H.S. Girls Basketball: Hanover Central 53, Kouts 52 (OT)

Team	1st Qtr	2nd Qtr	3rd Qtr	4th Qtr	OT	Final
HANOVER CENTRAL (9-9)	14	14	11	10	4	53
KOUTS (9-8)	12	12	7	18	3	52

Porter County Conference Tournament Championship - Saturday, 1-24-2004 at Boone Grove

HANOVER CENTRAL (53) Christie Wick 3-2-10, Jill McElmurry 6-7-19, Alisha Staley 0-4-4, Krysta Rickey 2-0-4, Katie Burke 3-0-6, Bess Copak 0-2-2, Katie Westerhoff 0-2-2, Karrah Adam 2-2-6. TOTALS: 16-19-53
FTS: 19-26, 73.2%: Westerhoff 2-4, Wick 2-2, McElmurry 5-6, Copak 3-4, Staley 4-4, Burke 0-1.
TURNOVERS: 18
REBOUNDS: Krysta Rickey - 6
ASSISTS: Krysta Rickey - 3
STEALS: Karrah Adam - 6
FOULED OUT: Katie Burke (1:34) 4th Q
3-POINT GOALS (2) Christie Wick 2.

KOUTS (52) Nicole Griffey 3-5-11, Sarah Redelman 3-0-6, Jacklyn Jessen 2-5-9, Marlie Kneifel 1-1-3, Lindsey Sutter 2-0-4, Britney McNeil 1-0-2, Rebekah Basinger 5-5-17, Carmin Hefner 0-0-0.
TOTALS: 17-16-52
FTS: 16-26, 61.5 percent: Basinger 5-10, Jessen 5-8, Griffey 5-5, Kniefel 1-2, Sutter 0-2, Redelman 0-2.
TURNOVERS: 30
ASSISTS: Rebekah Basinger - 5
REBOUNDS: Rebekah Basinger -11
STEALS: Nicole Griffey - 3
3-POINT GOALS (2) Rebekah Basinger -2
FOULED OUT: Nicole Griffey (:13) 4th Q; Jacklyn Jessen (:40) 4th Q; Marlie Kneifel (:04) 4th Q.

Team	1st Qtr	2nd Qtr	3rd Qtr	4th Qtr	Final
HANOVER CENTRAL (8-9)	12	12	10	12	46
Morgan Township (4-13)	7	5	5	18	35

Porter County Conference (PCC) Tournament semifinals - 1-23-2004 at Boone Grove

HANOVER CENTRAL (46) Christie Wick 2-1-5, Jill McElmurry 9-5-23, Alisha Staley 0-0-0, Krysta Rickey 0-1-1, Katie Burke 0-1-1, Bess Copak 1-2-4, Katie Westerhoff 0-0-0, Karrah Adam 3-6-12. TOTALS: 15-16-46.
FTS: 16-24, 66.7 percent%: Adam 6-7, Burke 1-4, McElmurry 5-6, Wick 1-2, Rickey 0-1, Copak 2-2
TURNOVERS: 23
REBOUNDS: Jill McElmurry - 11
ASSISTS: Christie Wick - 3
STEALS: Krysta Rickey - 3
FOULED OUT: none
3-POINT GOALS (0) none

MORGAN TOWNSHIP (35) Angie Bush 7-5-20, Nicole Jessen 2-2-7, Alyssa Sheets 1-0-3, Erin Parks 1-0-2, Brianne Huxley 1-0-2, Julie Wittmer 0-1-1, Nikki O'Connor 0-0-0. TOTALS 12-8-35
FTS: 8-13, 61.5 percent - Bush 5-5, Sheets 0-2, Jessen 2-4, Wittmer 1-2
TURNOVERS: 28
ASSISTS: Angie Bush -2
REBOUNDS: Angie Bush - 5
STEALS: Alyssa Sheets, Erin Parks, Brianne Huxley -2
3-POINT GOALS (3) Bush, Sheets, Jessen
FOULED OUT: none

PORTER TOWNSHIP (1-24-2004) - This Porter County Conference (PCC) tournament is not supposed to be bigger than the sectional tournament. The final game is not supposed to be bigger than life, stronger than dirt, so high you can't get over it.

But this one will be. In a dramatic battle between one team too young to win and another squad with one final chance after three years of failure, Hanover Central completed an improbable, three game, week-long run in the premier regular season tournament in northwest Indiana, using faith, hope and charity to beat Kouts 53-52 in a wild overtime game for the 2004 PCC championship.

Senior Jill McElmurry drove the length of the floor to fire in the go-ahead bank shot with nine seconds left and Kouts could not get to the basket or the foul line in a frantic final flurry as Hanover erased three years of sub-.500 play with their first PCC championship in four years.

"I told them that this was their last chance," said coach Chris York, who won a title for the first time in three years on the job. I told them that they have beat the best (Boone Grove in a 42-40 quarterfinal upset) and now they had to beat the rest."

"We had some seniors who were a little shaky at the end. This was their first championship game. But somehow we survived. This could give us a big boost going into the sectionals."

The booster rocket almost stalled on the pad as Kouts (9-8), with no seniors on the 12-girl roster, mounted an improbable fourth quarter 16-1 rally to erase a 41-31 Hanover lead in front of a total sellout of 2,100 fans in Boone 's John Hinkey gym.

Nicole Griffey's three-point play gave the Fillies a 45-42 lead with 1:21 to go and two free throws by freshman Jacklyn Jessen made it 47-42 .

Leading 49-45 in the final minute, Kouts made two crucial errors, fouling HC scoring leaders Christie Wick and McElmurry. Both HC players sank pairs of free throws, the final ones by McElmurry tying the game with four seconds left.

In overtime, Rebekah Basinger's free throw gave Kouts a 52-51 lead with 1:11 to go and Hanover turned the ball over with 35 seconds to play. But Griffey, a 5-8 junior, inexplicably took and missed an open 15-foot jump shot with 17 seconds left. Leading by one point, a two-point shot, even if it was good, only gives the ball back to the other side and allows them a chance to tie the game. The shot was not close and McElmurry, HC's 5-9 senior, who was later named the tournament's 'Mental Attitude Award' winner, grabbed the rebound and drove the length of the court to sink a short bank shot and give the Lady Cats a 53-52 lead.

"I wasn't thinking about anything," McElmury said later. "I just took the ball and went. I don't remember thinking about anything."

Kouts called time out with nine seconds to play and drove the floor with the left-handed Basinger missing a short shot. In the rebound scramble, one official called a foul and another waved his arms signaling the end of the game. The official with the foul call came to the scorers' table and asked if his call had come before the final horn. Told it had not, he agreed with his partner and ruled the game had ended, touching off a wild Hanover celebration.

"I didn't hear the horn,' said Hanover coach Chris York. "I know we fouled, but I don't know when it came. Jill took it all on herself. She's the one we'd want to have the ball in that situation."

The roller-coaster final minutes had the standing-room only crowd in an uproar. Fans of the Boone Grove-LaCrosse boys PCC title game, who couldn't have cared less about Hanover or Kouts when the game started had chosen up sides and were cheering for one side or another by the end of regulation time.

"This isn't as big as going to the state finals," said HC center Bess Copak, who played shortstop on Hanover's state finals softball team last spring. "But this was really exciting. The PCC tournament in softball is just going to a field and playing some games. I've never played in front of a crowd like this. You try to block it out but when you go to the foul line and they're yelling, you hear it."

Hanover had the better team and should have won by 10 points. The Lady Cats forced 30 turnovers with their pressing, trapping defenses. But Hanover, which made 19 of 26 free throws, sank only 16 of 51 (31.3 percent) from the field to keep Kouts in the game.

Kouts made just 17 of 48 (35.4 percent) field goals and never led in the second or third quarters. With three freshmen on the floor, they seemed overwhelmed at times. But keyed with a 1-3 zone defense with a 'chaser' (freshman Jacklyn Jessen) guarding McElmurry (15.5 ppg.), HC's leading scorer, the Fillies, who beat Hanover 57-55 on Dec. 12, stayed in the game. "They caused us problems with their defense," said York, who used the same 1-3 concept in the 42-40 quarterfinal win over Boone Grove (14-3).

"Jessen did a very good job of not letting Jill touch the ball. They played good defense on us. We knew this game was not a given just because we had beaten Boone."

Kouts had defeated South Central (8-7) and Washington Township (8-8) to get to the finals but, if they were tired, they did not show it, even after three players fouled out. The final quarter and overtime were a constant scramble with both teams rattled by the big crowd and the circumstance. When Hanover won, the team danced at center court with coach York, overjoyed at a landmark win.

"It has been tough," said York. "I came in to a school where people said, all you have to do is roll the ball out and you'll win 80 percent of your games. It hasn't been like that. But maybe this will get it started. We're better than we've shown. This is the last chance for a lot of these girls and now is the time to take advantage of it."

PCC NOTES: On the official PCC program which includes all eight league teams, there were only 15 seniors in the entire league. Kouts and Morgan have no senior basketball players while Boone Grove and South Central have only one. Hanover graduates six players this season, although starters Alisha Staley, Krysta Rickey and Christie Wick are underclassmen.

Boone, South Central and Kouts return their entire starting lineups. "It may be a little rough for us next year," admits York. "If those teams stay together, our league will be much stronger. But we've got some really good (junior high) classes coming. We're going to be pretty good."

HC's Christie Wick almost won the title game in regulation with a 30-foot jump shot off the right wing. The ball hit the back of the rim. The title was the sixth for Hanover in the 32 years of the PCC tournament. Kouts and Boone have both won seven times.

Hanover last won the PCC tournament in 2000 when they beat Kouts 58-50, Wheeler 54-32 and Hebron 56-45. Then senior Melanie Brumbaugh scored 23 points and was named the Mental Attitude Award winner. Tammi Boersma, who is now HC's junior varsity coach, scored 13 points in that game.

Nov. 18: L, 35-45 Gavit (4-10)
Nov. 21: L, 39-58 at Wheeler (16-3)
Nov. 26: L, 49-55 Lowell (11-7)
Dec. 5: W, 73-49 at Hebron (6-10)
Dec. 6: L, 55-57 at Kouts (9-8)
Dec. 13: W, 76-28 LaCrosse (2-13)
Dec. 16: L, 42-56 at North Newton (6-8)
Dec. 18: W, 58-25 at River Forest (3-14)

Momence (Ill.) Tournament
Dec. 26: L, 45-62 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (14-1)
Dec. 27: W, 68-38 Peotone
Dec. 27: W, 62-45 Paxton-Buckley-Loda
Jan. 3: L, 53-84 at Crown Point (11-6)
Jan. 8: L, 46-54 (OT) Calumet (11-6)

Jan. 10: W, 41-25 at Washington Township (8-7)
Jan. 15: L, 55-62 at South Central (8-7)

Porter County Conference Tournament
Jan. 20: W, 42-40 Boone Grove (14-3) PCC quarterfinals
Jan. 23: W, 46-35 Morgan Township (4-12) PCC semifinals
Jan. 24: W, 53-52 (OT) Kouts (9-8) PCC championship

McElmurry floor-length drive in OT seals PCC Tourney title for Wildcats, 53-52 over Kouts

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

Porter County Conference Tournament Championship - Saturday, 1-24-2004 at Boone Grove