MUNCIE, Ind — ‘Electrifying’ and ‘Outstanding.’
Those are the only words Delta girls’ basketball head coach Ty’Ronda Benning and junior Addison Barnes could say about the atmosphere for the girls’ Delaware County championship game hosted at Delta High School.
“One of the things that my girls talked about last year was that nobody ever comes to their games,” Benning said. “I said, ‘Well, if you do well and you start winning and having fun, they will wanna come watch the show.”
The crowd was on display for both the girls’ and boys’ contests as the Delta Eagles and Wapahani Raiders each captured titles.
“We've been preparing for this for a really long time,” Wapahani boys’ head coach Matt Luce said. “I'm talking [since these guys] were in second and third grade.”
Your 2025 girls’ Delaware County champion:
— Zach Carter (@ZachCarter85) January 19, 2025
The @DeltaEagles_ @dn_sports pic.twitter.com/TamDC0PXQp
Girls’ Game: Delta 54 - Wapahani 43
The opening game for the championship night did not disappoint as both teams matched each other’s energy as the starting lineups were announced.
Following that, it was physicality that stood out as the Raiders and Eagles clashed on the hardwood. In the end, a combination of timely scoring and Delta’s 11 steals became the decider as Wapahani was plagued by foul trouble.
To Barnes — who transferred to Delta from Yorktown before the season — the aftermath was emotional as she hugged her family and teammates.
“This is my first ever county title and it just feels great to finally be able to win one and cut down the net,” she said.
The Eagles were able to use a well-balanced offense to give themselves multiple leads throughout the game. Three Eagles reached double digits and junior Jillian Barr led the blue and gold with 22 points.
But while their offense was on point, so was Delta’s defense. The steals and jump balls they forced were something Benning wanted to see throughout the season. To her, they’ve reached a high level.
”I hope mentally that we understand that if we can play good defense and we can be tenacious, we can beat anybody we want to beat,” she said.
In the two years Benning’s been here, the Eagles are 24-16 (13-4 this season) and now are back-to-back county champions. To Deita athletic director Tilmon Clark, it’s because of who she is.
"Her enthusiasm… That just matters,” Clark said. “I'm just happy for her and the girls because you can see by the way they play because of her coaching. They feed off of each other and I think it’s just a testament of her leadership.”
Because of that, players like Barnes want to be a part of the effort.
“It's just an amazing program,” Barnes said. ”I knew I could come here and I would grow. I see myself as a better basketball player mentally and everything.“
Boys’ Game: Wapahani 48 - Yorktown 34
Coming into this matchup, the No. 1 team in Class 2A Wapahani had only scored under 50 points this season once. While Yorktown was able to somewhat contain their opponents’ offense, the 13-0 Raiders knew the Tigers might try that. Due to that, they wanted to focus on defense coming into the championship game.
“We pride ourselves by going fast, slow, but no matter what, we play winning basketball,” Luce said. “The best teams can score 85 one night and 30 on the other. It doesn't really bother [the team]... Our kids wanted to win and win the right way.”
After four quarters, the Raiders did just that by combining their high-paced offense with a strong defense to lead them to their sixth Delaware County title since 2010.
“It means a lot because there was some doubt coming in,” Wapahani junior Camden Bell said. “We graduated a bunch [last season], but I think that we showed that we’re more tough than people think.”
To start the game, Wapahani jumped to an 11-0 lead and looked like their typical selves. But near the end of the second quarter, the Tigers did not allow the red and white to go inside. Due to that, Wapahani began to take longer possessions and broke down their opponent with quick strikes.
But the only way they could do that was to do other things besides scoring. Things like rebounds and assists were primary objectives for the Raiders, and leading the charge in that area was senior Brock Zickgraf.
“He’s the unsung hero and the guy,” Luce said. “He's No. five on the scouting report, so he's the guy that they all try to back off. Then he'll jump up and down and get the rebound and we gotta have those guys.”
Zickgraf said he’s watched former Wapahani teams have success from the bench. Coming into this season, he wanted to be the guy that could set the Raiders up whether that was by scoring or whatever else they needed.
“If I get a rebound and kick it out for the [3-pointer], that's three more points on the board,” Zickgraf said.
Throughout the victory were the roars from the Wapahani crowd as what is normally a gym decked in blue and gold was covered in red and white. To Luce, this sums up what the Raiders’ fanbase is all about.
“When the school is still the center of the community, people still want to follow,” Luce said. “Basketball is still important, sports in general are still important and I'm proud of our community and our kids.”
Bell led the Raiders with 17 points while Zickgraf had 11.
Though both Luce and the players think this title can help with momentum down the road, the 18-year Wapahani head coach knows moments like this won’t last forever. So he’s going to celebrate this one as long as he can with his squad.
“We're just trying to have fun because there's an end to this one day,” Luce said. “Wins, losses, senior night, whatever it is, we're just trying to have fun. Winning is fun.”
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or via X @ZachCarter85.
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