2004-2005 BOONE GROVE Girls Basketball Preview

Coach Candy Wilson (89-70, 8th year)

Assistant coach: Sarah Kurtz
JV coach: Stephanie Lytle

2004 record: 17-5 (South County champs)
2003 record: 22-5 (South County, sectional, regional champs)
2002 record: 17-5
2001 record: 13-9
2000 record: 5-15
1999 record: 4-16
1998 record: 5-15

Start times are Varsity starting times

DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT / TIME	OTHER INFO
Nov. 9	River Forest {1A}	W 64- 29
Nov. 12	at Calumet {3A}	W 73- 33
Nov. 13	at Hebron {1A}‡	W 64- 35
Nov. 19	at Knox {3A}	W 73- 40
Nov. 23	LaCrosse {1A}‡	W 82- 22
Nov. 30	at Kankakee Valley {3A}	W 65- 46
Dec. 9	Washington Twp. {1A}‡	7:00 pm
Dec. 11	Crown Point {4A}	7:30 pm
Dec. 14	Kouts {1A}‡	7:00 pm
Dec. 16	at Morgan Twp. {1A}‡	7:00 pm
Dec. 21	at Wheeler {2A}	7:00 pm
Dec. 29	South County Tournament		through Dec. 30
Jan. 4	at North Newton {2A}	7:00 pm
Jan. 6	South Central (Union Mills) {1A}‡	7:00 pm
Jan. 12	Lake Station {2A}	7:00 pm
Jan. 17	Porter County Conference Tournament		through Jan. 22
Jan. 27	Hanover Central {2A}‡	7:00 pm
Feb. 3	at North Judson {2A}	6:30 pm
‡PORTER COUNTY CONFERENCE GAME

Brittany is splitting time between the JV and varsity this season. She is a post player that has a great outside shot. She is working on becoming more aggressive inside and adjusting to the varsity level. Brittany is going to develop into a nice player for us.

This is Carrie's first season as a varsity player. She really began to jell with the team before the end of the summer. She is tall and quick like Becky (Keller) and Danielle (Jacobs) and will give us some more height and speed. She is recovering from a back injury and hopes to begin playing in December.

2004 (13 games) 54 points (4.2 ppg) 31 rebounds (2.3); 21-68 (FGS: 30.9%) 1-4 (Fts: 25.0%)

Kara is a very powerful and intelligent player. She sees the floor and understands the game so well. Kara is another one that has worked very hard on her free throws and shooting after practice. She also worked on conditioning in the off-season and has increased her speed. Her size and power are critical to the success of our inside game this season.

2004 - 201 points (9.1 ppg) 88 rebounds (4.0); 38 steals (1.7) 70-161 (FGS: 43.5%) 42-54 (Fts: 77.8%) 19-47 (3s: 40.4%)

Cortney (9.1 ppg last season) is another great point guard for our team. She is an outstanding ball-handler, outside shooter and distributor of the ball. She is a perfectionist and is harder on herself than anyone else could ever be. Cortney is quite a presence on the floor for a sophomore. She is a natural ballplayer. Cortney and Karissa (Walter) give us a great 1-2 punch.

2003 (22 games) 11 points (0.5 ppg) 7 rebounds (0.4); 2 steals (0.1) 2-9 (FGS: 22.0%) 7-9 (Fts: 77.8%)
2004 - 49 points (2.2 ppg) 24 rebounds (1.1); 29 steals (1.3) 22-62 (FGS: 35.5%) 3-8 (Fts: 37.5%)

Megan brings such energy to the floor. She is the first guard off the bench for us. She has really improved her shooting and ball handling skills and will see a lot more playing time this season. Her quickness and defensive skills give us a surge when we need a boost. She plays the '2' and '3' positions.

SARA MARTINOVICH - 5-6 – Senior Guard/Forward (3.3 ppg. - 6 games)

2003 - 143 points (5.5 ppg) 66 rebounds (2.5); 27 steals (1.0) 56-121 (FGS: 46.3%) 26-40 (Fts: 65.0%)
2004 - 102 points (4.6 ppg) 54 rebounds (2.5); 17 steals (0.6) 44-91 (FGS: 48.4%) 13-28 (Fts: 46.4%)

Sara is such a great defender. She is often given the task of taking on the best offensive player on the other team. She is very versatile. Sara often plays both the '3' and '4' slots in a game. She is very quick and strong. Sara is a team captain this season.

2003 - 109 points (4.0 ppg) 71 rebounds (2.6); 18 steals (0.7) 44-102 (FGS: 43.1%) 21-42 (Fts: 50.0%)
2004 (19 games) 54 points (4.6 ppg) 63 rebounds (3.3);15 steals (0.8) 22-62 (FGS: 35.5%) 10-28 (Fts: 35.7%)

Lani has really elevated her game this season. She is starting to put significant points on the board for us. Last season, we struggled finishing on the post. With the strong guard play that we have, Lani can give us a whole new dimension.

2003 - 74 points (2.7 ppg) 44 rebounds (1.6); 21 steals (0.8) 27-72 (FGS: 37.5%) 20-30 (Fts: 66.7%)
2004 - 102 points (4.6 ppg) 56 rebounds (2.5); 26 steals (1.2) 45-116 (FGS: 38.8%) 12-20 (Fts: 60.0%)

Danielle is such an intense player. She runs the floor so well for us. She has played the post for us the last few seasons but has really improved her outside game. Danielle is playing a little '3' and '4' this year. She has great speed, leaping ability and anticipation skills.

2003 - 162 points (6.0 ppg) 79 rebounds (2.9); 41 steals (1.5) 68-177 (FGS: 38.4%) 16-30 (Fts: 53.3%) 10-46 (3s: 21.7%)
2004 - 246 points (11.7 ppg) 80 rebounds (3.8); 63 steals (2.8) 94-212 (FGS: 44.3%) 41-59 (Fts: 69.5%) 17-59 (3s: 28.8%)

Becky (11.5 ppg last season) always seems to come up with big plays when we need them, a steal and a layup. She anticipates passing lanes so well and has such great speed and leaping ability. Becky is a natural born leader. She stays after practice every day to work on her shooting. Becky is so focused on our team being successful. She is another of our captains season.

2003 - 390 points (14.4 ppg) 142 rebounds (5.3); 101 steals (3.7) 141-283 (FGS: 49.8%) 98-145 (Fts: 67.6%) 10-27 (3s: 37.0%)
2004 - 329 points (15.0 ppg) 128 rebounds (5.8); 98 steals (4.4) 121-227 (FGS: 53.3%) 76-127 (Fts: 59.8%) 11-36 (3s: 30.6%)

(15.0 ppg last season) Karissa embodies what every coach envisions in a point guard. She makes everyone on the floor better, is an outstanding ball-handler, never gets tired, gives 110%, rises to the occasion of big games and is a great creator and scorer. Karissa is a natural ballplayer. She is a fun player to watch. Just when I think I've seen it all, she amazes me again. Karissa is a returning captain this season.

It would be foolish for me not to say that our girls expect the most out of themselves and have set their sights further than they ever have before. However, they know all too well how difficult the road is. They are very focused and are constantly challenging each other. The Porter County Conference championship, the round robin, the South County tournament and some big regular season games are some things we would like to pick up as well.

I would be lying if I didn't think that this group was capable of a trip downstate. I have to be a little more cautious in my thinking than the kids are. I am trying to focus on making our girls understand that every team has them on their radar screen as a team to beat each game. They have to get themselves up for each and every opponent. I've been on the opposite side of that coin as a coach. Players play above and beyond their normal performance when they are trying to knock off someone who is on top. We can't ignore that.

This group of players has so much talent, such great work ethic and an outstanding personality. We have had a lot of great kids come through our program, but this group of seniors have been the personality of the team since I have taken over the program at Boone Grove. I will miss them a lot on the court, but I will miss the time we spend off the court. I went through some tough years when I took over the program here. Watching these kids play in fifth grade, I knew they would put us on the right track.

I will miss the parents of these players equally as much. They have raised a special group of ladies and have been so supportive of myself and my coaching staff through the years. You have peaks and valleys throughout the years with parents but I can honestly say I don't have a negative memory with any of them. Parents make or break the success of a team.

2004-2005 BOONE GROVE Girls Basketball Preview

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith