By Nathan Pace
Southsider Voice correspondent

Jessica Norris, a 5-7 senior guard who played on Center Grove High School’s basketball team, has mastered the Internet.
She won an online contest to participate in a 3-point shooting contest with the nation’s best sharpshooters on Wednesday, April 1, at Carmel High School. 

Norris, who led the Trojans with 2.8 trifectas per game, was voted in for the American Family Insurance High School Slam Dunk and 3-Point Championships.

Going up against 15 other hopefuls, Norris advanced through four rounds of fan voting to earn a spot in the field. Her teammates and coach Shawn Sanders promoted the fan vote through social media as they directed followers to the Slam Dunk website. 

A video of Norris connecting from behind the arc on the site served as a tool to hopefully persuade voters. It worked: Norris scraped through the first three rounds with just 51 percent of the vote but won the championship round handily. 

Tickets for the contest are $5, and, the CBS Sports Network will air it at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, April 5.  
Norris tied the school record for 3-pointers in a game this season with eight against Perry Meridian. The treys accounted for 24 of her 26 points in the win. 

The Trojans won a sectional championship – their first since 2011 – and ended the season with a 20-7 record. 

By Al Stilley
Senior staff writer

This year’s high school softball season promises to be even more competitive than the 2014 campaign, when four Southside teams were ranked among the top 20 teams in the state and Lutheran brought home a sectional championship.

Gone from the diamond are graduates Brittany Gray (0.44 earned run average, fifth in the state) of Greenwood, who attends the University of Alabama, Roncalli’s Emily Prather, Center Grove’s Sarah Thompson, Franklin Central’s Tori Lester and Perry Meridian’s Abbey Ketchem.

Those schools have plenty of key returnees who should keep them in the 4A polls, and Class A Lutheran on the prowl for another sectional crown. 
The talent level is high on the Southside with an abundance of returning .400-plus hitters and solid pitching, especially at Franklin Central, where all of the team’s hurlers are back.

Center Grove, Franklin Central and Greenwood are in the 4A Franklin Sectional again. Last year Franklin Central opened sectional play with a 16-inning 4-2 triumph over Greenwood in a battle between the state’s top two teams.

Center Grove
Veteran coach Dave Gandolph’s Trojans hit .348 last year with junior Delainey Turner collecting 43 hits and M. Dallas hitting seven home runs. Senior Abbey Pratt (11-5, 1.76 ERA) and junior Taylor Hammill (7-2) were leaders on the mound. 
The Trojans also had an impressive ERA of 2.22. They were 20-8 but did not escape from arguably the state’s toughest 4A sectional with a rare first-game loss.

Franklin Central
Longtime Franklin Central mentor Kathy Striker, who has 540 wins, is back for her 36th season after a 22-4 campaign. 
FC’s returning hitters accounted for 19 of the team’s 20 home runs. Juniors Delaney Thompson hit .426, Taylor Wilson led with 26 hits, Dani Wise had 23 hits. The pitching staff is strong with juniors Shelby Herron, 13-1, 0.82 ERA; Wise, 1.75 ERA; and Mackenzie Harris, 2.24 ERA.

Greenwood
Greenwood, even without Gray, easily could be a threat in the Mid-State Conference and sectional play. The Woodmen won 22 games last season. Megan Overton, 2.02 ERA, takes over on the mound. The team has strength at the plate with Overton, .437, 31 hits, 22 runs; senior Morgan Renfro (.364) and Paige Wilson (.356).

Perry Meridian 
Perennial dark horse Perry Meridian looms dangerously again after a 14-9 season.

Southport
Southport was 9-16 but has solid pitching with Brooke Lightfoot, five wins, and Haleigh Keen, three wins.

Roncalli
Roncalli, after 20 wins and hitting .339, fell to Lawrence Central in a sectional semifinal. Coach David Lauck has heavy hitters in seniors Mallory Marsicek (.409, 27 hits, 21 RBIs), Olivia Hoffman (.386, 27 hits) and Taylor Shull (.358, 28 hits).

Beech Grove
Beech Grove, which hit .336 in 2014, has power at the plate with junior Haylee Wolf (.520) and seniors Kimberly White (.513) and McKenzie Marschke (.397). 

Lutheran 
Lutheran entered the sectional last year with a losing record but finished 12-11. Sophomore Kimmie Kuehr hit .418 and had a 2.57 ERA. Junior Blakelee Steeb had a 1.78 ERA.

Greenwood Christian Academy
Greenwood Christian Academy has all its players back after making its softball debut last season.

Manual
Manual hopes to rebound after enduring a winless season.

The season opens today with Perry Meridian at Ben Davis; Thursday, Franklin Central at Decatur Central, Guerin Catholic at Lutheran, Deaf School at Manual; March 31, Cathedral at Southport,  Roncalli at Ritter; April 3, Center Grove at Pendleton Heights; April 6, Indian Creek at Greenwood; April 7, Cascade at Beech Grove; and April 10, Marshall at Greenwood Christian Academy.

Franklin Central visits Roncalli in a Southside showdown April 7.