According to the Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette, Maria Marchesano of Elmhurst has chosen Butler over Duquesne to continue her basketball career. Marchesano, who averaged 20.0 points per game as a senior and is Elmhurst's all-time leading scorer, said she "chose Butler because she liked the players, and never got to meet the team at Duquesne."  Marchesano steps into turmoil and opportunity after five Bulldogs players announced earlier this month that they would be leaving the Butler program.  With a roster chockfull of voids, Marchesano should see lots of playing time early on in her college career as the Bulldogs try to regroup.
   
Portage 5'5 guard Ashley Safstrom, as reported recently in The Times, has received a scholarship to play softball at St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer.
   
Valparaiso forward Lee Traynham will forego a college basketball career to accept an academic scholarship to Stanford University.  The hard-working 5'11 senior excels in Valparaiso's high-academic Baccalaureate program and also received scholarship offers from Duke, Columbia and the University of Washington.  Traynham, a defensive specialist, was a key contributor in the Vikings' run to the state finals in 2000.

The Indiana Basketball Coaches Association recently named its Bob King District Girls Coaches of the Year as follows:
  
District 1 - Chris Huppenthal, Highland
District 2 - Kem Zolman, Wawasee
District 3 - Jodie Whitaker, Lawrence North
District 4 - Jon Howell, Alexandria
District 5 - Marty Niehaus, Forest Park

The Nancy Rehm/Border Wars game with Ohio took place over the weekend, and Ft. Wayne Luers senior Rachel King added another trophy to her case with MVP honors in a 77-74 Indiana win.  King produced 17 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals to lead her team to the victory.  Following King in scoring were Ashley Powell of East Noble with 12 and Cassie Kline of Huntington North with 10.  Powell was recently profiled in the Journal Gazette in connection with the game.  The Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette also has complete game details and a history and background explanation of the Nancy Rehm/Border Wars event, for those of you who are curious.

We thought we were late with our all-area picks, but the Monticello Herald-Journal just came out with its All-White County Girls Basketball Team today:
   
 Kinsey Lehe (POY) - Frontier
 Jessica Bragg - Twin Lakes
Amanda Engleking - Tri-County
Meredith Helderle - Tri-County
Valarie Zarse - Tri-County
Erin Guy - Twin Lakes

Hometown fans of Notre Dame's Ruth Riley (North Miami) were less than happy with the Indiana Fever's rebuff of the 6'5 All-American center during the WNBA draft.  The South Bend Tribune describes how the Ruth's hometown took the news.

Senior Jessica James of Franklin Central has signed with IUPUI for next season.  According to the Indianapolis Star, the 5'10 forward averaged 15.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game during her senior season and set career records at Franklin Central in scoring and rebounding.  Many of you may remember the stellar performance of James in the Marion County Tournament Championship game that brought the Ben Davis Giants to their collective knees for their first loss of the season.

Ben Davis senior Kristin VanValin was recently honored by the Indiana Pacers organization with the 2001 NBA/WNBA Sportsmanship Award in an on-court presentation at the Pacers v. Philadephia 76ers game.  The award was made for a "season-long dedication to sportsmanship... representing the ideals of sportsmanship for student-athletes in the State of Indiana." She was presented a medal by Sam Perkins of the Indiana Pacers, along with Westfield girls basketball coach Andy Tebbe, who was also recognized.

Although most considered him the top runner throughout the season, it is now official that Martinsville assistant coach Vince Cerbone (formerly an assistant at Center Grove) is the new head coach at Martinsville.  Cerbone will replace outgoing coach Jan Conner, who chose to retire after a highly successful coaching career.  According to the Indianapolis Star, Cerbone is a Center Grove graduate and also coached tennis for three years at Perry Meridian.  Cerbone is looking to institute a high-intensity, pressing-defense game at Martinsville.

As we announced yesterday, Rodger Kirkpatrick of South Bend Adams has taken the coaching position at Warren Central.  The South Bend Tribune has an article about Kirkpatrick's decision.

Several Indiana college players were selected in this morning's WNBA draft.  Although she could have been picked up by the Fever at the No. 3 pick, Notre Dame's Ruth Riley (North Miami) was selected as the No.5 pick by the Miami Sol.  Purdue's Katie Douglas (Perry Meridian) was picked up as the ninth pick in the first round by the Orlando Miracle, where she will be reunited with former Purdue coach Carolyn Peck.  Camille Cooper of Purdue went 16th to the Los Angeles Sparks, where she will pick up with former Purdue player Ukari Figgs.  Notre Dame's Niele Ivey was a lucky choice at No. 19 for the Fever, because most thought she would be selected much earlier.  The complete list of picks for the Fever is as follows:
   
#3 - 6'1 F Tamika Catchings (Tennessee)
#14 - 6'5 C Kelly Schumacher (Connecticut)
#19 - 5'8 G Niele Ivey (Notre Dame)
#35 - 6'1 F Marlena Williams (Missouri)
#51 - 5'11 F April Brown (Louisiana State)

The annual revolving door ritual of high school coaches has begun to pick up speed, and we have news of several today.  In order to help all of you keep track (and help those who are looking for a new coaching position), we've created The Revolving Door - Indiana high school girls coaching changes.  This page will be accessible from our main menu, and if you should have any coaching changes, corrections or additions that you are aware of, please let us know.  Here is the news on the latest coaching changes:
   
Warren Central has announced that Rodger Kirkpatrick, who was the head coach at South Bend Adams this past season, will lead the Warriors' girls basketball program next season.  According to the Indianapolis Star, Kirkpatrick inherits a 5-15 squad that has seen four coaching changes in five years.  Warren Central plays in the tough Metropolitan Athletic Conference and returns Purdue recruit Ashley Mays as a senior next season.  
   
Bremen coach Steve Hickman has resigned his position to spend more time with his young family.  Hickman was the coach for the Lions the last two seasons and compiled a 20-25 record during that time.  According to the South Bend Tribune, Hickman will continue with his teaching position at a Mishawaka middle school.
   
Tri coach Dave Bennett has submitted his resignation after 12 years with the Titans girls program, compiling a 174-71 record during his term.  According to the New Castle Life, Bennett is a 30-year coaching veteran, having coached both boys and girls basketball.  Bennett's best outing was during the 1996-97 when his now Class A team made it to the Huntington North Semi-State before being eliminated in the final game.

According to the South Bend Tribune, LaPorte coach Greg Samuelson weathered a parents' campaign to oust him and a 3-4 school board vote to non-renew his contract this past week.  After an up-and-down regular season (12-12), which included impressive wins over Plymouth, Portage and South Bend Washington, Samuelson took his team to the 4A Warsaw Semi-State in a surprise run that ended in a double-digit first round loss to eventual Semi-State Champion Ft. Wayne Snider.

Wheeler has made it official.  They will be applying to the Lake Athletic Conference for membership in the 13-team league.  According to The Times, Wheeler is seeking to have conference participation for all school sports, which is not currently possible for soccer, football, swimming, golf and tennis in the Porter County Conference, Wheeler's current conference.  The Bearcats have been a member of the PCC since its inception in 1923.

Several college commitments and signings are coming our way as the NCAA late signing period got under way on Tuesday.
   

Crown Point senior Nikki Borys has chosen Indiana Wesleyan in Marion as the program to continue her playing career.  The 6'0 forward averaged 7.6 points and 5.7 rebounds during a successful senior campaign, which included a sectional championship and an undefeated Duneland Athletic Conference championship.  Borys chose Indiana Wesleyan over Goshen, Bethel and Purdue Calumet.
   
Last week, it was announced in The Times that Wheeler three-sport standout Andrea Walker will attend Butler University in Indianapolis on a softball scholarship.   Walker averaged 21.3 points and 4.5 assists her senior season on the way to her team's second place tie in the Porter County Conference.  The 5'5 guard holds Wheeler's all-time career scoring title for both boys and girls with 1.365 points.  Walker excelled at Wheeler in soccer, basketball and softball all four years of her high school career.
   
Glenn senior Chasity Zellers will be playing at Bethel College next season.  According to the South Bend Tribune and the Plymouth Pilot News, the 5'4 guard averaged 18.0 points, 4.4 steals, 2.8 assists and 1.5 rebounds during her senior season, while leading the Falcons to a 19-6 record and sectional and regional championships.  Zellers holds over 20 school records in basketball, including career points at 1,254.
  
Also, Plymouth center Brandy Swihart made it official by signing with Bethel College as well.  According to the Plymouth Pilot News, the 6'1 senior averaged 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in a successful senior season that took her team to the 3A state finals.
   
Evansville North forward Wendy Goodman has signed with Southern Illinois University.  According to the Evansville Courier Press, the 6'1 senior averaged 16.3 points per game during her final high school season.

Shyra Ely has captured yet one more award as she prepares to move on to the college ranks.  The  6'2 Ben Davis forward was named the Scholastic Sport Gatorade National Player of the Year.  According to the Indianapolis Star, Ely was also named Student Sport Magazine Player of the Year, and as previously stated here, Naismith High School Player of the Year and USA Today Player of the Year.

According to The Flyer Group, the Hendricks County Girls Basketball Tournament has been changed from a mid-season event to an early season event that will take place on November 13, 16 and 17 this winter.

The West Liberty State College career of Adrianne Harlow (Tri-Central) is reviewed in the Kokomo Tribune.  The 5'0 point guard led all three NCAA divisions in the nation with 8.5 assists per game this past season. 
   
Also, University of North Texas junior Karen Lee (Zionsville) is profiled in the Zionsville Times Sentinel.  The 6'2 power forward averaged 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds as her team compiled a 19-11 record and made an appearance in the WNIT.

In case you didn't get your copy of Parade magazine in Sunday's local newspaper, you didn't get to see that three Indiana players were named First Team All-Americans in the magazine's annual girls basketball selections.  Shyra Ely of Ben Davis, Shanna Zolman of Wawasee and Jackie Batteast of South Bend Washington were honored with this prestigious post-season award.  The Parade Player of the Year was Cappie Poindexter of Marshall High School in Chicago, followed by Parade's No. 2 player Ely, No. 3 Zolman and No. 8 Batteast.  Zolman's appearance at the No. 3 spot puts her in line for Parade's Player of the Year award next season as the highest ranking junior this season.  California led the Parade list with four players honored, while Indiana, Illinois, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Texas each had three.  The South Bend Tribune recently profiled Batteast's reaction to receiving this special honor.

Several All-Star games were played over the weekend, and we have some on-line news articles about three of them.
  
The first was the inaugural Dave Sanders All-Star Girls' Basketball Game, with participants from west central Indiana.  Dave Sanders, a 1969 Fountain Central graduate athlete, was the girls basketball coach/teacher killed in the Columbine shootings.  The all-star game was in his memory and raised funds for the Dave Sanders Memorial.  Julie Shirley of Lafayette Jefferson was named the MVP after scoring 41 points to lead the "Hoosiers" team over the "Sycamores" team in a 87-85 victory.  Western Boone's Courtney Nicley led the Sycamores team with 22 points.  Preview articles to the game with listings of additional participants appear in the Lafayette Journal & Courier and the Crawfordsville Journal Review, while the Review also has a recap of the game.
   
The second all-star game was the Special Children's Classic girls basketball game featuring the Shelby County All-Stars v. the Hancock County All-Stars.  This is a two-game series, with Hancock taking the first battle 63-55.  Leading scorer for Shelby was Mt. Vernon (Hancock) senior Alissa Kirby, who offered up an all-around effort with 15 points, 6 assists and 4 steals.  A complete write-up of the game is in the Shelbyville News.
   
Finally, the Indianapolis City v. Marion County All-Star game was played over the weekend, and the County team pretty much walloped the City team 91-38.  Leading scorer for Marion County was Jessica James of Franklin Central with 15 points, which earned her MVP honors in the game.  A very small recap is at the end of the article about the boys game in the Indianapolis Star.

Kankakee Valley will officially submit an application to enter the 13-member Lake Athletic Conference, according to The Times.  Three other schools -- Hobart, Wheeler and North Newton -- are also considering applying to the league, which would probably put the stops at 16 members.  With a wide disparity in enrollments in the LAC, two 8-team LAC divisions may emerge, giving teams within the LAC much more flexibility with scheduling.  As it is now, all LAC teams must play one another during the regular season.  With the two divisions, most likely teams would only be required to play teams within their division during the season.

Indiana's very own nearly swept the Naismith awards earlier this month.  As we reported earlier, Shyra Ely was named the Naismith High School Player of the Year.  Also, Ruth Riley was named the Naismith Women's College Player of the Year and Muffet McGraw was named the Naismith College Coach of the Year.  All three were captured in living color at the Naismith awards banquet and  reception, which can be viewed at Mini Moments Photography.

According to the Ft. Wayne Sentinel, the annual Nancy Rehm/Border Wars game between players in Indiana and Ohio is set for April 21 at 5:00 p.m. at Indiana Tech's Schafer Center in Ft. Wayne.  Team Indiana is coached by Gary Andrews of Ft. Wayne Luers and consists of the following Ft. Wayne area players:
  
Kelly Abbott, Carroll
Jamie Grogg, Huntington North
Suzie Hayden, Snider
Jessica Hicks, Manchester
Rachel King, Bishop Luers
Cassie Kline, Huntington North
Maria Marchesano, Elmhurst
Ashley Powell, East Noble
Melissa Sarrazine, Woodlan
Kelly Springer, Leo
Jenny Steele, Leo
  
In a special presentation during the evening, Wawasee junior Shanna Zolman will officially receive her plaque for be named a First Team Parade Magazine All-American.

We found one more all-conference listing that was recently announced:
    
   All-West Central Conference
   Jill Hutcheson - South Putnam
Ashley Trent - North Putnam
Jenny Maves - Speedway
Cassie Hunt - North Putnam
Krystal Parker - North Putnam
Molly Williams - South Putnam
Danielle Allen - Cloverdale
Rhonda Gottshalk - Greencastle
Jessica Cooper - Cascade
Danielle Vieria - Cascade
Jena Crone - Monrovia
Heather Gore - Monrovia

For those of you with daughters in the college ranks or headed that way, the ESPN website has put together a series of articles about the safety of travel for women's basketball programs and what you can do as a parent to make sure that your precious college cargo is being safely transported to games and tournaments around the country.  It's not the most pleasant subject for parents to read about, as there are some pretty shocking facts that come out of ESPN's exposé (one of the planes used by a college-popular air fleet is nearly 50 years old and has a history of cracks in the fuselage), but it's better than being an ostrich with your head in the sand.  Huge spending discrepancies between the travel budgets for men's and women's teams is also looked at, which is also pretty shocking.  (Some men's programs get twice the travel budgets of their counterparts in the women's programs.)  This series is mandatory reading for parents of college athletes, so don't forget to bookmark the site if you don't have time to read it now.

Okay.  We know you NWI fans have been patiently awaiting the 2001 RRR All-Region selections, and we FINALLY have them ready for viewing.  (Blame the IRS for wanting our tax returns submitted on time!)  This year's Player of the Year selections were difficult to make, as many players in the Region had outstanding seasons.  As we did last season, we've separated out our picks into 4A & 3A and 2A & 1A.  We know you all might not agree with what we think, but hey... it's our website.  ;-)  Congratulation to all the Region area players on a fine 2000-2001 season and good luck to the seniors who are moving on in basketball and in life!

The NCAA observation period ended on Sunday, and some teams and players from Indiana were making the most of the last viewing opportunity before July by participating in the competitive Deep South Classic in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.  With the facilities of Duke University, the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University within minutes of each other, players were treated to playing in some of college basketball's most legendary arenas, including the Dean Smith Center on the campus of UNC, where Michael Jordan played as a Tarheel.
   
Four Indiana teams were in attendance at the Deep South -- Indiana Force 17U, River City Rockers 16U, Indiana Pearls 15U and Spiece Diamonds 14U.  We don't have the details on how all the Indiana teams fared, but we can tell you that both Indiana Force and Spiece Diamonds finished in second place in the Gold and Copper Divisions, respectively.
  
Indiana Force, comprised of some of the top junior and sophomore talent in Indiana, including seven Indiana Junior All Stars, played in the competitive Gold Division under the guidance of coaches Stacie Shepherd and Glenn Shepherd.  Stacie, a Richmond High School and St. Joseph's College grad, teaches English and coaches a high school team in Florida during the school year.  She then donates her time in the summer to coach Indiana Force.  Glenn selects and organizes this team to showcase Indiana high school talent and to afford the girls an opportunity to be seen by college coaches from around the country.  After getting together for only one practice on the day of their first game, Indiana Force defeated teams from South Carolina, Arkansas and two teams from California, including a 108-71 win over a very good East Bay (CA) team, before losing to the California Ballers in the Gold Division championship game.
   

Crown Point junior Alex Webster represents the Region on Indiana Force.  She contributed with assists and scoring at the point guard position, while taking on defensive specialist duties for her team.  Leading scorer on the weekend was Wawasee junior Shanna Zolman, who led the Force charge offensively with a combination of scoring attacks from all over the floor.  This team is evenly balanced and very deep, and benefited with contributions from every team member.  Most opposing teams were unable to keep pace for two full halves with a steady stream of fresh Force substitutions.  Most games were close at the half, but opened up several minutes into the second.  The Force had a sub-par performance in the championship game from the start and never did find a rhythm, resulting in a double-digit loss.  You can view a few photos from the weekend on our Deep South Photo Gallery.  Lots of Indiana colleges followed the team during the weekend, including Ball State, Evansville and Purdue.  Indiana Force will be participating in the U. S. Junior Nationals in Washington, D.C., and the Nike Challenge in Chicago, both during the July NCAA evaluation period.
   
The Spiece Diamonds defeated teams from Illinois, Ohio, New York and Arkansas before falling to Cincinnati Classic Way in the Copper Division championship game.  You can visit the Spiece Diamonds website for more information on their finish at the Deep South.

The Post-Tribune named Highland senior Jenny DeMuth its Girls Basketball Player of the Year yesterday.  DeMuth led her team to the Warsaw Semi-State before falling to Kokomo in the first round.  DeMuth will represent NWI in the upcoming Indiana-Kentucky All-Stars Series in June.

According to The Times, the Northwest Indiana All-Star Classic was played last Saturday, and Kim Smith of Gary West Side (14 points, 13 rebounds) and Sarah Zondor of Crown Point (12 points, 4 steals, 2 assists) led the East over the West in a 75-43 victory.  Leading scorers for the West Team were Meigan Tucker of Lake Central and Tracey Jackson of East Chicago, both with 8 points each.  Coach Tom May of Crown Point was the coach for the victorious East Team, while Coach Tom Spina of Hammond Gavit served as the coach for the West Team.  Smith, a 5'10 forward headed to Miami University, was named the NWI Indiana All-Star Classic MVP.  Members of the East and West squads were as follows:
   

The North-South Indiana All-Star Classic was also played over the weekend at the New Castle Chrysler Fieldhouse.  The South Team defeated the North Team 94-80, and both squads included some of the top talent from around the state.  Leading scorer for the South Team was Ohio State bound Ashley Allen of Ben Davis with 19 points, followed by Evansville Memorial's Kate Endress with 18.  The North Team was led by the 13 points of Muncie Central senior Ricaye Harris, followed by 12 points each from Sara Riedeman of Greensburg and Julie Shirley of Lafayette Jeff.  Several articles about the North-South game appeared in the New Castle Life, Muncie Star Press, Louisville Courier-Journal and Terre Haute Tribune.  The complete roster of the North and South Teams can be found on our 2000-01 Post-Season Honors page.

Kristin VanValin of Ben Davis has accepted a basketball scholarship to play at Spring Arbor University (Michigan) next season.  The 6'3 senior was a consistent and solid contributor to the Giants' run to two consecutive 4A titles.  VanValin was also highly recruited by Taylor University, Indiana Wesleyan and Greenville College (Illlinois), all Christian Liberal Arts College.  Spring Arbor is a NAIA Division II university.

More post-season awards have been announced:
   
Ben Davis senior Shyra Ely has received yet another high-profile honor heading out of her senior season of high school basketball.  Besides being named the Naismith High School Player of the Year, the 6'2 forward was also recently named USA Today's Senior of the Year and, according to the Indianapolis Star, Gatorade National Player of the Year.  As we all know, Ely will be playing for Tennessee's Pat Summit next season.
   
According to the Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette, Wawasee junior Shanna Zolman has been named a First Team 2001 Parade Magazine All-American.
   
The Louisville Journal-Courier recently named its own choices for All-State Teams and honorees. From the Region, Jenny DeMuth of Highland was named to the First Team, Courtney Rosenbaum of Valparaiso was named to the Second Team, and Lauren Bechtold of Hebron, Lauren Hansen of Portage, Hannah Herrold of South Central, Michele Kiger of Rensselaer, Erica Martin of Kouts, JoAnn Smith of Hammond Gavit, Kimberly Smith of Gary West Side, and Sarah Zondor of Crown Point were named All-State Honorable Mention.  Complete First-Team voting was as follows:
   
Shyra Ely - Ben Davis
Jenny DeMuth - Highland
Jacqueline Batteast - South Bend Washington
Shanna Zolman - Wawasee
Ashley Allen - Ben Davis
Kate Endress - Evansville Memorial
Kelly Springer - Leo
Rachel King - Ft. Wayne Luers
Jenny Pfeiffer - Jennings County
Kristen Weddle - Terre Haute South
   
 According to the Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette, Luers senior Rachel King was named the winner of the Journal Gazette Tiffany Gooden Award for the second year in a row.  Ft. Wayne Snider coach Lamar Kilmer was named Coach of the Year.

According to the Lafayette Journal & Courier, Lafayette Central Catholic head coach Alan Schrope has resigned his position in order to seek a coaching position at a larger school.  While at LCC, Schrope compiled a 16-47 record.

Indianapolis has made the cut as one of five finalists to host the 2005 or 2007 women's NCAA Final Four.  According to the Indianapolis Star, the event would be held at either Conseco Fieldhouse or the RCA Dome.

The senior year of Purdue senior Katie Douglas (Perry Meridian) is profiled in the Boiler Station section of the Lafayette Journal & Courier.   

We've found the official announcement.  According to the Bloomington Hoosier Times, Anna Waugh (Franklin) and two other Indiana University freshmen will not be returning to the Hoosiers next season. 

INDIANA RULES!  
Like all of us didn't already know! The women's and girls' basketball game in Indiana received a HUGE shot in the arm this past weekend when the entire nation watched Notre Dame take on Purdue in an all-Indiana NCAA Championship final in St. Louis, the first time in the history of the women's tournament that the final two teams were from the same state.  Of course, Indiana being honored as the first state to accomplish this is not a surprise to Hoosier fans!  Notre Dame boasted All-Everything Ruth Riley (North Miami) as the only Indiana player on its roster, but Purdue had lots of Indiana talent on display with Kelly Komara (Lake Central), Katie Douglas (Perry Meridian), Candi Crawford (Homestead), Shalicia Hurns (Broad Ripple) and Mary Jo Noon (Jeffersonville).  Douglas and freshman Hurns, who had her coming out party on national television, were named to the Final Four All-Tournament Team with ND's Riley.  The game went down to the wire and was a great introduction for a number of first-time observers of the women's college game.  (My daughter was pleasantly surprised to have the BOYS at her school comment to her the next day about what a great game it was!)  Riley was absolutely amazing after a slow start, and her ability to grab that last pass and make ND's final shot attempt was heroic.  Not to mention the succeeding free throws that won the game.  Purdue frosh Hurns played Riley extremely well, and had some unbelievable defensive plays as well as dropping in 17 points on the offensive end.  We've linked the hometown coverage for both teams from before and after the game, as well as some of the better editorials about the women's college game.  Also, USA Today has a great grouping of articles about both teams.
   
Lafayette Journal & Courier's Boiler Station
Riley's late heroics deny Boilers title - 4/2/01
Riley delivers for Fighting Irish - 4/2/01
Freshmen give Boilermakers bright future - 4/2/01
Despite loss, Purdue among nation's elite programs - 4/2/01
Noon's return motivated by memories of '99 - 4/1/01
   
South Bend Tribune
Champions - 4/2/01
Curry: Game not lost on final play - 4/2/01
Riley makes it into another Hoosier classic - 4/2/01
Signs say happy homecoming for Niele Ivey - 4/2/01
Basketball-loving Hoosiers await women's championship - 4/1/01
McGraw has become America's sweetheart - 4/1/01
Notre Dame, Purdue sports fans ecstatic - 4/1/01

Editorials & Individual player stories
A new chapter for the state's hoops history - Indianapolis Star
    Time to give Riley her due - The Times
As usual, Riley head and shoulders above the rest - New York Daily News
Komara is Region tough - The Times
Crawford makes the most of her time - Kokomo Tribune

Former Tipton Indiana All Star, Purdue player and current Harrison coach and radio color commentator, Jane Schott, gives her inside perspective of the Purdue Boilermakers in the Kokomo Tribune.  Schott is the announcer for WLFF, the station that broadcasts Purdue's games on the internet.

With its media release last week, the IHSAA sent coaches, players and fans scrambling to the drawing board to see how their chances will fare with the new sectional alignments.  When they do, they'll only be able to figure out one step of the equation, as the IHSAA has yet to number the newly aligned sectionals for regional groupings.  According to IHSAA spokesperson Jim Russell in a number of publications, 
  
"There is some thought about going to a four-team regional and a two-team semi-state, and with a four-team regional, you want four sectional groups that make the most sense geographically.  Rather than numbering them now, we have opted to assign the sectional groups now and will assign sectional numbers after the April 30 meeting." 
   
The four-team regional is one of the proposals to be discussed at the April 30 meeting, along with the possibility of moving to a two-class system.  With all the different suggestions floating around, it seems that next season's tournament format is pretty much up for grabs.  One suggestion, as described in the IHSAA March 23 Board minutes, is to skip the semi-state and have a 16-team state finals format that has all four classes playing at separate locations on Friday evening.  All of the final class games would be played at a central location the next day.  I can't even imagine how tough that would be on the 1A team playing the first final of the day after winning the preliminary the night before, not to mention the difficulty of selling state finals tickets to the fans of all the finalists in less than 24 hours.  For that second reason alone, this idea seems to be out the window already.  But then you just never know...
   
But with respect to the realignments, we've evaluated who the Realignment Winners and Losers are in 4A, as well as in the NWI 3A, 2A and 1A sectionals.  Also, articles on-line discussing the impact of realignments for teams around the state are as follows:
   
IHSAA shuffles sectional rivals, ponders changes - Lafayette Journal & Courier
Area sectionals affected by class realignment - Goshen News
IHSAA announces that 38 schools change classes - Louisville Courier-Journal
    IHSAA announces switches in sectionals for for next 2 years - Ft. Wayne Sentinel
Trojans face new tourney foes next year - New Castle Life
IHSAA draws up new sectionals, may change regionals - Frankfort Times
   

The Associated Press announced its picks for the AP 2000-2001 All-State Girls Teams last week.  Five NWI players were recognized by the AP -- Jenny DeMuth of Highland was named to the AP All-State First Team, Courtney Rosenbaum of Valparaiso and Lauren Bechtold of Hebron were named High Honorable Mention, and Brooke Reed of LaPorte and Hannah Herrold of South Central were in the "Receiving Votes" category.  According to one of the AP poll board members (which number about 20 around the state), ballots with close to 200 or so names listed are sent out to the members, who select their top 15 picks in order, with 15 points being assigned for the No. 1 pick on each person's ballot, down to 1 point for the 15th person selected.  (So those players listed as "Receiving Votes" were considered one of the top 15 players in the state by one or more of the voters.)  Since there is no AP poll for girls, the ballots are sent to writers who rank the boys teams throughout the season.  The hope is that those voters who are not familiar with the girls side of the game consult with those at their publication who are.  For posterity, we've included the entire AP All-State list on our 2000-01 Post-Season Awards page.

The Indianapolis Star announced the members of the Indiana All-Stars Team last week, with 13 senior players making the cut to represent the Hoosier State in the 2001 Indiana All-Stars Series.  Jenny DeMuth of Highland, who was second in Miss Basketball balloting, is the only NWI player on the roster.  Although a few publications mentioned that two additional team members were to be named, that statement was later retracted as erroneous. This year's All-Stars Team is a talented and athletic group.  The only thing this squad is missing is a true center, which speaks to the versatility of the team's players 6'0 and taller, who have tremendous ball-handling skills and quickness.  They should give the Kentucky All-Stars (which will be named late in April according to the Louisville Courier-Journal) all they can handle and more.  The team is as follows:
   

The selection of Twin Lakes junior Erin Guy to the North Squad of the Indiana Junior All-Stars was announced recently in the Monticello Herald-Journal.  

Many Region and DAC fans would be surprised to learn that the sister of a very capable post player in NWI has a sister that recently played in the NCAA Tournament at the Sweet Sixteen level.  Lauren Beckman, the sister of LaPorte junior post standout Katie Beckman, was this season's leading scorer and rebounder for the University of Utah.  The elder Beckman recently played against national power Notre Dame, only to see her team eliminated from NCAA Tournament play by the Irish.  Before moving to LaPorte, the Beckman family lived in Nevada, where Lauren was named the Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year along with other state honors, according to the LaPorte Herald-Argus.

Some more post-season honors:
   
 Tri-River Conference First Team
Rebekah Forsyth - North Central
Andrie Koehler - Clay City
Megan Haag - North Central
Jennifer Scott - Shakamak
Keesha Knox - Clay City
   
Midland Athletic Conference
Lindsey Swanson (POY) - FW Canterbury
Stephanie Heger - FW Canterbury
Jessica Warriner - FW Christian
Kelsey Whitton - Lakeview Christian
Amanda Wagner - FW Canterbury
Coach - Scott Kreiger - FW Canterbury
   
Wabash River Conference
Candace Dark - Fountain Central
Mandi Rozendaal - Covington
Emily Russelll - Turkey Run
Amanda Newnum - Turkey Run
Brigett Branson - Turkey Run
   
Columbus Republic All-Area
Sara Riedemen (POY) - Greensburg
Tina Bolte - Columbus North
Kali Carter - Columbus East
Ashley Elmore - Jennings County
Michelle King - Columbus East
Tiffany Keller - South Decatur
Katie Kuperus - Columbus North
Amy Pence - Hauser
Rachel Perkins - Columbus North
Jenny Pfeiffer - Jennings County
Leah Wischmeier - Brownstown
   
Muncie Star Press All-Area
Kelly Troxel (POY) - Shenandoah
Megan Hartwell - Alexandria
Mindy Schoenlein - Winchester
Megan Allen - Wes-Del
Ricaye Harris - Muncie Central

According to the Hickory Husker website, the Hoosier Basketball Coaches Association recently announced those players invited to their annual East-West All-Star Game on April 22 at Corydon High School.  The invitee list includes:
   

Also, the Monticello Herald-Journal is announcing the members of the two senior teams set to compete in the Midwest Conference Annual All-Star Game.  The game will take place at 6:00 p.m. on April 7 at Pioneer High School.

The late signing period begins one week from tomorrow, and expect to see a flurry of announcements from those players that have not yet signed or made their college choices know.  One verbal commitment that has come our way is that of DeKalb senior Megan Dean, who has chosen to attend Marian College next season.  Dean, a 6'1 center for the Barons, helped lead her team to a 17-5 record before bowing out of the sectionals with a loss to eventual state runner-up Ft. Wayne Snider.

At this time of the year, it is expected that college coaches look to better their situations as contracts expire, but this year there are an unbelievable number of former Indiana high school players who are looking to make a change as well. The shift of these players to other programs in the Midwest and around the country will undoubtedly have an impact on the recruiting of current high school players from Indiana.
   
According to the Indianapolis Star, five players from the Bulldogs women's program have requested releases from the team.  Included in those requesting a release are junior Kelly Kuhn (Lake Central), sophomore Dorcas Lawson (Terre Haute South) and freshman Sara Strahm (Ben Davis).  Both Lawson and Strahm will seek to join basketball programs at other schools, while Kuhn has decided to continue her education at Butler but will no longer play.  Difficulties with Butler head coach Wendy Gatlin were cited by some of the players leaving.  Last year, Kristen Bodine of Martinsville left the Butler program to attend Indiana, where she will be eligible to play next season.
   

According to the Evansville University women's website, former Center Grove standout Lisa Eckart has asked for and been given a release to leave the Aces program.  Eckart was the leading scorer and rebounder for the just-completed season, and was named Missouri Valley All-Conference.
   
There has been some discussion on the Women's Basketball Journal website that freshman Anna Waugh (Franklin) is planning to transfer from Indiana along with the only other two freshmen on the team (Charliss Ridley of Illinois and Nicole Motto of Ohio), although we've been unable to confirm that move for sure.  Some of you will remember that Ridley played at Perry Meridian her freshman year of high school.

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