LOUISVILLE, Ky — When 2019 Indiana Miss Basketball walked past the Kentucky All-Stars, who were warming up on the court at Bellarmine University, one of her assistant coaches walked up to her and said, “Do your thing.”
Jorie Allen, recent Bedford North Lawrence High School graduate and future IU player, nodded and headed into the Indiana All-Star locker room.
Friday night at Bellarmine was the first of a two-game series between the Indiana All-Stars and Kentucky All-Stars — the second was Saturday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Indiana and Kentucky split the pair of games — Kentucky won 79-74 at Bellarmine, and Indiana won 76-71 in OT at Bankers — and Allen scored a combined 30 points in both games. She did her thing.
“It’s been so fun,” Allen said. “I wear this jersey with pride.”
Allen’s older sister, Jenna Allen, played four years at Michigan State. When the Spartans came to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall this past season, Allen was already committed to IU but wore a Michigan State shirt to support her sister.
“I got teased a bit about that,” Allen said. “I’m very glad it will be the last time in green in Assembly Hall for sure.”
When picking a college, Allen said she knew the school she was going to pick would give her a good career and good education, but what made IU standout was the people. Allen said IU Coach Teri Moren was her first offer, and she fell in love with the coaching staff and team. She said she sees herself fitting into Moren’s system well.
“She knows basketball,” Allen said on Moren. “She’s also a good person, and I’m excited to play for her.”
In her senior season at Bedford North Lawrence, Allen averaged 18 points and eight rebounds per game. Heading into the 2019-20 season, Allen will be the second Indiana Miss Basketball on the roster since senior Ali Patberg won the award in 2015.
Allen said Patberg played with her sister in AAU, so she’s known her for a long time. Since Allen lives only 30 minutes away from campus, she has made a lot of trips to Bloomington and said she has built good relationships with the team.
Allen is set to move to Bloomington to start working out with the team on June 12, but she isn’t going alone. Two of her Indiana All-Star teammates are coming with her — Shaila Beeler and Hannah Noveroske.
Beeler is from Warren Central High School and is rated as the No. 19 recruit by ProspectsNation and a three-star recruit from ESPN Hoopgurlz. She helped lead Warren Central to its first ever state championship in 2018, averaging 15.2 points, three rebounds and six assists per game.
In the game at Bellarmine, Beeler scored eight points and was a true point guard on the floor. She also played a big role in the overtime victory on Saturday. What Beeler lacks in height, she makes up for in strength and aggression, making her a nice fit in Moren’s system.
Noveroske was initially planning to go to Xavier University, but once Xavier’s head coach stepped down, she got a call from Moren and decided to commit to IU.
The 6-foot-5-inch center averaged 21.9 points and 12.2 rebounds per game in her senior season at Michigan City High School. She is also the all-time leading scorer at Michigan City with 1,790 points.
This weekend, Noveroske played a big role in the Indiana All-Stars' success, scoring eight points Friday and 18 Saturday.
“It’s going to be great knowing I can go in with people I already know,” Noveroske said of Beeler and Allen.
Last season, IU was selected as a 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament and knocked off University of Texas in the first round before falling to University of Oregon in the Round of 32.
Seeing the success the Hoosiers had last year and knowing they return of a majority of that roster excites the incoming freshmen to become a part of the program.
“Watching it on TV, you feel personally involved,” Allen said. “Just really excited to get there this summer, put the work in and be right there with them next year.”
