation,” Budka said. “She’s grown both physically and mentally over the past three years.”
Honchar led Morgan Township in scoring last season, averaging 11.2 points and 7.2 rebounds. Senior center Victoria Detraz has been the team’s top rebounder for two seasons.
As a captain, Honchar has made an impression on underclassmen like sophomore guard Madi Lemmons.
“She’s definitely stepped up as a leader,” Lemmons said. “I’ve really noticed how she’s been reaching out to other girls. She’s supportive on the court and off of it. I’m always getting texts from her. She always has something nice to say or some positive feedback.”
Honchar is just following the example set for her during cross country.
She said her primary motivation for running during the fall season was to get in better shape for basketball. But Morgan Township made history by finishing second at semistate and reaching the state meet for the first time. It was a massive accomplishment for a school with an enrollment of 243 in a sport without classifications. Warsaw, which finished third at the same semistate meet, has an enrollment of 2,143.
“We all worked so hard, and reaching that goal was absolutely crazy,” Honchar said. “It was new to all of us because it was such a deep run. But we were all experiencing it together, and it brought us closer.”
Honchar was an alternate for much of that postseason, not one of top seven runners in the varsity lineup, an experience that has helped her, she said.
“There was never any pressure on me,” she said. “I was just going out there to learn from the more experienced runners. Being in that position has helped me communicate with the younger basketball players because I understand what it’s like to be where they are.”
Honchar said the Cherokees hope their strong start this season is indicative of what’s ahead when high-stakes moments like the Porter County Conference Tournament arrive.
“We were so ready for this season,” she said. “We’ve picked up quite a bit of momentum and gained confidence in this part of the season, so we’re preparing ourselves for the most exciting parts, like the PCC and state tournaments.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.