Lake Central sophomore Vanessa Wimberly zipped around the court during — and after — the Class 4A LaPorte Regional on Saturday.
The 5-foot-5 guard seemed to have a bit more giddyup than she did around this time last year.
This time, Wimberly was healthy, after she played the two regional games last season with what turned out to be a torn meniscus in her left knee.
This time, she had 12 points and nine rebounds as the Indians downed Northridge 42-29 in the new single-game regional format.
This time, Wimberly was celebrating the Indians’ first regional title since 1998.
“It’s a big milestone,” Wimberly said. “We take it game by game, so after we won sectionals, this was what we’ve been working on all week. It feels good to win as a family — not a team, but as a family. We won this because we stuck together, ups and downs.
“We’re happy to be able to make it here with each other. It took a lot of heart for us. It just means a lot to us.”
A year ago, when Lake Central won its first sectional title since 2018, Wimberly suffered a knee injury in the final against West Side.
“It wasn’t like an injury where you could see I got hurt,” Wimberly said. “It was more just like after the game, my knee was bothering me, and it slowly started to get worse.
“I did not know yet, but I was playing with a torn meniscus (in the regional). … I went to the doctor. They didn’t want to do an MRI until after the (regional) game, so they just gave me a brace, and I played. I had second guesses — I shouldn’t have played last year — but, hey, I can’t change the past.”
Wimberly had surgery and missed about three months. She was unable to play in the summer.
“Now I’m back, very healthy and very excited,” she said.
Junior forward Aniyah Bishop has been excited to call Wimberly a teammate for these two seasons.
“I love playing with her all around,” Bishop said. “She might be little, but she does what she does for a reason. She’s really good at getting to the basket, shooting. You know what you’re going to get each and every night.”
Lake Central (22-5), which will play top-ranked South Bend Washington (27-0) in the semifinals of the Huntington North Semistate, actually trailed 4-0 on Saturday and didn’t score until sophomore forward Ayla Krygier hit a 3-pointer with 2:35 left in the first quarter.
That shot ignited a 9-0 run for the Indians spanning the first and second quarters, and they held Northridge (22-6) without a field goal for the entire second quarter to lead 14-6 at halftime.
Lake Central stretched its advantage to 29-16 with 2:23 left in the third quarter before Northridge cut the lead to as little as eight. But the Indians didn’t have a lot of difficulty closing out the game.
Lake Central had beaten Plymouth in the regional semifinal last season before losing to Crown Point in the final. The Indians, who returned nearly intact and start three juniors and two sophomores without a single senior on the roster, drew on that loss to the Bulldogs.
“We needed that experience last year at regionals,” Wimberly said. “I’m very thankful for that loss last year. I know that may sound weird. But I’m thankful to have undergone that experience because it prepared me pressure-wise.
“I knew what I was walking into a little more (Saturday). It calmed me down. I could take the pressure and the loudness of the gym. It really made me feel back at home. I knew what I was doing this time.”
Lake Central coach Joe Huppenthal said the entire team was prepared.
“I’m just so proud of them for all of the work they put in,” he said. “We always talk about trusting the process, and I told them, ‘Remember that feeling from last year.’ Sometimes you have to go through those things to understand the process. It’s what we talked about all week. I’m just so proud of these guys.”
Wimberly was the only player to reach double figures in scoring against Northridge, but Lake Central demonstrated its typically balanced lineup. Junior guard Riley Milausnic scored eight points, Bishop (7 rebounds) and Krygier had seven each, and junior guard/forward Nadia Clayton added six.
“If someone’s doing good, give them the ball,” Bishop said. “That’s all that matters. If you’re doing good, we’re going to give you the ball.”
After the victory, Huppenthal shared a warm exchange with Tom Megyesi, an Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer who led the Indians to a state title in 1994, the state finals in 1995 and second place in 4A in 1998, the last time they had won a regional.
“We finally got another one, man,” Huppenthal told Megyesi. “We finally got another one.”
Wimberly, who averaged 8.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.3 steals last season, is a big reason for that. Her numbers are down slightly this season — she was averaging 7.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 3.2 steals entering the regional — but she’s a better overall player.
“I just have more experience,” she said. “I know how to handle the pressure. I see two bigger girls running at me, I’m not getting scared and trying to give the ball away. I’m knowing how to calm down and get my team together and run our plays.
“I’m more vocal than I was last year. I’m leading my team now as a point guard I have to be. I’m really maturing as a basketball player.”