Region Roundball Review

March, 1999
News & Updates
      

The Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association (ICGSA) has released its entire roster of All-State First Team picks for the 1998-1999 season. They are as follows:

Jackie Campbell, Chesterton
Jeanette Gray, Valparaiso
Emily Butler, Center Grove
Cortney Cooper, Martinsville
Tia Davis, Kokomo
Shyra Ely, Ben Davis
Elizabeth English, Rushville
Jill Hartman, Evansville Memorial
Jenna Hayes, Indianapolis Roncalli
Kennitra Johnson, New Albany
Kourtney Mennen, Clinton Prairie
Sara Nord, Jeffersonville
Kristy Thomann, North Vermillion
Amy Zercher, NorthWood

Connersville standout and 1999 Miss Basketball April McDivitt is suspiciously missing from this list, which we found in The Times, but we will try to confirm her status with regard to the ICGSA picks. Most likely she is an MVP pick for 1999 by the ICGSA, if such an award is made by that organization.

Of course, the biggest question in the NCAA right now is who will fill the shoes of departing National Champion Purdue coach Carolyn Peck. Several names have been tossed out as solid contenders over the past few months and weeks, including Indiana State coach Cheryl Reeve, Evansville coach Kathi Bennett, Virginia Tech coach Bonnie Henrickson, Tulane coach Lisa Stockton and Colorado State coach Tom Collen, who is a former Boilermaker assistant. That appointment should be announced soon as Purdue would like to settle the status of interested recruits and start planning for next season. It is believed that Purdue already has lost several recruits due to the status of the coaching situation there, including Kennnitra Johnson of New Albany, who decided to go with Connecticut although she had hoped to stay closer to home at Purdue.

Also, Pat McKee of the Indy Star is reporting that the appointment of Butler coach June Olkowski as the new head coach at Northwestern will be officially announced today. Northwestern's Kristina Divjak (Lake Central) who red-shirted for the 1998-99 season with an injury, has one year of eligibility left and will play her last year of college ball under Olkowski. Also, NorthWood senior Natalie Will and Emily Butler of Center Grove, who both signed letters of intent last November with Northwestern, will play under new coach Olkowski during their first year of college basketball. Olkowski's change of assignment now creates another Division I coaching vacancy in Indiana, making a total of three with the other two vacancies at Purdue and Ball State.

CONGRATULATIONS
PURDUE LADY
BOILERMAKERS!!!

Former Indiana high school girls basketball players contributed big in the NCAA Championship win of Purdue over Duke yesterday evening in San Jose. Stephanie White-McCarty (Seeger) kept the Boilermakers in it in the first half, and Katie Douglas (Perry Meridian) played strong throughout and scored big when it counted to help secure the win. Candi Crawford (Homestead) gave good sub minutes, and Kelly Komara (Lake Central) stepped in during the last four minutes for injured White-McCarty to score 1 point, make 1 assist, and strip the ball right out of the hands of 6'6 former Purdue-player-turned-Blue-Devil Michele Van Gorp for an insult-to-injury steal in the last minute of the game. Not to mention the ongoing contributions other former Indiana high school players Connie Murdock (S. Bend Clay), Mackenzie Curless (Martinsville), Beth Lapaiche (LaPorte) and Mary Jo Noon (Jeffersonville) made during practices and key game moments throughout the NCAA Touranment and season. What a great statement for Hoosier high school girls basketball!!!

As you may have read at the Fifthquarter site, a move to merge that outstanding site and the Region Roundball Review will be made sometime before the 1999-2000 high school basketball season. We welcome Randy and Mike Beckett, creators of Fifthquarter (the original web site covering Indiana girls basketball only) to our RRR "family" so to speak. All of the details for the combining of our two sites have not yet been completely hammered out, but the attempt will be to bring all interested girls basketball fans the best and most continuous coverage possible. Welcome aboard Randy and Mike! We look forward to working with you.

The Post-Tribune has selected Valpo's Jeanette Gray as its pick for NWI Player of the Year awards. Gray, who will be playing for Valparaiso University next fall, led her inexperienced team to an 18-3 season with 18.4 ppg and 8.3 rpg. Although not expected to dominate this season with a roster of new players, the Vikings were consistently ranked as one of the top teams in the state and went 12-0 to start off the season, mainly due to the leadership and play of Gray. The Post-Tribune also named its First and Second Team selections as follows:

Megan Eckert, Manchester
Sarah Gordon, Prairie Heights
Rachel King, Bishop Luers
Maria Marchesano, Elmhurst
Brooke Minniear, FW Snider
Connie Meyers, Columbia City
Maria Recker, DeKalb
Kate Rolf, Carroll
Sara Schaefer, Bishop Luers
Brieann Starkweather, Whitko
Amy Waugh, Homestead

The Times of NWI has named Chesterton senior Jackie Campbell as NWI Player of the Year. Campbell averaged 18.1 ppg and 5.1 apg this season and totaled 1,210 during her four-year high school career under dad and coach, Jack Campbell. The Times also named Susan Sanders of Kouts and Al Detterline of River Forest as NWI Co-Coaches of the Year. First and Second All-Area Teams were named by The Times as follows:

According to the Michigan City News Dispatch, Chesterton senior Jackie Campbell has been named by the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association (ICGSA) as a First Team All-State selection. Campbell will attend Colorado State University next year. We will try to track down the complete ICGSA All-State list and post it here when we get it.

It will be deja vu all over again, although on a much grander scale, for Purdue's Kelly Komara (Lake Central) and Louisiana Tech's Monica Maxwell (East Chicago) when they meet in the second semi-final game of the San Jose NCAA Final Four on Friday. In 1994, two teams in NWI were in the national spotlight with No. 2 and No. 3 rankings in USA Today. Those two teams, East Chicago and Lake Central, boasted the likes of Tenille Adams and Maxwell for EC, and Kristina Divjak, Leslie Rossa, Denise Szany and little 5'4 freshman Komara for LC. After a regular season win for EC over the Indians in front of 6,000+ fans, the two teams met again in the finals of the Gary West Side Regionals in February. The game was extremely close, but Lake Central pulled away in the fourth quarter when EC tired late due to a tough early game, and the Indians won the Regional and a shot at the 1994 State Championship, which the Indians eventually won. On Friday, Komara and Maxwell will again go head-to-head for a shot at a championship game, but this time a game of the highest caliber -- the national NCAA Championship.

Who would have guessed it back in 1994?

Lowell senior Jennifer Bayer, known in NWI for her dominating and creative post play, will be attending Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. After narrowing her choices down to Army, Georgetown (Ky.) and Wheeling Jesuit, Bayer selected Division I Lafayette for its outstanding academic programs. Bayer is second in her graduation class with a 4.121 GPA. You can read about Bayer's choice in The Times.

Duneland Athletic Conference - Coaches in the Duneland Conference selected the All-Conference Team for 1999 on Wednesday. Portage had the greatest number of players named, including two who will be returning as seniors next season. The selected players are as follows: MVP Jackie Campbell (Chesterton), Jeanette Gray (Valparaiso), Abby Coons (Hobart), Sarah Zondor (Crown Point), Shannon Wells (Merrillville), Bridget DeCordial (LaPorte), Erin Sampsel (Valparaiso), Michelle Pickering (Portage), Natalie Yudt (Portage), and Erin Jedlikowski (Portage).

Chesterton High School - Jackie Campell, MVP; Christy Poparad, Annie Ray, Bridget Schwoegler and Megan Smith shared most improved; Annie Ray, mental attitude award.

Michigan City News Dispatch All-Area Teams - FIRST TEAM - Jackie Campbell (Chesterton), Janice Belzowski (New Prairie), Jessica Yagelski (Michigan City), Amanda Warnke (River Valley) and Bridget DeCordial (LaPorte); SECOND TEAM and HONORABLE MENTION selections can be viewed in the Michigan City News Dispatch.

South Central High School - Hannah Herrold, MVP and tied most rebounds; Tarah Kitchell, best offense and tied most rebounds; Tabitha Kitchell, best defense; Randi Webb, mental attitude; Amber Oneal, most assists.

Northland Conference - Tarah Kitchell (South Central) honorable mention All-Conference; Melinda Cuff (South Central) All-Conference Academic.

The Indiana Jr. All-Stars, who will practice and compete against the Indiana All-Star Team in June, was announced in the Indianapolis Star yesterday. Locally, only junior Natalie Yudt of Portage was named to the North Team. (Last year three NWI players were named to the team, including Jeanette Gray, Jackie Campbell and Kristin Cheairs.) The North Team will play in an exhibition game against the 1999 Indiana All-Stars (composed of all seniors and yet to be announced) either on June 16 or June 23. The Jr. All-Stars roster is comprised of 18 players from around the state. Those players are placed on one of three teams: the Core Team, North Team or South Team. The Core Team will play in both exhibition games in June, and the North and South Teams will play in only one of the June games. According to Pat Aikman, Indianapolis Star All-Star Game Director, a representative group of girls basketball coaches selected the Girls Jr. All-Star team on March 7 in Indianapolis. The girls were then contacted for availability through their high school coaches. The complete roster of the Jr. All-Star Team is as follows:

Core Team - Lindsey Secrest (Bloomfield), Sara Nord (Jeffersonville), Shalicia Hurns (Broad Ripple), Jennifer DesJean (Perry Meridian), Connie Myers (Columbia City), and Suzie Hammel (Lafayette Jeff). These girls will play in both June exhibition games.

North Team - Anna Waugh (Franklin), Julie Johnson (Homestead), Sara Strahm (Ben Davis), Lindsay Galbraith (Anderson Highland), Natalie Yudt (Portage), and Andrea Milliser (Rochester). This team will play in only one June exhibition game.

South Team - Kristi Holloway (New Washington), Lynne Johnson (Corydon Central), Melissa Merkel (Northeast Dubois), Abby Scharlow (New Albany), Megan Mauck (Boonville), and Fabrianne Perez (Bedford North Lawrence). This team will play in the other June exhibition game.

Jr. All-Star Coaches - Connie Garrett, Clinton Prairie; Rick Marshall, North Knox; and Jeff Edwards, Morgan Township.

South Bend Tribune All-Star Teams - Metro Team MVP Jackie Batteast (SB Washington), Area Team MVP Natalie Will (NorthWood), Area Team Member Jeanette Gray, (Valparaiso), and other players honored as shown in the S. Bend Tribune (alt. link). The Metro Team and the Area Team will play in the 13th Annual South Bend Tribune All-Star game on Thursday, March 25 at 7 p.m. at the Wiekamp Center at Bethel College.

LaPorte High School - MVP Bridget De Cordial, most improved and freethrows Alaina Neff, leading rebounder Lara Clarkson, mental attitude Sasha Miller and most assists Lisa Tegt.

All-Three Rivers Conference - First team: Megan Eckert and Jessica Hicks (Manchester), Abby Wilson (Northfield), Andrea Monroe (Oak Hill), Andrea Milliser (Rochester), Brooke McKee (Southwood), Rhonda Doud (Tippecanoe Valley) and Brianne Starkweather (Whitko). Remaining conference honors are shown in the Miami County Life.

All members of the girls basketball coaching staff at LaPorte High School have announced their resignations from coaching for a variety of reasons. Head Coach Mark Wilson is looking to pursue other interests, while Assistant Coaches John Dearing and Janie Ulmer wish to spend more time with their families. During Coach Wilson's 5-year tenure, the Lady Slicers gained a tremendous amount of respect as a program, which is quite an accomplishment considering the fact that LaPorte is a member of the tough Duneland Athletic Conference. You can read more about the coaching staff resignations and the LaPorte team at the Lady Slicers web site.

OAC First team: April McDivitt, Maria Renner, Beth Windhorst and Missy Taylor of Connersville; Abbey Clark and Brandy Strine from Huntington North; Erika Roudebush of Hamilton Southeastern; Cindi Merrill and Marianne Nethery of Noblesville; Brooke Davidson and Julie Shields of Brownsburg; Angel Hall and Lindsay Galbraith of Anderson Highland; and Cassie Golden of Jay County.

OAC Coach of the Year: Larry Miller of Connersville.

Before we move on to our own take on the state finals on Saturday, keep in mind that we would like to hear your comments or favorite moments from the 1999 girls tournament series. Although many of you have been posting your comments on several forums that we've visited, we thought a posting board where tournament posts will not be lost to new postings would be appropriate. Therefore, we have created a message board entitled, "1999 State Tournament - Comments & Favorite Moments" for all to use. Please feel free to post your tournament thoughts and favorite moments there.

No more M-S-A: The 1999 State Finals at Market Square Arena was the last one to be held in the 25-year-old building, which has served as the girls basketball finals venue since 1980. MSA will become a victim of the wrecking ball when the Indiana Pacers move to their new arena, Conseco Fieldhouse, two blocks south. It is undetermined at this time if the girls finals will be at the new arena next year or not. But if they are, somehow the chant of "Conseco Fieldhouse!" or "C-F!" at the Semi-State Championship games next year will not have the same effect as the time-honored chant of "M-S-A! M-S-A!".

Best side story to the state finals: Those of you who saw 3A NorthWood head coach Steve Neff on the sidelines Saturday could probably tell by his coaching style that he isn't the type to sit still and let things happen, but is a decisive man of action. Never was that so true when the chartered bus that the Panthers had contracted for the ride down to the finals did not show up on Saturday afternoon to take the team to Indianapolis with just about four hours to go before game time. A quick call to the charter service spelled impending disaster when the company denied that any contract for a chartered bus ride to Indy existed. That is when "SuperNeff" took matters into his own hands, literally, and saved the day by driving the girls down to MSA himself in a NorthWood school bus. Still licensed to drive a bus from his field trip driving stints years ago as a summer school teacher, Neff managed to get his team to Indianapolis from Nappanee in under three hours. This is definitely a classic story that will go down in girls basketball history as part of the NorthWood championship legend. You can read about the entire "bus episode" in the Goshen News.

Weirdest coincidence: A number of schools around the state are considering changing their school colors to red and black after Saturday's finals games. EVERY champion of the day sported those winning hues, making it a red and black sweep. Go figure. The only school that somewhat broke that mold was NorthWood, which lists its colors as "Black & Red," as opposed to "Red & Black," like the other three champions of the day. A minor discrepancy that didn't seem to affect the outcome of the red and black (or black and red) championship day run.

Another weird coincidence: Did anyone else who frequents the various basketball web sites in Indiana notice that the logo on the State Finals souvenier t-shirt sold on Saturday looked suspiciously like the logo of the I.I.B.W.A. (Indiana Internet Basketball Writers Association)? Hmmm... someday we'll have to get that thing copyrighted.

Best coach's pre-game quote from the finals: In the media glut before the state finals, coaches from all eight state-finalist schools were interviewed and re-interviewed by a number of papers and news services around the state. We read a good deal of those previews and the quote that caught our eye and funny bone was from 2A Austin coach Dan Deaton. When asked about what kind of team the 19-7 Eagles were, Deaton replied, "We're just a bunch of old country girls that like to get out and play some basketball."
(I love Indiana basketball...)

Strategy question of the finals: In the exciting 3A game which went down to the wire, Cathedral had two opportunities in the last 15-20 seconds of the game to set up plays on timeouts to take the lead -- once when the score was tied at 70-70 and then again after a NorthWood free throw put the Panthers ahead 71-70. During the first timeout, the conversation in the stands was that Cathedral coach Linda Bamrick would obviously go for the money shot with 6'3 senior center Jennifer Callier, who basically had been able to score at will throughout the game. I was just about to agree when, surprisingly, it became obvious who had gotten the nod for the planned game-winning play. As the players walked back out onto the floor after the timeout, several of them were giving encouraging words and pats on the back to freshman Sharika Webb, who had scored 21 points so far in the game with her barreling, but effective, penetration to the basket. I ventured a comment that Webb would take it to the hole, and that's just what happened. But the basket did not go, and on the ensuing NorthWood possession off the miss, Webb fouled Panther Natalie Will, who hit the first of two free throws with about 5 seconds to go. Cathedral pulled down the rebound on the second Will attempt and immediately called a timeout. Certainly the plan would be to get it to Callier this time, and it was, but that was not how it went. Sophomore Asjah Zinnerman took it coast to coast in the last 4.4 seconds for the final shot of the game. With time running out, she put it up at about the free throw line while sandwiched between two NorthWood players. The shot hit the glass, banged down several inches into the basket, and then popped out to give NorthWood the game. Callier tried to put back the rebound, but the buzzer had already sounded and the Panthers were the new 3A State Champs. In reviewing the 5-second digital clip that we have of that last play, it's very questionable if Zinnerman could have dumped it off in time to Callier, who was ready and open to the bucket, for the final shot. Zinnerman probably made the right decision under the circumstances. But if Cathedral had it all over to do again on that first time out...
However, maybe as Coach Bamrick stated in the post-game interview, "...it wasn't meant to be." What an absolutely outstanding game. Thanks to both teams and coaches for treating fans to the best game of the day.

Best coach's post-game quote from the finals: 3A NorthWood coach Steve Neff when asked about the exciting final play of the game, "That last 4.4 seconds was the longest I ever sat through.''

Best player strategy of the finals: Ft. Wayne Luers junior Jenny Moppert, a speedy 5'3 dynamo, walked away from the Knights' championship-winning effort with 11 rebounds. Not exactly considered a monster on the boards during the season with a 3.0 rebounding average, she shared her secret after the game. According to Moppert, she noticed that the MSA rims were pretty tight at the pre-game shoot around earlier in the week, and deduced that a good number of rebounds might be headed to wide open territory instead of just over the paint. She capitalized on that prediction by anticipating the high-arching outside rebounds and picking up her game-high 11. That's a pretty good 5'3 strategy in our book.

Record-making and -breaking performances: Several season and tournament records of note were made during state finals day on Saturday. First in individual efforts, 1A Clinton Prairie senior standout and Mental Attitude Winner, Kourtney Mennen moved into 6th place on the all-time Top 25 Season Scoring Leaders list with 750 points for the 1998-99 season. Mennen also moved into 8th place on the Top 25 Career Scoring Leaders list with a career total of 2,158 points. For team records, in that stellar 3A game that was undoubtedly the best game of the day, NorthWood put on a shooting clinic with a blistering .638 field goal percentage, trouncing an 11-year old Highest Field Goal Percentage record of .586 set by Ft. Wayne Snider against Carmel in 1988. Cathedral's shooting percentage was definitely nothing to overlook either at .518. The combined shooting percentage of both teams (.578) was good enough to break the 21-year-old record for Highest Combined Field Goal Percentage in a championship game by nearly 8 percentage points. That earlier record was set in the 1978 championship game between Warsaw and Jac-Cen-Del, when both teams combined for a .504 shooting percentage.

Most interesting school mascot at MSA: A cross between what looked like Mr. Ed with an enlarged head and a blue and white Smurf, the New Washington Mustang mascot, hands down, was the most interesting at the state finals on Saturday. This furry fan-pleaser with the floor-length tail danced and pranced on the cheering floor in front of the enthusiastic New Washington fans, and was a darn good "hoofer". (Ba-dah-dum... Sorry. Couldn't resist.)

Crowd notes: The biggest fan following of the day was without a doubt the crowd from New Albany. They filled their section of the arena from top to bottom with a sea of red and black. The loudest crowd of the day had nothing to do with the biggest crowd. In fact they were from the smallest school at the finals -- New Washington, with an enrollment of 264. This roudy bunch was with their team from beginning to end, even when the Mustangs trailed by 15 points at the half. (Maybe it had something to do with that really cool mascot.) The quickest crowd exit of the day definitely went to Cathedral. A great green and white showing, the Irish following cleared out within 3 minutes after the 3A awards presentation. And when we say "cleared out", we mean "cleared out". Maybe 75 Irish fans hung around for the 4A game. The lingering thoughts about the Cathedral loss were understandably just too much to endure for the Irish faithful while watching more basketball. Most likely they left to find their team and let them know how proud they were despite the loss. Finally, the issue of attendance... Crowds were definitely sparse throughout the day. The excitement of the all-day state finals event is definitely not what it used to be. In the state finals game program, the history recap for 1989 stated that attendance for that finals day was 31,325 for two sessions. This year's attendance in the morning session was 6,776. We never did see the evening attendance posted, but it was probably a bit more than that and probably brought the day's total attendance to about 15,000 -- less than half the total attendance of 10 years ago. What's the answer? We don't know. But we anticipate the IHSAA will be announcing some changes to the present money-losing tournament format at its scheduled Executive Board meeting in May.

And a final note: We wanted to bring you more photos from the games on Saturday, but as you might have been able to tell by what we offer here, our seats were not at all conducive to quality action photos from the games. But we hope we were able to provide a few interesting angles and observations from the games anyway. (Anybody out there know how to get a press pass? Just wondering for next year.)

Previews to the 3A NorthWood vs. Cathedral state finals game are appearing on-line, with comments from both coaches and a hint at the strategy both will employ to help their teams claim the gold at the state championship game on Saturday. This 3A matchup is being anticipated as one of the best of the four class games, with both teams sporting a number of Division I signees and prospects. You can read about this upcoming battle in the South Bend Tribune (alt. link) and The Goshen Times.

Michigan City High School - Jessica Yagelski, MVP; Latisha Wagner, free-throw percentage award; Trenia Davis, most improved; Natalie Burgess, Wolf Award.

Wabash County - Senior Megan Eckert (Manchester) Player of the Year; First Team: sophomore Jessica Hicks (Manchester), junior Staci White and sophomore Abby Wilson (Northfield), sophomore Brooke McKee (Southwood) and junior Gina Curtis (Wabash). (Story in the Wabash Plain Dealer.)

New Prairie High School - Janice Belzowski, MVP; Katie Williamson, most improved; Sara Smith, mental attitude award; Krissy Mrozinski and Ashley McFatridge, assists award; Erica Hauschild, free-throw percentage leader.

Fremont High School - Sarah Shuman, MVP; Kristin Roederer, outstanding defensive player; Stacy Hanna, most rebounds; Summer Cress, best free throw percentage.

Three Rivers Conference - Academic All-Conference girls basketball team: Marie Rosswurm and Myra Absi of Rochester; Jenny Sanders, Jennifer Baker, Brooke Fisher and Jennifer Studebaker of Tippecanoe Valley; Sarah Garvin and Kristina Williams of North Miami.

Indian Creek High School - Beth Teeters, MVP and best free throw percentage; Desirae Tharpe, most rebounds; Lindsey Harvey, most improved; Jodi Scott, mental attitude.

On-line news coverage of players, teams and coaches either in the state finals or whose season has come to a close, can be found at the following links:

3A Northwood Coach Steve Neff - South Bend ribune (alt. link)
2A Eastern Comets - Kokomo Tribune

Indianapolis area Player of the Year, First Team & Coach of the Year for each of the following geographical areas:
All-City - Indianapolis Star
All-Metro North - Indianapolis Star
All-Metro South - Indianapolis Star
All-Metro West - Indianapolis Star
All-Metro East - Indianapolis Star
All-County - Indianapolis Star

All Mid-Indiana Conference - Peru Tribune
Northeast Hoosier Conference - Bluffton Banner-News

According to a Region Roundball Review source, seven NWI senior players have been named Hoosier Basketball Magazine Top 100 players. State semi-finalist Hobart landed three on the list. All NWI players include, in alphabetical order, the following: Jackie Campbell (Chesterton), Kristin Cheairs (West Side), Abbey Coons (Hobart), Jeanette Gray (Valpo), Erin Jedlowski (Portage), Katie Julian (Hobart), and Lauren Julian (Hobart).

3A Northwood - Elkhart Truth (one-day link)
4A Ft. Wayne Snider's Sparkle Williams - FW Journal Gazette (one-day link)
4A Kokomo - Kokomo Tribune
1A Clinton Prairie's Kourtney Mennen - Frankfort Times
4A Connersville - Connersvile News-Examiner
1A Eminence - Martinsville Reporter-Times
1 A North Harrison - Corydon Democrat

Congratulations to Ben Davis sophomore Shyra Ely, who is being featured in the Spring Issue of Sports Illustrated for Women, the cover of which you can view at the Sports Illustrated for Women web site. According to the publication, Ely is "the top high school player" in the nation's sophomore class. Also featured on the cover and in the article is the top freshman in the nation, 14-year-old Seimone Augustus (6'1) of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who is expected to be the next generation Holdsclaw player in the high school ranks. According to the article, her skills (which include the ability to dunk) are so advanced, that it is felt she could step into the college game today. Some interesting reading.

The Goshen News - 3A NorthWood
Indianapolis Star - 1A New Washington

Go get a cup of coffee or a cola and get ready for a long read. We have lots of news and viewpoints for you look over today...

We were disappointed that The Times and Post-Tribune did not carry on-line coverage of the Semi-State games covering teams from Northwest Indiana. We would have liked to link them to our site for the rest of you around the state to see the NWI take on the games involving Highland, Andrean, Hanover Central and Kouts. But instead, we just cover a few points here...

4A Highland sophomore Jenny DeMuth could not be stopped by the Kokomo defense in the early game of the day, and scored a game high 22 points despite playing with the flu, which she had since Wednesday but did not let anyone know about until Friday. According to a quote in the Post-Tribune, Kokomo head coach Charlie Hall stated that he "can't believe there's a better sophomore in the state." DeMuth is scheduled to have surgery today on her knee, which has not been at 100% since her ACL tear last season. With her own estimate of a 30% utility of the knee this season, one can only imagine what she'll be doing at 100% next season...

3A Andrean players, coaches and fans are probably still wondering "what if" with the third quarter knee injury of senior long-range shooting specialist Kara Austgen in the NorthWood early game, when Andrean was only trailing by 3 points. The game plan at that point was to let Austgen loose from the outside to draw the defense and open some additional scoring opportunities inside for center Meghann Sullivan. That plan went out the gym door with Austgen's injury, however, and Andrean never recovered from her absence as NorthWood opened it up from that point on to win by 18. No word on Austgen's condition today...

For the last two weeks we've been reading about the impact 2A Hanover Central coach Denny Foster has had on the Lady Wildcat program since his arrival just after the season started. It became painfully obvious just how important he was to their success when he was ejected after two technical fouls just at the start of the fourth quarter. Without his presence on the bench, the Lady Wildcats went south quickly with four of five starters fouling out of the game before it was all over. In fact in the last quarter, Hanover Central sent Eastern to the line 22 times on 15 fouls, compared to the 1 foul of Eastern for the quarter...

Amazing underdog 1A Kouts, the only NWI team to make it to the Semi-State championship game, met a brick wall by the name of Kourtney Mennen in the Clinton Prairie final. The senior scored 27 points for her team to add to her 2,000+ career total. For Kouts, junior Jenni Bielinski established herself late in the season as a force that will have to be reckoned with in her final season of high school ball next winter. She had 17 points, 14 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks in the early victory over Fremont. Kouts as a whole looks to return a strong team, with the loss of only senior Mary Gonzales (10 ppg) from the starting lineup...

Congratulations to all the NWI teams that advanced to the Semi-State this season! If this year's showing is any indication, the Region looks to possibly go further in the tournament next season.

The atmosphere at the Southport arena was of the state finals variety on Saturday -- big name players, high-ranked teams, tons of media, a huge crowd (7,500) -- and a treat for all the fans in attendance. The players definitely did not disappoint, with two fine early games and what turned out to be a legendary championship game. Kennitra Johnson and April McDivitt, both Miss Basketball candidates, were unbelievable, both coming up with clutch shot after clutch shot. Even with 8 or 9 seconds left in the second overtime, with Connersville down by 3 and NA with possession, you still didn't think it was over. But the play designed during the final timeout didn't unfold as planned, and McDivitt had no choice but to foul Johnson to stop the clock, sending Johnson to the line and McDivitt to the bench with her fifth foul. With McDivitt's exit, the game's finish was elementary...

When April McDivitt fouled out of the game with 5 seconds to go, the entire arena gave her a standing ovation as she walked off the high school court for the last time. This is a kid who plays with a huge, huge basketball heart. Her skills are undeniable and she will be a very valuable addition to Pat Summit's Tennessee Vols roster when she heads off to college next fall. I think her most amazing shot of the game, which she effectively willed to go in, was the 3-pointer with just a few seconds to go in regulation to tie it up. She was in the extreme left corner of the floor (about 7 feet away from us) with two defenders on her and she just jumped as high as she could over them, with her feet nearly as high as her waist, to hit that incredible shot. She absolutely refused to give up and would not quit until she was forced off the floor with that high school career-ending fifth foul...

We've seen Kennitra Johnson play on four different occasions, with three appearances at the Crown Point Shootout the last three years. However, she definitely never dominated at Crown Point like she did in that championship game. Although we saw glimpses of that type of play at CP, she normally relied on teammates to help with the scoring, usually distributing the ball to make things happen for her teammates. But Saturday she took the game on her shoulders and put on an incredible show. I think this is the type of play that Johnson has been capable of all along, but chose not to utilize in every game to keep her teammates involved. This kid has an incredible first step that left most of her one-on-one defenders chasing behind her to the bucket. She was just as formidible on defense, easily stripping opponents with her lightning-quick hands before they knew what happened. (I don't know how many times we saw that dazed and confused look on the faces of her steal victims... now you see it, now you don't!) The scary thing with Johnson is that you get the feeling that she has not yet tapped her full potential. There is still a lot of raw talent there that, when fully developed, should make her one of the top guards in the college game by her junior and senior years in college...

Kennitra Johnson was heavily recruited by Purdue before she made her decision to go to Connecticut. From what we understand, Purdue was her first choice, but the head coaching situation there being in limbo moved her to her second choice. It would have been great to closely watch Johnson over the next four years in Lafayette, but we'll just have to follow her progress from far away. One of the reasons Johnson was high on Purdue was because of her friendship with former Lake Central grad, Kelly Komara, who is now a freshman for the Lady Boilermakers. They played a lot of AAU and summer ball together over the past few years. Komara was at the Southport final to watch her New Albany friend in the performance of her career, and the two hugged after the game at half-court. Now THAT would have been another incredible backcourt at Purdue -- Komara and Johnson. Almost as good as White-McCarty and Figgs all over again. I bet all the top college programs are wiping their collective brows on that close call...

The determined face of NA's secret defensive weapon, 5'4 freshman Jessica Huggins, will probably be a recurring image in the nightmares of April McDivitt over the next few weeks. She didn't put it to McDivitt like a full-grown Bulldog, but was more like an annoying pup that wouldn't quit nipping at her heels. The frosh was fearless in the face of greatness, and made McDivitt's efforts to bring the ball up the court and penetrate much more difficult than they had to be. I suppose when Huggins gets to go up against one of the best in practice every day, the results are the type the quick-footed Energizer Bunny displayed on Saturday. The talk is that Huggins could be another KJ in the making, with her quickness and court effort. We know she can score if she has to. In summer basketball, our 14U team (CP Region Rage) played the New Albany team at the AAU state tournament last year at Southport, and Huggins was good for 18 points (mostly on penetration moves) to lead her very young team in a losing effort. Now she just needs to work on those free throws a bit... ;-)

Another freshman who played a lot of minutes on Saturday was 5'11 (although looking taller) Missy Taylor of Connersville. Taylor, a slim, lanky guard who looks like she is still growing, was effective in the first game against TH South with some key steals and scoring. Her long arms are a very effective defensive weapon against most teams, as long as the game tempo isn't took quick that is. Taylor's height is a definite advantage in the passing lanes and on the trap, but with the quickness of NA's offense, there was no need to pass the ball over Taylor because they rarely were trapped to force the pass. Taylor will be one to watch over the next few years as she settles into her growing frame and finds the best position on the floor to match her skills. She will most likely play a big part in the Connersville offense next season with the departure of McDivitt...

Another Connersville player who will play a key role in Connersville's future is unheralded 5'10 sophomore forward Maria Renner. We liked her aggressive post play and court sense -- always in the right place at the right time. Although Renner did not start for the Spartans, she played a majority of minutes. Sophomore starting guard Jenny Cooper (5'5) also made some key treys toward the end of the game to help Connersville stay in it...

Finally, a bit of fun. Like many others wanting to get the best seats possible for the final game, we showed up before the gates opened an hour before game time. (Hey... we know we're nuts, okay?) As you can imagine, there wasn't a whole lot to do while waiting in the bleachers once we were in, but there was entertainment nonetheless. Because many of the fans from both schools were there early, the first competition of the evening was between the cheering squads for the two schools. With every warmup stunt, the opposing side tried to outdo the other with fans going crazy after each one-up. Connersville cheerleader bodies were flying 20 feet in the air on tosses and New Albany tumblers were throwing chest-high full twists on passes going the length of the floor. The fans from both school were outstanding, but we give the Connersville crowd first place in attendance and noise. They took up nearly two-thirds of the entire gym and made free throws a nerve-wracking ordeal for each and every New Albany player at the charity line.

There are a good number of stories on-line from around the state with regard to girls basketball today. Semi-State preview articles about Region teams are in The Times today, covering the tough contests that face Highland (vs. No. 4 Kokomo) and Andrean (vs. No. 6 NorthWood). There is also a very interesting article about Hanover Central Head Coach Denny Foster with his take on coaching the girls' game after having coached boys for 30 years.

3A Northwood favored (S. Bend Tribune)
4A Penn faces big hurdle (S. Bend Tribune)
3A NorthWood supporting cast (The Goshen News)
2A Eastern Comets (vs. Hanover Central) (Kokomo Tribune)
4A Kokomo's Heather Cusick (Kokomo Tribune)
2A Frankton's Kelli Carter (Anderson Herald Bulletin)
2A Eastern v. Hanover Central (Kokomo Tribune)
4A Connersville v. TH South (Connersville News-Examiner)
1A Eminence v. Washington Catholic (Martinsville Reporter-Times)

The Post-Tribune is carrying two articles about 2A Hanover Central, the surprise team of the Region post-season and a mystery team to the rest of the 2A teams left in the tournament. Who are these girls anyway? Well, you can find out a little bit more about the players and Head Coach Denny Foster, former boys varsity coach at Hebron, who Hanover players say is responsible for the team's current success. This group seems like they're having the time of their lives and will do anything it takes to continue playing toward a 2A state championship. Good luck to JM and the Lady Wildcats!

The Indianapolis Star is previewing candidates for the upcoming vote for Miss Basketball in its Miss Basketball Watch, which is being sponsored by Hoosier Basketball Magazine. Featured on that web page is NWI's very own Jeanette Gray of Valparaiso, as well as other candidates from around the state, including Emily Butler of Center Grove, Elizabeth English of Rushville, Jill Hartman from Evansville Memorial, Kennitra Johnson from New Albany, and April McDivitt from Connersville. Included at the site is a link to the explanation of how the Miss Basketball selection process is conducted.

The Rochester Sentinel reports Andrea Milliser of Rochester and Rhonda Doud of Tippecanoe Valley have been named the all-Three Rivers Conference girl’s basketball first team. Named to the second team were Alisha Ewing and Jill Bair Rochester, Tabitha Pratt of Tippecanoe Valley and Sarah Garvin and Kristina Williams of North Miami. Honorable mention selections were Marie Rosswurm of Rochester, Jennifer Studebaker and Brooke Fisher of Tippecanoe Valley and Mandy Sopher of North Miami.

The Shelbyville News reports Shelbyville’s girls basketball team placed three players on the all-Hoosier Heritage Conference team. The team is selected by the conference’s coaches. Seniors Mandy Pouder and Olivia Ash and sophomore Sarah Laird were named to the first team. Laird was a unanimous pick. Also named to the first team were: Rushville’s Elizabeth English, Morgan Koors and Katie Marlow; Mount Vernon’s Johna Goff; Greenfield-Central’s Melissa Maxwell; New Palestine’s Dana Schreiber and Darci Ruster; Rachel Bowling of Pendleton Heights; and Christy Clodfelder of Delta. Shelbyville’s Bethany Smith was named to the HHC honorable mention team. Shelbyville’s John Fair shared HHC coach of the year honors with Rushville’s Cinda Brown.

Just a few notes from yesterday's Regional action in Northern Indiana:

In 4A Highland's win over West Side yesterday, the Trojans were trailing by 10 with less than 4 minutes to go in regulation when they went on a 10-point run to tie it near the end with a putback by junior Lindsey Chappell. During that run, sophomore Jenny DeMuth gave Region-area fans a look at what it means to have a never-say-die attitude. DeMuth was good for 5 points in those last 4 minutes, including an amazing sequence where she tapped out a West Side pass, chased it down with a tip-toe grab before it went out-of-bounds, and then drove baseline to close the gap to 2. That play sparked the crowd, and more importantly, the last seconds of Highland's play to get to overtime and the eventual win.

Gary West Side Coach Rod Fisher must be playing last night's game over and over in his head this morning after coming so close to a Regional win in what was supposed to be West Side's season to advance after consecutive regional losses to Crown Point (1996) and Lake Central (1997 & 1998). Muddled in those thoughts must be the free throw shooting of Highland in comparison to West Side. To say that free throws were a critical facet to this game is an understatement, where the Trojans were 47% from the line, while the Cougars were just 20%. Not that percentages had anything to do with the free throw factor, but rather opportunities. Highland made the trip 38 times to West Side's 5.

In 4A Hobart's loss to Penn, the Brickies were tentative coming out in the first quarter, but found an offensive rhythm to command the lead for all but the last minutes of the game. Twins Katie Julian (11 pts) and Lauren Julian (12 pts), and guard Abbey Coons (7 pts) were extremely tough on the boards and made some great plays while surrounded by Penn jerseys. As we watched the game heading into the fourth quarter, it seemed like Hobart would realize the next step of their post-season dream, but it was not to be. Penn's defensive pressure in the last minutes of the game was the difference in the game, as the Brickie guards turned it over 8 times in the fourth. Ironically, Penn guard Angela Knight, who was scoreless after missing a number of long shots throughout the game, hit the game winner on a baseline drive with 3 seconds to go to seal Hobart's fate... It was a nice run, Lady Bricks.

As a number of seniors leave the Region girls basketball scene, an underclass(wo)man is making her mark coming in. In 3A Andrean's win over Twin Lakes, the crowd was wowed by the play of 5'6 freshman point guard Jamie Gutowski, who had her high school career breakout game with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. With senior scoring leader Meghann Sullivan sitting the bench in the second quarter with 3 fouls and 1 point, Gutowski (8 ppg avg) and senior guard Kara Austgen turned up the scoring heat in the third to build on a 5-point lead at the half. Sullivan sat out the entire third quarter, which turned out to be no problem, as the guard duo took care of business in an uptempo effort. A running game has not been Andrean's style all season long, so it was a much different look than what Twin Lakes expected. Andrean will probably be running again next weekend, but this time against a better match in seasoned and athletic No. 6 NorthWood, who knocked off No. 5 S. Bend Washington in a 79-41 rout.

Another freshman who is making her mark, in what seems to be near obsurity so far, is NorthWood's Carol Duncan, a 6'1 starting center for the Panthers. This girl is definitely one to keep an eye on over the next few weeks and years. She does not look like a freshman, play like a freshman, or react like a freshman, and we are betting that you will be hearing a lot about her before she is done with her high school career. Duncan had 10 points in her team's win over NorthWood in a pretty physical post game. Although she benefits greatly from the playmaking ability and defensive attention on senior All-Star candidate teammates Amy Zercher (29 pts) and Natalie Will (21 pts), she is not beyond creating the necessary offense herself when presented the opportunity. Look for her to be the centerpiece of the rebuilding NorthWood offense next season.

Watch out 2A teams around the state. The Hanover Central Wildcats are still in it and intend to continue. With their able 63-54 win over No. 4 North Judson yesterday, the Wildcats are definitely on a roll and should not be overlooked. They will be running up against No. 7 Eastern next weekend in the first game of the Maconaquah Semi-State, with an eye on a chance against No. 1 Ft. Wayne Luers in the championship evening game. Don't count these Wildcats out... they are a bunch who have not even realized their full potential yet!

Before you read anything else today on this web site, I suggest you move on to the following Steve Hanlon Prep Beat column from today's issue of The Times out of Munster. Although this is about a young man from Munster involved in the high school game (and in a way you might not expect as the central focus of an article about prep basketball), you MUST read this oustanding piece. It's truly an inspirational one for players, coaches and parents. It definitely made my day.