H.S. Girls Basketball: Hanover Central 50, Lowell 45

Lowell's Jessica Sharkey (13) tries to inbound the ball against the defense of Samantha Huffnagle (22) and under the watchful eye of 'The Wildcat'.

Kayla Higginbotham (33) guards Lowell's Brooke Kuiper (30) in the Thanksgiving Eve game in Cedar Lake.

Coach Doug Nelson and the Hanover bench watch Lowell's comeback in the third quarter.

Lowell's Katie Bobos (32) collected 17 points and 17 rebounds.

Lowell coach Patti McCormack plans the final shot as Lowell tries to tie the game in the final 10 seconds.

LOWELL (45) Jessica Schiessle 1-0-2, Anna Sacco 1-0-2, Amanda Underwood 1-0-2, Carissa Thiel 3-0-6, Kalyne Godbolt 4-1-11, Carley Austgen 1-0-3, Katie Bobos 7-5-19, Brooke Kuiper 0-0-0, Jessica Sharkey 0-0-0. TOTALS: 18 (6-17) 45.

HANOVER (50) Samantha Huffnagle 1-5-7, Kayla Higginbotham 3-0-7, Blayr Poston 4-11-19, Abby Schweitzer 2-9-13, Kim Keague 1-0-2. Kayla Garthus 1-0-2, Emily Blue 0-0-0, Katie Dominguez 0-0-0. TOTALS: 12 (25-37) 50.

FREE THROWS: LOWELL (6-17, 35,2%) Bobos 5-13, Godbolt 1-2, Thiel 0-2; HANOVER (25-37, 70.4%) Huffnagle 5-8, Poston 11-17, Schweitzer 9-12.

REBOUNDS: LOWELL (42) Bobos 17, Thiel 9, Underwood 4, Sacco 4, Schiessle 3, Sharkey 2, Kuiper 2, Godbolt.
HANOVER (24) Poston 6, Garthus 6, Schweitzer 6, Huffnagle 4, McKeague, Higginbotham.

STEALS: LOWELL (8) Godbolt 4, Bobos 3, Underwood; HANOVER (8) Poston 4, Huffnagle 3, Higginbotham.

3-GOALS: LOWELL (3) Kalyne Godbolt 2, Carley Austgen; HANOVER (1) Kayla Higginbotham.

FOULED OUT: LOWELL (1) Carissa Thiel (4th Q) 2:33 left.

CEDAR LAKE (11-25-2009) The good thing about the aftermath of an early season basketball game is that both teams can end up with a positive result. So Hanover Central's Lady Cats were feeling pretty good after their 50-45 victory in the annual Thanksgiving Eve matchup with Lowell. And the Devils probably got a lot out of it as well.

Hanover deserved to win but Lowell should have won. If that makes any sense.

Hanover (3-1) dominated most of the first half, leading 5-0 and 20-5, before Lowell started an extended comeback. The Red Devil rally would see them pull even at 33-33 late in the third quarter and take a 45-38 lead with 2:19 to play in the game. But Hanover scored the game's final 12 points and won for the third game in a row since a dismal opening loss to River Forest. The game was the season debut of Hanover senior Abby Schweitzer, who missed the last couple of weeks (and the first three games) with an ankle injury. The 5-foot-9 senior was 8-of-10 from the foul line in the fourth and she was a steady hand for HC as Lowell rallied and then faded in the fourth quarter.

"She's a tough match up," said Nelson. "When you put a big kid on her, we're going to drive off her and if you put a smaller kid on her, we can post her up. She's tough to guard."

"In the second quarter, I wasn't being aggressive and coach was not liking that," said Schweitzer, who averaged 9.6 points a game for HC last year and is their leading returning scorer. "We needed this win. It means a lot to us. Blayr has stepped up her game quickly. Which is nice."

The Thanksgiving Eve game is often all about the past. On Wednesday, a half dozen past players from both sides showed up to watch the young girls who now wear 'their' uniforms. But this game was about the future, which seems very bright for both sides. Then game also showed the potential of 5-foot-6 Hanover freshman guard Blayr Poston, who scored 12 of her 19 points in the first half when Hanover built their lead. Poston drove the lane whenever she wanted and was a fast and active defender. With leading scorer Becky Fortner sick and unavailable, Poston was a major factor in HC's first game against 4A competition this season.

"Blayr was really good, wasn't she," said Nelson. "She's hard to guard. The main thing we have to work on with Blayr right now is 'keeping her in the game.' She fouls a lot. A long way from the basket. She's got speed. We didn't press earlier because we're shorthanded. Fortner is out sick today. (Courtney) Pattison hopefully will be back in a week."

They'll be going for a four-game winning streak based on a late rally. Trailing 45-39, senior Kayla Higginbotham may have made the biggest play of the game when she stole the inbounds pass and scored a layup. Poston stole the ball and missed a layup, but after two free throws by Schweitzer, Samantha Huffnagle also stole the ball on HC's full court press. Schweitzer was fouled again and she hit both free throws to tie the game at 45 with 49 seconds left.

Then a key play. Lowell broke the press and a 2-on-1, but they made a conceptual error. Amanda Underwood had the ball on the right wing and senior teammate Brooke Kuiper was across court. Only Huffnagle was back to defend for HC. Had Underwood held the ball, Hanover was in the penalty and Lowell could have run the clock down or shot two free throws. But she tried a long cross court pass to Kuiper, an unnecessary play because Kuiper was only going to hold the ball for that last shot. Huffnagle tipped the pass and the ball went off Kuiper's hands out of bounds.

Nine seconds later, Poston was fouled and she put HC ahead 46-45. Huffnagle stole the ball again and sank two free throws for a 48-45 lead with 32 seconds left. Freshman forward Katie Bobos did get a three-point shot off with eight seconds to go, but it missed and two more foul shots by Poston created the final score.

Lowell was 1-19 last year and there weren't many close games. With the addition of an unusually strong freshman class, including Bobos (14.2 ppg.), most games will be close. And the Devils' coaches didn't think much of losing that seven point lead in the final three minutes.

"We need people to step up and make the right play at the end of games," said Lowell coach Patti McCormack. "And it doesn't matter who it is. At the start of the season, everybody gets a chance. But if you can't step up and take charge, you're just not going to play. Our upperclassmen have to be leaders and step up or they can't play."

Hanover appeared to be in trouble when Poston drew her fourth foul with 16 seconds remaining in the third quarter and had to sit down late in the third quarter. Lowell scored the first six points of the final quarter to tie the game and, with a huge rebounding advantage, pulled ahead by seven.

The Devils lost the opener to North Newton, but then turned back Hammond and Morton. This should have been a third consecutive win for them as well, and as good as HC looked, Lowell's future seems as bright or brighter. Lowell's rally to the lead from a 15-point deficit was led by freshman forward Bobos and guard Kalyne Godbolt, key players off last season's eighth-grade AAU state championship squad. With double digit rebound help from 5-foot-9 junior forward Carissa Thiel, Bobos, a 5-foot-9 forward and Godbolt, a 5-foot-3 guard, scored 22 of Lowell's 32 second half points.

Had not Godbolt aggravated a chronic back injury after 11 points and four steals, Lowell probably wins this game. She was that good dribbling and passing the basketball. Hanover admits that it makes no sense that they lost to River Forest and them defeated Wheeler and Lowell, teams that are superior to River Forest.

"I think we were just nervous," said Schweitzer. "We had a lot of shots. We just missed them. We're improving. With me and Courtney (Pattison) out there the last couple of days, the chemistry was just like it was last year."

CAT-DEVIL NOTES: This was the third consecutive season that HC has defeated Lowell. Lowell topped HC three years in a row from the 2002 season to the 2004 campaign. The bad news for Lowell was Kalyne Godbolt's back injury, which is not new. The new Red Devil guard hurt her back over the summer and her team and family does not know exactly what the cause of her suffering is, but when she left the game after seven fourth quarter points, it was clear she was not going to be able to return.

Godbolt was hurt in the pre-season and it is likely she will have to live with pain this season. Doctors have examined her and cannot find the source of her reoccurring pain. Until somebody diagnoses her, obviously, she's going to be occasionally incapacitated by a bad back.

Hanover coach Doug Nelson did hope his girls would break one habit, especially Blayr Poston and Samantha Huffnagle.

"I want her (Huffnagle) to go to the basket and go to the foul line and shoot free throws rather than that little pull up jump shot she likes. They'll foul you every time."

With the absence of Becky Fortner for HC, senior Abby Schweitzer returned from the injured list just in time.

"It was good out there," she said. "It felt okay. I was just afraid of hurting it again. After I got in the game I forgot about it."

2010 LOWELL (2-2)
Coach: Patti McCormack, 210-166 (19 years)

Nov. 14 (L) 51-55 North Newton (2-2)
Nov. 17 (W) 44-37 Hammond (0-5)
Nov. 20 (W) 51-33 Morton (0-4)
Nov. 25 (L) 45-50 at Hanover Central (3-1)

Dec. 1 (Tu) Crown Point (4-1)
Dec. 4 (F) at KANKAKEE VALLEY
Dec. 11 (F) MUNSTER
Dec. 17 (Th) HIGHLAND

Carroll Invitational (in Flora, IN.)
Dec. 19 (S) vs. Carroll
Dec. 19 (S) vs Clinton Prairie

Jan. 8 (F) at ANDREAN
Jan. 9 (S) at Bishop Noll
Jan. 12 (Tu) Merrillville
Jan. 16 (S) HOBART
Jan. 19 (Tu) at Lake Central
Jan. 22 (F) at GRIFFITH
Jan. 26 (Tu) Boone Grove
Jan. 29 (F) at Calumet
Feb. 2 (Tu) at Wheeler
Feb. 4 (Th) at Hebron

Munster (4A) Sectional
2-9 (Tu) quarterfinals
2-12 (Fri) sectional semifinals
2-13 (Sat.) Sectional finals

Valparaiso (4A) Regional
2-20 (Sat) Valpo regional semifinals
2-20 (Sat) Valpo regional finals

2010 HANOVER CENTRAL (3-1)
Coach: Doug Nelson, 32-33 (4th season) 12-10 (2009), 12-11 (2008) 8-12 (2007)

Nov. 10 (L) 39-51 at River Forest (3-2)
Nov. 20 (W) 38-37 at Wheeler (1-3)
Nov. 21 (W) 59-27 LaCrosse (0-4)
Nov. 25 (W) 50-45 Lowell (2-2)

Nov. 28 (Sat) at Crown Point (3-1) 6:00 p.m.
Dec. 2 (W) Calumet
Dec. 4 (F) at Hebron (1-4) boy/girl - double-header
Dec. 11 (F) Washington Twp. (boy/girl) double-header
Dec. 12 (Sat) LaCrosse - afternoon - 1:30 p.m.
Dec. 15 (Tu) at North Newton
Dec. 23 (W) Andrean

Hanover Central Tournament
with Covenant Christian, Beecher, Ill. and Bishop Noll
Dec. 29 (Tu) semifinals
Dec. 30 (W) consolation and finals
Jan. 6 (W) at Gavit

Jan. 14 (Th) at South Central Porter County Conference Tournament
Jan. 18 (M) quarterfinals - 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 19 (Tu) quarterfinals - 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 22 (F) semifinals - 6 p.m.
Jan. 23 (Sat) PCC Championship - 6 p.m.

Jan. 28 (Th) Boone Grove
Jan. 30 (Sat) at Kouts (afternoon - 1 p.m. JV)
Feb. 2 at Kankakee Valley
Feb. 6 Morgan Twp.(afternoon) - 1 p.m. JV)

HANOVER CENTRAL (2A) Sectional
2-12 (Fri) HC sectional semifinals
2-13 (Sat.) HC Sectional finals

Team /Record	1	2	3	4	Final
LOWELL (2-2)	5	8	14	18	45
HANOVER (3-1)	16	6	11	17	50

Lady Wildcats improve record to 3-1 with 50-45 win over Lowell