IHSAA Girls Basketball State Finals History Captured in Archival, Recent Photos

IndyStar published a Feb. 18 photo gallery titled “See the IHSAA girls basketball state tournament through the years” that pairs archival images with contemporary photos to trace the girls state finals in Indiana. The gallery names coaches, fans and historians as its audience and includes multiple March 1, 2025 images shot at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis showing game action, lineup announcements and locker-room scenes.

The Class 1A coverage in the gallery centers on Borden and Lafayette Central Catholic with captions stating Borden won 49-40. Photos show Central Catholic guard Grace Bordenet (23) colliding with teammate Maddy Bruce (12) while chasing a loose ball, Lafayette Central Catholic’s Carley Barrett (24) fighting for the tipoff against Borden’s Riley Rarick (2), and Rarick driving past Bordenet during the championship game. Postgame images feature Borden players Ava Wheeler (3) and McKenna Mullen (5) celebrating in the locker room; multiple captions explicitly read “Borden won 49-40” and “Borden celebrates in the locker room Saturday, March 1, 2025, after winning the Class A girls state basketball championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.”

The Class 3A sequence documents Norwell’s win over Greensburg, with the caption “Norwell defeated Greensburg, 53-44.” Action photos include Norwell Knights forward Alivia Green (12) attempting a rebound against Greensburg’s Claire Larrison (32), and Greensburg Pirates guards Kiera Kennelly (12) and Mary Harmon (10) embracing after the loss. Those images frame Norwell’s 53-44 score as the definitive outcome in the 3A final at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 1, 2025.

Class 2A captions capture pregame ritual and in-game hustle without listing a final score. Rensselaer Central Bombers starter Brodie Radtke (40) is shown being announced into the lineup for the Rensselaer Central versus South Knox Spartans championship, and South Knox’s Kendal Hill (3) is photographed grabbing a rebound during the Class 2A state finals on March 1, 2025 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The gallery’s reach extends into the 2026 season via an Instagram post of IHSAA photos from central Indiana sectional quarterfinals and semifinals on Feb. 3, 4 and 6, 2026, with the caption “Photo by IHSAA.” Together, the March 1, 2025 state-final images and the Feb. 2026 sectional photos create a visual timeline that links on-court moments to program narratives across seasons.

Notably, the supplied captions include a factual inconsistency that requires verification: several IndyStar captions assert “Borden won 49-40,” while another caption in the source material states that Grace Bordenet celebrated in the locker room after winning the Class A title. Additionally, the phrase “Borden won 49-40” appears appended to captions for other classes in the supplied snippets, suggesting possible copy-paste errors. The conflicting attributions should be reconciled against the official IHSAA box scores, team rosters and the original IndyStar caption metadata before archival records are relied upon for program histories.

Beyond wins and losses, the gallery underscores how high school photo archives shape program identity, influence local fundraising and elevate players such as Riley Rarick, Ava Wheeler and Alivia Green as visual ambassadors for their schools. Accurate captions and verified box scores matter not only for journalists and historians but also for coaches, alumni and sponsors who base recruiting narratives and community investments on the public record.