Holiday Basketball Tournament Preview:  Lowell Girls favored at Carroll County Classic

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

Carroll County Classic

Date:  Saturday, Dec. 21, 2002  

Location: Carroll High School - Flora, IN  

DAY SESSION:   Carroll (2-6)  vs. LOWELL   (3-5)  10 a.m.
Carroll (2-6)  vs. Monrovia  (1-6)  12 noon

NIGHT SESSION: Rossville vs. LOWELL  5 p.m.
Monrovia (1-6) vs. Rossville  (2-7)


FLORA, IN:  Okay, so it's not the Final-4. This is not a championship tournament. East team plays two games, says 'Merry Christmas' and goes home for the holidays. It's for charity. There is no semifinals or finals. All four game match ups are set. 

Late word is that Carroll has made a revival with wins over Pioneer (62-59) on Dec. 14 and North White (51-42) on Dec. 17.   Carroll should be better than 2-6. They returned four starters off an 0-21 team last year including guards Jessica Huffer and Hilary Gilbert who started (and suffered) as freshmen.

Carroll has no one taller than 5-10 though, so they may have trouble against 5-11 Lisa Schulfer (12.4 ppg.) 6-1 center Mary Taylor.  Carroll has not played since Tuesday and, with Monrovia as their nighttime opponent, the Cougars have to be looking at Saturday as a day to win twice.

Lowell should come in off a win over Whiting Friday night but this is the key Saturday game. When you go a long way and play the host school, you better start fast because there are a lot of factors working against you.  Lowell has to be ready to run the floor with this team because they have some skills.

Monrovia has four seniors coming back off an 8-13 team but I don't know what happened.  They were beaten 72-18 on Dec. 17 by Mooresville. Now, Mooresville is undefeated and third-ranked in Class 4A and the fact that Monrovia schedules them speaks well for them. But this team has only a 36-25 win over Bethesda Christian.

Rossville has four starters back off an 8-14 team including 5-5 point guard Sarah Mosson. The Hornets  have also beaten Pioneer (51-40) and they also nipped Tri-County 42-35. This team averages only 36 points a game and they'll come in with nine days off after a 49-29 loss to powerful Clinton Central.

Lowell is bigger and more experienced but this will be Lowell's third game in 24 hours.   It becomes an endurance test at this point and it will be good to be facing a half-court team.

Lowell should win Friday night against Whiting. They should then beat Carroll and Rossville and have a very happy holiday.  That is what should happen.


DEVIL NOTES: The combined record of the five teams that have beaten Lowell is 31-7.  The three teams they have defeated all have losing records. Brooke Bell (6.5 ppg.) has scored between four and 11 points in each of the first eight games this season. Brooke had made 14 of 17 free throws (82.3 %) after eight games.  McKensey Wietbrock (8.5 ppg.) was 22 of 34 (64.7 %).  Before the Whiting game, Lowell has failed to score as many as 10 points in the first quarter for six consecutive games.


2003 LOWELL (3-5)

Start times are varsity starting times
11-15-2002: 62-72  at North Newton (6-0)
11-16-2002:  32-21  BISHOP NOLL   (4-6)

11-22-2002: 43-56 at Andrean (5-3) 
11-27-2002:  34-49 Hanover Central (3-4)
11-30-2002:  49-44 at MUNSTER  (1-8)
12-3-2002:  34-53 at Crown Point (7-2)
12-6-2002:  24-46 HIGHLAND (7-0)
12-14-2002:  42-61 Lake Central (6-2)
12-20-2002 (F)  WHITING  (5-4)

Carroll Invitational  (Flora, IN)
12-21-2002 (S)  Carroll (2-6)
12-21-2002 (S) Rossville (2-7)

12-28-2002 (S) at Merrillville  (7:30 p.m.)

1-4-2003 (S) Kankakee Valley (7:30 p.m.)
1-11-2003 (S) at HAMMOND (7:30 p.m.)
1-14-2003 (Tu)  GRIFFITH (7:30 p.m.)

1-17-2003 (F)   at GAVIT  (7:30 p.m.)
1-23-2003 (Th) ANDREAN (7:30 p.m.)
1-30-2003 (Th) Hobart (7:30 p.m.)

LAC Tournament
2-1-2003 (S)  1st round  (TBA)
2-4-2003 (Tu)  Quarterfinal  (TBA)
2-6-2003 (Th) Semifinal  (TBA)
2-7-2003 (F) LAC Championship  (TBA)

Gary West Side (4A) Sectional
2-11-2003 (Tu) Quarterfinals  (6 or 8 p.m.)
2-14-2003 (F) Semifinals  (6 of 8 p.m.)
2-15-2003 (S) Championship  (7:30 p.m.)

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