A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith
12-24-2004

Wednesday, 12-22-2004 at Lowell

HANOVER CENTRAL (46) Krysta Rickey 4-1-9, Christie Wick 5-5-16, Kristy Ostrowski 2-4-8, Heather Rebeneck 3-4-10, Alisha Staley 0-0-0, Samantha Plant 1-0-2, Christy Bader 0-1-1, Andria Trock 0-0-0, Jenny Savickas 0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-15-46.

LOWELL (45) Kelly Johnson 3-8-14, Julie Swisher 2-7-12, Rachel Thiel 3-4-10, Ashley Cosentino 0-4-4, Bailey Wagner 1-3-5, Michelle Johnson 0-0-0, Jen Sharkey 0-0-0. TOTALS: 9-26-45.

FREE THROWS: HC - 15-22, 68.1% = Krysta Rickey 1-1, Wick 5-6, Heather Rebeneck 4-7, Kristy Ostrowski 4-4, Christy Bader 1-4.

LOWELL - 26-39, 66.6% = Kelly Johnson 8-9, Bailey Wagner 3-4, Julie Swisher 7-10, Thiel 4-8, Cosentino 4-8.

TURNOVERS: HC - 28, LOWELL - 30.

REBOUNDS: HC – Christie Wick – 10, Bailey Wagner -6.

THREE-POINT GOALS: - HC (1) Christie Wick; LOWELL (1) Julie Swisher.

LOWELL, IN (12-22-2004) - I wouldn't call it a good game.

Neither coach seemed to have much fun. But nobody asked for their money back.

In a match of two neighbors, rivals and similar slash and grab offensive teams, Krysta Rickey's free throw that swirled around the basket and dropped in with three seconds to play, gave Hanover Central a 46-45 overtime victory over Lowell.

“I thought we were going double OT,” admitted Hanover coach Chris York. “This is a big victory for us. I thought we played well for a half against Crown Point but we did get beat (67-36) and now we can go into the Holiday Tournament (in Momence, Ill. on Dec. 28) with some momentum.”

Lowell, which took a 45-43 lead in the extra period on Kelly Johnson's two free throws with 14 seconds to play, had a four game winning streak broken in a game they led the entire first half and certainly feel was theirs.

“We should have won tonight,” said Lowell coach Patti McCormack. “It wasn't about one play at the end. Down the stretch we've got to become more confident that we can make plays.”

Lowell jumped to leads of 8-2 and 19-10 but they could not get any perimeter offense going and a three-point play by 5-8 junior Heather Rebeneck made it 19-14 at the half.

The Red Devils led 21-14 when Hanover's Christie Wick and Krysta Rickey led a 12-0 run that got the Lady Cats (6-3) into the game for the first time.

When Lowell's' 5-10 center Rachel Thiel went to the bench with her third foul with 6:40 left in the third quarter, the Devils seemed to lose direction on the floor, committing 10 third period turnovers. Kelly Johnson scored the Devils' only two third quarter field goals.

The fourth quarter saw Lowell hit seven of 10 foul shots to stay in the game as Hanover struggled to hold onto the ball. The small crowd of about 200 warmed to the action, which got wilder in the final moments.

A missed shot by Bailey Wagner prompted Thiel to draw her fifth foul going for the rebound.

When HC's Samantha Plant sank two foul shots with 57 seconds to play, Hanover led 36-33.

But Rebeneck drew her fifth foul and Lowell's Ashley Cosentino split two free throws with 42 seconds to go. On the second miss, HC's Wick grabbed the rebound and was called for traveling. After a time out with 26 seconds left, the Devils held the ball a dangerously long time waiting for a good shot. Finally, Johnson, who led the Devils with 14 points, drove to the basket off the right wing and scored to tie the game 36-36 with two seconds left.

HC's Ostrowski scored a key field goal and two free throws to give the Lady Cats a 43-40 lead with 1:29 to go. Cosentino missed two foul shots with 1:21 left but HC's Rickey was called for a 5-second violation with 45 seconds to go.

Lowell's Swisher missed the second of two foul shots with 35 seconds to go but Ostrowski inexplicably shot the ball and missed with 25 seconds to go. Wagner missed a short shot for Lowell but Swisher grabbed the rebound and was fouled. The 5-5 guard's two foul shots tied the game with 18 seconds to go.

Kelly Johnson stole the ball and was fouled by Rickey with 14 seconds left. Johnson's two foul shots made it 45-43 but HC's Rickey pushed the ball up the floor, received a return pass and charged down the baseline, jumping towards the basket for a 10-foot jumper. The shot went in and Johnson, who was getting up to take a charge, was called for the foul.

Rickey's foul shot bounced around the rim before dropping through for the game-winning point.

“I wish it had been a dead even game,” said McCormack, “and one team got a break at the end. But it didn't come down to that. I just don't know what (Lowell) team was out there tonight. We hadn't seen them before and I hope we never see them again.”

“This is a big game,” said York, “because this is a rivalry. Our kids know their kids. I hadn't beaten Lowell since I got here. I didn't really have a set play there at the end. I just wanted her to go to the basket and get a good shot.”

“That situation is perfect for her because she has that little 'runner'. That's her shot.”

Hanover can enter the Momence Holiday Tournament next week with high hopes. They need a championship match with Tinley Park (5-1), which reportedly has some of the same perimeter quickness that Lowell and PCC rival Boone Grove (11-0) have. They shouldn't let this win disguise the fact that they turned the ball over 28 times against a team that pressed them only about half the game.

The Lady Cats had 51 total turnovers against CP and Lowell. HC wants to break the press and score. Not just turn it over in the front court instead of the backcourt. HC has a reputation of being perhaps the PCC's most unpredictable team. Lowell had no reason to believe that 5-8 Kristy Ostrowski would score six of her eight points in the OT Tuesday night.

“That's the kind of thing she does in practice, insisted York. “She has to do it in the games.”

Lowell has to get consistent perimeter scoring out of more players than top outside shooter Kelly Swisher (19 3-point baskets), who was largely ineffective against Hanover. The Devils made an unofficial 9 of 45 from the floor and 20% from the floor speaks for itself.

“Maybe we've become too reliant on Swisher to hit those,” said McCormack. “But she's got to keep shooting and others have to step up. It wasn't our free throw percentage (26 of 39, 66.7%) It was our field goal percentage.”

Lowell shouldn't let a one-point overtime loss in a nonconference rivalry game paint a decent first half of the season black. The Devils have lost two games in overtime and another by four points. They are three bounces of the ball away from being 9-1 or at least 7-3 going into a second half of the season that includes LAC champion Highland (11-2) and DAC roadblocks Merrillville and Lake Central.

“Yeah,” said McCormack. “That would have been nice,”.

DEVIL and CAT NOTES:  Lowell has made an unofficial 122 of 184 (66.3%) from the foul line at the midway (10 game) mark of the regular season.

Hanover will play Peotone (4-8) on Dec. 29 at 12 noon in the quarterfinals of the Momence Holiday Tournament. They were blasted 72-15 by Bishop McNamara of Kankakee on Dec. 18. and got smoked out 58-27 by Momence on Dec. 16.

HC would then play the winner of Paxton-Buckley-Loda (4-8) and Tri-Point (6-6) at 12 noon on Dec. 30 in the semifinals. Tri-Point, a school of less than 300, is coming off a 49-41 Dec. 20 loss to Herscher.

Momence (6-1), South Newton (6-2) or Tinley Park (6-1) would await the Lady Cats (6-3) if they reached the 8 p.m. Dec. 30 championship game.

Tinley Park, which is twice the size of any other school in the eight team field and regularly plays schools, 1,500 and over in enrollment, is probably the favorite but they did not get a good draw.

Lowell is now in the middle of a much-needed 11-day break before playing Bishop Noll (6-4) on Tuesday, Jan. 4 and Griffith (7-4) on Saturday, Jan. 8.

Griffith defeated Bishop Noll 50-44 on Dec. 20, but Noll has won five of their last seven.

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Revised: January 01, 2005 .