A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith
1-15-2005

Tuesday, 1-11-2005 at Lowell

ANDREAN (41) Rachel McGinty 2-2-6, Meghan Stickler 1-0-2, Val Tyburski 3-0-8, Val Young 1-2-4, Suzanne Cunningham 3-1-7, Meghan O'Neill 3-0-6, Courtney Pishkur 2-2-8, Michelle Hynes 0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-7-41.

LOWELL (9-4) Bailey Wagner 2-3-7, Rachel Theil 4-0-8, Ashley Cosentino 2-2-6, Kelly Johnson 4-2-10, Julie Swisher 4-0-10, Jen Sharkey 0-2-2, Michelle Johnson 0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-7-41.

FREE THROWS: ANDREAN (7-11, 63.5%) McGinty 2-3, Cunningham 1-2, Tyburski 0-2, Young 2-2, Pishkur 2-2.
LOWELL (9-15, 60.0%) K. Johnson 2-3, Cosentino 2-6, Sharkey 2-2, Wagner 3-4.

REBOUNDS: ANDREAN (18) O'Neill 6, Stickler 5, Tyburski 3, Hynes 2, McGinty, Cunningham. LOWELL (29) Cosentino 6, Swisher 6, Wagner 6, K Johnson 5, Theil 3, Sharkey 3.

STEALS: ANDREAN (8) Cunningham 3, Hynes 2, Tyburski, Young, Pishkur. LOWELL (7) Theil 2, K. Johnson 2, Swisher 2, Cosentino.

ASSISTS: ANDREAN (10) Cunningham 4, Stickler 2, O'Neill 2, McGinty, Pishkur. LOWELL (6) Cosentino 5, K. Johnson.

TURNOVERS (by quarter): ANDREAN (5-7-4-6 = 20) LOWELL (6-4-6-3 = 19)

THREE-POINT GOALS: ANDREAN (4) Courtney Pishkur 2, Val Tyburski 2. LOWELL (2) Kelly Swisher 2.

LOWELL, IN (1-11-2005) - Not as many fans attend Lowell games as should be there for a winning team. But that may soon change. The ones who do show up don't ask for their money back.

After Tuesday night's matchup with Andrean, the Red Devils had played four overtime games and nine contests have been decided by 10 points or less. And they'd won more than twice as often as they'd lost.

Trailing 41-36 with 3:36 to play, Lowell dug up a couple of offensive rebounds, a couple of free throws and one or two good defensive plays to pull out a 43-41 Lake Athletic Conference (LAC) victory over the 59ers.

“I thought we were a little quicker than they were at the end,' said coach Patti McCormack. “One of the things I like about this team is that we don't panic when we get behind.”

“We had them,” said Andrean coach Ken Markful, whose teams contributed a missed free throw and three missed shots from the field to the late Lowell comeback. “That's the second time in a row we've done that.”

Andrean, which led Highland by three in the final minute before losing 52-49 on Jan. 8, was up 41-36 when Rachel McGinty missed a foul shot that would've made it a six-point lead. Lowell's Bailey Wagner grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled but she only split two foul shots. An Andrean miss gave the Devils the ball again and Bailey again was fouled while shooting in the foul lane. The junior forward sank both shots to make it 41-39 with 2:52 to play. The 59ers again failed to score or get fouled (although there was some question about the latter) before Lowell got three shots at the offensive board on their next possession. Finally, Kelly Swisher got fouled and made two foul shots to tie the game with 2:01 to go.

Andrean's Meghan O'Neill missed a 10-footer and Lowell's next possession ended in Kelly Johnson driving across the lane and sweeping to the basket for the go-ahead layup with 1:01 to go.

The 59ers called time out and ran a play for 5-10 junior Suzanne Cunningham who missed a layup with 43 seconds to play. But Kelly Johnson missed the front end of a 1-and-1 foul shot chance with 14 seconds to go.

The 59ers rushed the ball up the floor but Cunningham's pass to McGinty behind the defense was tipped out of bounds by Cosentino. A combined three times outs were called before Andrean inbounded the ball to Cunningham, who needed to get off a quick shot.

She took a couple of dribbles and her attempt was knocked out of her hands by Lowell's Rachel Theil, ending the game.
Cunningham thought she was fouled but in a close game on the road, she had to expect to be fouled and make the basket anyway.

“They're not going to call that at the end of the game,” said Markfull. “You and I know that, but she didn't.”

McCormack thought that Andrean originally was lining up a three-point shot. “I thought they changed their play after the time outs,” the Lowell coach said. “We thought they'd end up going to '33' (Cunningham) in the low block. It sounds real easy. Deny defense for three seconds.”

Cunningham, a 5-10 guard-forward, had a tough night, scoring seven points but no field goals after halftime. Senior Val Young, a quick guard, picked up two fouls in the first three minutes, sat out the remainder of the first half and finished with four points. Young had scored 16 three days earlier in a 52-49 loss at Highland.

“That hurt us tonight,” said Markfull, who also thought his team was a step slow. Like many coaches, he couldn't understand an off night, even on a bleak Tuesday in early January.

“We only play 21 times,” he said. “There's 365 days. Some of these girls work all year round to play in these games. I cannot understand why they can't be excited to play 21 times.”

“We played as well as we have all year against Morton (a 59-29 win on Jan. 5) and we had Highland beat. We led by three in the final minute. But tonight, we just weren't there. We could have put this game away.”

Lowell repeatedly drove to the basket, only to come away without the basket or the foul.

Andrean led 13-8 when Kelly Swisher hit back-to-back three-point shots to cut the lead to 16-14. Andrean led 25-20 at the half, but Lowell scored the first three baskets of the second half. A 10-2 run made it 38-33 after a 22-foot bank shot by sophomore Val Tyburski.
Free throws were key in Lowell's rally, but the Devils have shot almost 25 free throws per game all season and they got only 15 foul shots on this night.

Lowell has found a formula for winning, as unusual as it may be. They establish Theil at center by getting her the ball early. Then the guards, notably Johnson and Cosentino slash to the basket for shots and fouls, or to set up Kelly Swisher shooting from outside. The starters have acquired an extended 'playing shape' and they seem less winded after a 32-minute game than they were earlier in the season.

“We've got four guards and Kelly turns the corner as well as anybody. There aren't a lot of people who can stop her," said McCormack.

"And Ashley has a very tough job, getting through the press. She's hard to stop going to the basket. Kelly just gets mad at the end of a game and she goes to get the ball. She'll make something happen."

There's a formidable end to the season coming with Lowell facing LAC powers Munster (12-5), Highland (15-2) and Hammond (10-6), along with fast-rising Merrillville. "We don't have any easy ones left," said McCormack, "except for maybe Whiting. All these games seem to go down to the end.  But I like how we're playing now."

DEVIL NOTES:  Lowell may get junior guard Whitney Magley back in uniform this season for limited duty, despite a back problem that was considered serious. Magley, who also plays volleyball and softball, was said to have a new back injury, so severe that surgery was being contemplated. She was ruled out for the year in November.

A second examination has now shown that her injury, reportedly a cracked vertebrae, is nothing new and she can play with it if she can accept the discomfort. While her family may now get a third doctor's opinion, the Lowell coaches hope she can play a few minutes a game by sectional time.

“She's totally out of shape,” said coach Patti McCormack. “She hasn't been able to do anything at all. It'll take her a while to get back in shape. She's at practice with us now. If it's not a new injury. I think she can play.”

Andrean is in the same sectional with Gary Roosevelt, Wirt, Kankakee Valley and defending champion Lew Wallace. Wallace has not been a factor this season because of a dispute surrounding the suspension of coach Johanna Smith. The players, including all-area 6-2 forward Sharon Houston, have been dispirited and disorganized and Wallace, at last report was 4-9.

Reportedly, 6-2 all-stater Sharon Houston has begun a transfer to Merrillville, so she won't be with Wallace when Andrean potentially faces the Hornets in the 3A sectional.  Andrean defeated LW earlier this year but lost to LW in the sectional last season. If Houston is indeed gone from Wallace, Andrean would be one of the sectional favorites.

ANDREAN Girls Basketball (5-8)
Coach: Ken Markfull, 97-55 in 7th year at school

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Revised: January 15, 2005 .