Hanover Central Lady Wildcats basketball team profile

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
11-19-2006

2006  HANOVER CENTRAL   (9-12)

Offense 49.0;  Defense: 49.8

2006 (9-12)  2005 (10-11), 2004 (11-11)

Nov. 15  (W) Gavit               58-  41  
Nov. 18  (L) at Wheeler      35-  45  
Nov. 23  (L) Lowell             50-  54  
Dec.  2  (L) at Hebron          41-  57  
Dec. 10  (W) LaCrosse          70-  30  
Dec. 13  (W) at North Newton 64-  60  
Dec. 15  (W) at River Forest    44-  22  
Dec. 17  (L) at Crown Point     35-  58  
Dec. 29  (L) Paxton-Buckley-Loda (Ill.) 41-  45  
Dec. 30  (W)Tri-Point (Ill.)        53-  41  
Dec. 30  (W)Watseka (Ill.)         40-  33  
Jan.  5  (W) Calumet                  48-  43  
Jan.  7  (L) at Washington Twp. 35-  62  
Jan. 12  (L) at South Central     64- 79  
Jan. 16  (W) LaCrosse             66-  33  
Jan. 20  (L)Boone Grove           47-  56  
Jan. 26  (L) Boone Grove           46-  50  
Jan. 28  (L) at Kouts                 45-  60  
Jan. 31  (W) at Kankakee Valley  53-  52  
Feb.  4  (L) Morgan Township    55-  64

2A Wheeler Sectional
Feb. 10  (L)   Wheeler    40-  61  

Varsity head coach:  DOUGLAS NELSON  (1st year)
Junior varsity coach: Jo Ann Heldt
Freshman coach: Brea York

Here's what first year coach Douglas Nelson had to say about the members of his 2006-2007 edition of the Hanover Central Lady Wildcats prior to their first game of the new season:

JORDAN KRAMER (11)  -   5-foot-3  Guard - sophomore

"I'm trying to get her to be a little more vocal.  You don't have to yell and scream at people.  You just lead by example.  I asked her if she knew abut the guard at South Bend Washington (Skyler Young) and she said 'Yes she did.'  I asked if she thought they listened to her.  She said 'Yes.'  That was just because of performance.  She's very good but she's got to get more aggressive and she's got to play defense.  If you can play defense in the PCC, you win.  She'll be our starting point guard."

SAMANTHA PLANT  (32)  -  5-foot-5  Guard  -  senior

"She's a very good leader.  Her knee problems have slowed her down a little bit.  Physicality is the question with her.  She can shoot the ball.  We'll have to find some guards to spell her, but she's a leader.  You have to have her out there as much as she can." 

CHRISSY HOLMOLKA  (14)  -  5-foot-7  Guard  -  junior

"She's a good shooter and she really tries to play defense.  You want to get into playing time.  She works very hard. She's trying.  Her dad's a coach.   She really wants to play."

ANNA TURTURILLO  (24)  -  5-foot-9  Guard  -  senior

"We want Anna to finish inside.  We want her to be strong.  I've been telling her all week.  Three-point plays.  Three-point plays.  Obviously, she's the most experienced player we have.  She plays travel ball and that's good.  We want her to make people pay inside."

DANIELLE GRAHAM  (25)  -  5-foot-7  Guard  -  sophomore

"She can shoot and she can score, which is good for a sophomore.  She can run.  We've got to work on her defense.  She'll play a lot, because she's a good offensive player.  But we are working on her defensively."

ANNA PLASSMAN  (31)  -  5-foot-9  Forward  -  junior

"She's a volleyball player who didn't play last year.  She's strong.  She's got a good body and she's left-handed.  Left-handers can be difficult to guard inside.  She works hard and plays defense.  She needs to get her shot off quicker.  You can tell she hasn't played in a while and she hasn't shot (against defenders) in a while.  She can run and she'll help in the post.  I'm glad she came out."

LINDSAY MARTINEZ  (13)  -  5-foot-6  Guard  -  sophomore

"Lindsay works hard.  She's had foot problems that have slowed her down a little.  I keep telling her, 'Slow down. We don't need you to kill herself now.  We don't need you in November. We need you in January.'  We want her to go easy.  I know you're here and I know you care.  But you can see when she cuts.  You can see the pain on her face.  She had a walking cast on when I first got here.  She's getting better."

BETH FLORES  (23)  -  5-foot-8  Forward  -  junior

"She'll fill in inside.  She bangs inside.  We want her to play defense and rebound.  She'll pick up garbage baskets and rebounds inside. She' a live body and she's working hard."

MEGAN PARKS   -    5-foot-8  Forward  -   junior

"Megan's a lot like Beth Flores.  She'll fill in up front.  She can make a 10, 15-footer.  We just want her to play defense and get some rebounds.  That's how she's going to play.  Get rebounds and limit offensive rebounds.

ALLIE LAROCCA  (12)  -  5-foot-6  Guard  -  junior

TORI DAHLIN  -   5-foot-8  Forward  -  junior

BRENDA McQUADE  -   5-foot-8  Forward  -  junior

I put all three of these players together.  All juniors.  They might see some JV time to get more experience. They'll play a couple of varsity quarters and play on the JV.  They need to play the way I want them to play.  They're only going to get as good as we (are able to) play them.

DOUG NELSON:  "We will try to win defensively.  We'll run when it presents itself.  But we want to get a good shot.  I told the kids that we need them to play defense.  If you want to play, get after somebody defensively.  That's how you'll get more playing time."

"It's taken some time to get used to terminology.  Help side.  Ball pressure.  They need to get used to that.  We want to play defense offensively.  We're not going to just wait for you to shoot and hope you miss.  We're going to get out and get on you.  We've got quickness and our big kids can run."

"After the first four, there's about five or six girls working, going for five spots.  We could have played Lake Station in the scrimmage (where they were out scored 66-22 by Hammond high on Nov. 4) and killed them and what good would it have done us?  The girls had passes tipped and shots blocked.  They know they have to be quicker with the ball.  We'll be fine."

"We've got nine freshmen and they are nine who will be able to help us in a year or two.  I'm looking forward to that.  As long as we can keep them working hard, they'll be fine.  I'd have liked to have been here in June.  We missed the summer.  That's so valuable these days.  Everybody knows that.  So we'll be behind for while."

"I think we can get better by playing a lot.  I love Christmas break because you can practice a lot and get better that way.  We need some girls to get a lot better and we need to replace Anna and Samantha next year.  They're pretty good leaders.  Everybody's happy now.  We'll see when we get knocked around a little.  We can get better.  Anytime you spend in the gym, you will get better."

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Revised: November 19, 2006 .