South County Tournament championship game  -  Tuesday, 12-23-2003 at Hebron

BOONE GROVE (33)  Danielle Jacobs 0-0-0, Becky Keller 4-0-9, Lani Marsh 0-0-0, Cortney Flanigan 1-0-2, Karissa Walter 5-5-16, Sara Martinovich 1-0-2, Megan Dewell 0-0-0, Rachel Jenkins 2-0-4.   TOTALS: 13-5-33.

FTS: 5-6, 83.3 percent - Karissa Walter 5-6.

FOULED OUT: none
REBOUNDS: Karissa Walter - 4
STEALS: Danielle Jacobs - 4
ASSISTS: Karissa Walter - 3
TURNOVERS: 13
3-POINT GOALS (2) Becky Keller, Karissa Walter.

HEBRON (31)  Lauren Kalis 2-1-6 Justine Duck 4-3-11, Jessica Sheets 1-0-2, Cindi Boricich 0-3-3, Jaz Aguilar 1-0-3, Heidi Freund 2-1-5, Melissa Weinglarz 0-0-0, Renee Passine 0-0-0.   TOTALS: 10-8-31

FTS: 8-16, 50.0 %  -  Duck 3-5, Kalis 1-3, Boricich 3-6, Freund 1-2.
REBOUNDS: Jessica Sheets - 5
STEALS: Heidi Freund - 2
ASSISTS: Cindi Boricich - 3
TURNOVERS: 22
FOULED OUT: Cindi Boricich (4th Q) :44 left
3-POINT GOALS (3) Lauren Kalis, Jaz Aguilar, Justine Duck.

South County Tournament semifinal game  -  Monday, 12-22-2003 at Hebron

BOONE GROVE (72)  Danielle Jacobs 4-0-8, Becky Keller 6-2-15, Lani Marsh 0-0-0, Cortney Flanigan 5-0-10, Karissa Walter 5-1-11, Sara Martinovich 3-1-7, Megan Dewell 2-0-4, Amanda Jenkins 2-0-4, Beth Uterfranz 4-1-9, Candanc Wyatt 1-2-4.  TOTALS: 32-7-72.

FTS: 7-12, 58.3 percent - Keller 2-2, Walter 1-2, Uterfranz 1-2, Wyatt 2-3, Jacobs 0-1, Martinovich 1-2.

REBOUNDS: Becky Keller -4
STEALS: Karissa Walter - 4
ASSISTS: Karissa Walter - 7
3-POINT GOALS (1) Becky Keller.

MORGAN TOWNSHIP (23)  Brooke Cygan 1-0-2, Nicole Jessen 3-0-6, Julie Wittmer 1-0-2, Erin Parks 2-0-4, Nikki O'Connor 3-1-7, Alyssa Sheets 1-0-2, Jessica Aderhold 0-0-0.   TOTALS: 11-1-23.

FTS: 1-11, 9.1 %  -  O'Connor 1-2, Jessen 0-2, Wittmer 0-5, Sheets 0-2.
REBOUNDS: Julie Wittmer, Alyssa Sheets - 4
STEALS: Nicole Jessen - 3
ASSISTS: Nikki O'Connor - 2
3-POINT GOALS (0) none
FOULED OUT: none
3-POINT GOALS (3) Lauren Kalis, Jaz Aguilar, Justine Duck.

South County Tournament semifinal game  -  Monday, 12-22-2003 at Hebron

KOUTS (22) Marlie Kniefel 0-1-1, Sarah Redelman 0-1-1, Rebekah Basinger 3-3-9, Jacklyn Jessen 1-4-6, Brittney McNeil 1-0-2, Carmin Hefner 1-0-2, Lindsay Sutter 0-1-1, Nicole Griffey 0-0-0.  TOTALS: 6-10-22.

FTS: 10-21, 47.6 percent - Basinger 3-4, Knifel 1-4, Redelman 1-3, Jessen 4-6, Sutter 1-2, Hefner 0-2.

FOULED OUT: none
REBOUNDS: Rebekah Basinger - 7,  Sarah Redelman - 7
TURNOVERS: 19
3-POINT GOALS (0) none

HEBRON (38)  Lauren Kalis 0-1-1 Justine Duck 3-1-7, Jessica Sheets 0-3-3, Cindi Boricich 2-1-6, Jaz Aguilar 1-0-3, Heidi Freund 5-4-15, Melissa Weinglarz 1-0-2, Amanda Pollack 0-1-1, Renee Passine 0-0-0.   TOTALS: 12-11-38.

FTS: 11-21, 52.3 %  -  Freund 4-6, Shets 3-6, Duck 1-4, Pollack 1-1, Boricich 1-2, Kalis 1-2.
REBOUNDS: Jessica Sheets - 9
STEALS: Heidi Freund - 3, Justine Duck - 3
ASSISTS: Cindi Boricich - 2
TURNOVERS: 14
FOULED OUT: none
3-POINT GOALS (3) Cindi Boricich, Jaz Aguilar, Heidi Freund.

HEBRON (12-23-2003) -  High school games begin and end in the same place. It's just that some of them take you on quite a ride to get there.

"This is what Indiana basketball us all about," said Candy Wilson after Boone's 33-31 victory over arch-rival and next door neighbor Hebron in the finals of the 23rd South County Tournament championship. "Right here. That's what makes it special. You want good rivalries. We knew this would be a competitive game. It always is."

It was more than a competitive  game. It was a Porter County classic. Hebron erased a nine point second half deficit to take leads of 29-28 and 31-30. But 5 of 6 free throw shooting by junior point guard Karissa Walter down the stretch gave the Class 2A No. 6 Wolves (11-1) the victory in a roller-coaster contest with numerous twists and turns in front of about 600 fans in the tiny Hebron gym.

On a cold, snowy night 48 hours before Christmas, the gift of a game saw Hebron attack defending tournament champion Boone Grove with a triangle and two defense that slowed the Lady Wolves' ball-stealing, fast-breaking attack that has seen them win 33 of their last 39 games. Boone, seeing the lead shrink and foul trouble piling up, went to a stall game twice with mixed results, although the only outcome that matters is the two-point win.

When two free throws by Hebron's Cindi Boricich cut the lead to 24-21 with 4:50 left in the third quarter, Wilson decided that her girls would no longer play against the Hebron zone defense. Freshman ball-handler guard Cortney Flanigan stood 35 feet from the basket about 15 feet from the Boone Grove bench. Hebron's players did not venture beyond the top of the circle and the noisy neighborhood crowd witnessed a total stalemate.

Boone held for the final shot of the quarter and when Sara Martinovich's 17-foot shot went in with seven seconds left, the Wolves got a standing ovation from the Boone cheering section as they returned to the bench with a 26-21 third quarter lead.

But Hebron, a 67-49 loser at Boone on Nov. 15,  just wouldn't let it go. When Hebron senior Jessica Sheets scored on an offensive rebound to make the score 26-24 with 6:16 to play, Wilson ordered a stall again against the the Hebron 'gimmick' defense. Junior point guard Karissa Walter and Flanigan took turns standing with the ball while Hebron again stayed inside the foul circle. There was a surreal sequence when Hebron coach Jerry Bechtold called sophomore guard Heidi Freund over to the bench at the other end of the floor while Flanigan was standing with the ball in play.  Though the Wolves then had a 5-on-4 advantage, Boone continued the stall until Freund ran back to the defensive end.

"I thought she was going to sneak up behind me and steal the ball," Flanigan said later."

This stall concluded when Hebron's defenders broke their zone to attack the ball with three minutes left to go. The Hawks won this stalemate when Justine Duck stole a pass to the basket with 2:40 to play. "When it was 24-21 and they were holding the ball " Bechtold said. "I'm talking to the coaches on the bench and I'm saying. This isn't bad. I like this."

"It was a momentum shift at that time,"  said Wilson, "and obviously we made a poor passing decision at the end. We weren't looking to score at that point. We went to a stall for a couple of reasons. We were in the penalty (every Boone foul was a shooting foul for Hebron). They were hitting their free throws. We had several kids in foul trouble mostly our post players. Rachel (Jenkins) was just getting back and her knee is not real solid. I just thought it was in our best interest to take time off the clock."

Boone's Becky Keller stole a Hebron pass with 2:30 to play and, after three times outs, Walter, the PCC"s second leading scorer, drove down the lane and flipped a pass to Jenkins, Boone's lone senior, who banked in a layup to give the visitors a 28-24 lead with 1:51 to play. But Hebron's Duck, a 5-9 senior, grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to cut the lead to 28-26, and she was fouled. Duck missed the free throw but Hebron grabbed the long rebound. After another Hawk time out, the Hawks ran a set play that found Cindi Boricich passing to sophomore Lauren Kalis, whose 20 foot right wing shot behind a screen gave the Hawks a 29-28 lead with 1:31 to go.

With the small gym in an uproar, Walter was called for traveling on a drive down the lane and you felt that Hebron would pull off a monster victory, defeating the defending PCC and Triton Regional champion. But Freund and Kalis ran into each other, trying to avoid the Boone full court press and the ball rolled out of bounds with 1:18 to go, giving Boone possession. Hebron fouled Boone three times in a row, partially trying to steal the ball and partly trying to send Boone to the foul line. Walter sank two foul shots with 1:13 left but Freund, a 5-8 guard, banked in a 12 foot shot to give the Hawks a 31-30 edge with 57 seconds to go.  As Walter (16.6 ppg.) again drove the lane, she again drew a foul and two more pressure free throws made it 32-31 Boone with 44 seconds to go. Hebron held the ball for a final shot but Kalis was called for traveling with seven seconds to play. Walter split two foul shots with four seconds left and Freund, who was bumped by a Boone defender, could not get off a last shot from mid court.

Both teams got a standing ovation at the conclusion of the final game of the calendar year.  In the final days of the aging Hebron high school building (it is scheduled to be replaced in August of 2005) another memorable game had drifted into memory.

"We have more experience," said Jenkins, holding the championship trophy after the game. "We're older and that really helps. We knew what we wanted to do."

"These guys have a lot of experience in this from last year," said Wilson, " and that helps us.  We need some competitive games. We really do. Winning by 30 or 40 points does not help us."

Walter, who aggressively went to get the ball in the final minutes, was not overwhelmed by the situation.

"I knew it was a 1-and-1," she said. "And I knew everybody expected me to make them. I just wanted to make everybody happy and win the game. I do it (bounce) three times and then shoot. I don't pace or anything. I just go up with it."

"That's what Karissa does," said Wilson. "She's best under pressure. She's the one we want with the ball. This feels pretty good. I'm getting used to these trophies. I'm going to be a little upset if I don't get any more."

Bechtold almost got his previously outmanned team to pull off a major upset. "Since the start of the season, we've been pointing towards the South County Tournament. Our schedule is top-loaded with a lot of tough games (CP, Boone, Kankakee Valley) at the front.  We played a triangle-and-two in the hopes that they'd make a few mistakes while they were passing the ball around and they did."

"If they wanted a 17-foot shot, they could have it. We had two people back on the baseline to rebound. Our guards responded. We didn't play well against Kouts last week and I took them all aside and talked for about 2 1/2 hours. I was a little hard on them, but we'll only go as far as our guards will take us."

"We have a reputation but we don't have a tradition. We need two or three more classes to come through here before we establish the tradition. Before the kids come here knowing what has to be done. Some of the kids probably think that well, coach Bechtold won before, but he had his daughter (all-stater and Valpo U. sophomore Lauren Bechtold) then. He can't do it again. But after a game like this, they think, 'Hey we almost won. Maybe I should be listening to him."

Neither side talked about the third game. But lets get real. It will happen. Hebron dominated LaCrosse and has beaten South Central, Washintgon Township and Kouts. Morgan Township, without injured scoring leader Angie Bush (15.6) is not competitive.  Unless unpredictable Hanover Central gets in the way, there will be a third meeting of Boone and Hebron in the PCC tournament (Jan. 16-21) next month. There are bigger schools and bigger stakes. But two south Porter County schools five miles apart who have been playing basketball since the depression, still maintain the top rivalry in northwest Indiana.

SOUTH COUNTY NOTES:  This was the fifth consecutive victory for Boone Grove over Hebron after the Hawks had defeated Boone seven times in three years.

Highland's Jody Shimanek plays on a summer AAU team with Boone's Karissa Walter and Danielle Jacobs so she came to Hebron Tuesday night to see her friends play. "This is the first time I've ever been here," she said. "I didn't even know where it was."  Shimanek listened politely to explanations of 'Homecoming' basketball games (at most Indiana schools homecoming is a football game) and the 'Cup', the Porter County Conference's traveling trophy. "It is different," she said.

To give you an idea of the physical nature of this game, Boone has an inbounds play where they set a double or triple screen at the foul line for a three-point shot. In the third quarter on that play, two Hebron girls attempted to run through the screen and five players went to the floor.

Hebron coach Jerry Bechtold had no problem with it. "Sometimes there's just not time to run around a screen like that. That's the only way to go."

The Hawks big freshman Cindi Boricich, set a strong pick on Boone's Karissa Walter in the opening minutes of the game, knocking the junior guard to the floor.

"That set the tone for the game," Bechtold said. "We cant just let them fly around."

Boone's Candy Wilson played at Chesterton in the early 90s and she recalled her playing days to help her in the South County title game.

"Back when I used to play, my coach (present day Trojan coach Jack Campbell) used to do that all the time. You pull people out and make them guard you. When you have a point guard like we have, why not do that? You have to ask what would have happened if we'd have kept playing. How does it come out if we kept going up and down the floor. Sometimes you just roll the dice."

Jenkins has a knee injury that will require surgery but she is going to play the remainder of her senior season with a brace on her leg before she gets that taken care of. "Exactly," she said. "I'm going to play as long as I can."

"Rachel really moves well with the ball," said Wilson, " but she's still adjusting to the knee. She has a torn MCL. It will give her problems from time to time. She didn't do badly after not having played for a while."

Hebron's Jerry Bechtold was lifted by the close outcome, far different from the 18-point game the two teams played earlier. "We missed some shots and we turned the ball over at the end," he said. "But we've got three sophomores and a freshman out there. If we can play like this, the 1A (Kouts) sectional is within reach and we have a chance at the regional."

"We play each other three times." said Wilson of Boone and Hebron. "It used to be (before Hebron dropped to Class 1A) four.  People wonder how these games can be so close but you get to know each other real well. That's what happens. The people in the Duneland Conference are not going to like playing each other three times."

Bechtold says that the new Hebron school building, set to open in 2005, may not house the Lady Hawks. "I have absolutely no problem with continuing to play here," says the fifth year Hawk coach, who indicates that the present school will eventually become the junior high. "I wouldn't mind if this gym (in the present school) became the girls gym. It's perfect for us." 

Hebron held Kouts freshman star Rebekah Basinger (17.1 ppg.) to just nine points in a 38-22 semifinal victory. Basinger, a 5-8 forward, twisted an ankle and did not play in the consolation win over Morgan the next night. Morgan's Bush is out at least six weeks with knee surgery.

BOONE GROVE (11-1)
Coach Candy Wilson (7th season) 22-5 last season (2003)
Porter County Conference Games in all CAPS

Nov. 11: 82-20 River Forest (3-6)
Nov. 14:  67-64 (OT) Calumet (7-5)
Nov. 15:  67-49 HEBRON (4-7)
Nov. 21:  73-33 Knox (5-6)
Nov. 25: 84-25 at LaCROSSE (0-10)
Dec. 2:  64-42 Kankakee Valley (1-9)
Dec. 11: 64-37 at WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (5-4)
Dec. 13: 35-48 at Crown Point (8-3)
Dec. 16: 61-40 at KOUTS (6-5)
Dec. 18: 50-27 MORGAN TOWNSHIP (3-9)

South County Tournament  (at Hebron)
Dec. 22: 72-23 MORGAN TOWNSHIP (3-9) Semifinals
Dec. 23: 33-31 Hebron (4-7) Championship

Jan. 3: at Wheeler 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 6: North Newton 7:00 p.m.
Jan. 8: at SOUTH CENTRAL 7:00 p.m.
Jan. 14: at Lake Station 7:00 p.m.

Porter County Conference Tournament (at Morgan Township)
Jan. 19 (M) PCC quarterfinals
Jan. 20 (Tu) PCC semifinals
Jan. 23 (F) PCC semifinals  -  6:00 p.m.
Jan. 24 (S) PCC championship (at Boone Grove) 6:00 p.m.

Jan. 29: at HANOVER CENTRAL 7:00 p.m.
Feb.  5: North Judson 6:30 p.m.

Hanover Central (2A) Sectional
Feb. 10: Quarterfinals 6:00 p.m.
Feb. 13: Semifinals 6:00 p.m.
Feb. 14: HC Sectional final game 7:30 p.m.

Rensselaer (2A) Regional
Feb. 21: Semifinals 11:00 a.m.
Feb. 21:  Championship 7:00 p.m.

Warsaw (2A) Semistate
Feb. 28  one game 12 noon or 2:00 p.m.

Copyright © 2002 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp.  All rights reserved.
Revised: July 10, 2004 .