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2011-2012 Renegade Girls BasketballWeek-7 PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith12-31-2011 |
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2011-2012 Renegade Girls BasketballWeek-7 PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith12-31-2011 |
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MERRILLVILLE, IN (01-05-2012)
Holiday tournament play crystallized a lot of things. I've noticed that NW
Indiana girls teams get involved in holiday tournament play much more than boys
teams do. My only guess at why is that the Christmas break is much later in the
girls season than it is in the boys campaign.
More
than one person at the Hanover Central tournament said that the perfect schedule
scenario is:
1.) Holiday tournament in December.
2.) League championship tournament (PCC or GSSC) in January.
3. Sectional in February.
Since boys sectional play does not come until March some coaches may feel that
the holidays are better spent practicing.
Wheeler may not be a Top-0 team in this poll yet, but they topped Griffith
(10-3) and Oregon-Davis (10-2) to win the Hanover tournament. Wheeler (9-3)
carries an eight-game win streak to Whiting (8-4) on Friday, Jan. 6.
Michigan City (11-2) was upset by Grand Rapids (Michigan) Catholic in the South
Bend Washington Holiday tournament. Gary West Side (7-2) lost to Marshall high
of Chicago in the Gary Holiday Tournament. Boone Grove (12-1) won again in the
South County Tournament.
But all results pale in the glow of Andrean, after 13 consecutive loses,
upsetting Concord 57-53 for their first win of the year at the Northridge
Holiday Tournament.
Two injuries of note. Griffith junior point guard Alyssa Gebo suffered what
looked like a serious injury at the Hanover Holiday tournament, as did HC
starting sophomore guard Rylie Singleton. No details, but there was hope that
Singleton could return before the end of the season.
The next major game sends Merrillville (11-0) to Lowell (10-1) on Tuesday night, Jan. 10. The Greater South Shore Conference playoff bracket is set. The Porter County Conference (PCC) pairings have not yet been drawn.
GREATER SOUTH SHORE CONFERENCE
TOURNAMENT
GIRLS league championship - home sites
Jan. 17 (Tues.) Whiting at River
Forest
Jan. 17 (Tues) North Newton at Bishop Noll
Jan. 17 (Tues.) Calumet at Lake Station
Jan. 17 (Tues.) Wheeler at Marquette Catholic
Jan. 19 (Thurs) semifinal at North Newton or Noll)
Jan. 19 (Thurs.) semifinal at Lake Station or Marquette
Jan. 21 (Sat.) Girls Championship at Calumet - 6 p.m.
Jan. 21 (Sat.) Boys championship at Calumet - 8 p.m.
1. (4A) Merrillville (11-0)
2011 (14-8), 2010 (25-2), 2009 (10-11), 2008 (17-5)
MERRILLVILLE: The Pirates got 25 from Raveen Murray in a 64-56 victory over Crown Point to end the calendar year at 11-0 and 8-0 in DAC Play. The Pirates weren't very good in that game, missing 14 of 27 free throws and committing 16 turnovers and they left the feeling that Crown Point could eventually beat them if they get two more tries. A 20-0 season (certainly now a possibility) can't be an issue until the Pirates take care of that visit to Lowell on Jan. 10 and that visit from Michigan City (11-2) on Friday, Jan. 27.
2. (4A) Michigan City (11-2)
2011 (19-4), 2010 (15-8), 2009 (21-4), 2008 (20-6), 2007 (22-2)
MICHIGAN CITY: The Wolves had a surprising big 55-39 loss to Michigan power Grand Rapids Catholic at the South Bend Holiday Tournament. This wasn't like MC lost a close one... GRC led 11-3 after one quarter and 45-21 after three quarters. The Wolves did to Washington 64-54 to get out of South Bend at 11-2. Toni Murphy scored 31 in that game. Everybody has serious injuries it seems and MC has lost Aubria Clifton for the year with an ACL injury. The Wolves get back into DAC play and they again try to figure out how to beat Merrillville on Jan. 27.
3. (4A) Lowell (10-1)
2011 (13-8), 2010 (6-15), 2009 (1-19),
2008 (4-17), 2007 (5-16)
LOWELL: Lowell won the Carroll County tournament easily and then took two weeks off. The Devils play Andrean (1-13) before they host undefeated Merrillville (11-0) the night of Jan. 10. That's a major game for the Devils, who are the favorites in the Northwest Crossroads Conference. Lowell has to defeat Gary West Side in the Munster Sectional so they need to see a team like West Side, and Merrillville can show them what they need. The Devils need to be in a holiday tourney so they can play extra games. The best option may be to call up three teams like Merrillville, Lawrence North and West Lafayette (3 teams that do not now play in December holiday tournaments) and start their own.
4. (1A) Oregon-Davis (10-2)
2011 (17-6), 2010 (22-5), 2009 (22-3), 2008 (24-1), 2007 (25-3)
HAMLET: Oregon-Davis looked good until the final quarter of the eight-team Hanover Central tournament. The Bobcats, who were two girls short for the tournament, fell 47-42 to Greater South Shore (GSSC) conference leader Wheeler. There are a lot of teams that should play O-D because their aggressive fast break attack tests your defense with soph guards Ashley Campbell and Jesse Averone. O-D topped Whiting (8-3) and scored a 26-point win over Hanover (9-3). The Bobcats head back east to play Triton (8-2) Tuesday (1-4-2012) and they play New Prairie on Jan. 17 in the quarterfinals of the eight-team Bi-County tournament.
5. (4A) Crown Point (8-6)
2011 (14-8), 2010 (10-11), 2009 (12-9), 2008 (6-15)
CROWN POINT: CP has lost to Merrillville (11-0), Michigan City (11-2) Carmel, Hobart and Hanover (9-3) so their record is deceptive. The Bulldogs are heading into the difficult final 25% of the 20-game schedule, a place where they have crumbled in recent seasons like Notre Dame football in bowl games. It's painful to recount, but in the last six years, CP is 10-20 in the final five games of the season. Why? Well, they play Michigan City and Merrillville in the final five games.
6. 2A Boone Grove (12-1)
2011 (20-2), 2010 (22-2), 2009 (16-7), 2008 (16-7), 2007 (18-5)
PORTER TOWNSHIP: I very much realize that I have Boone ahead of Bowman, who defeated Boone 58-44. But, hey, the Bears beat the Detroit Lions and the Lions made the playoff while the Bears have gone home. Life is not always fair. Bowman beat Boone in a Gary game and the Wolves have been strong against all other teams. The two key Boone victories over rival Kouts (7-4) have kept them atop the PCC. Seniors Brittany Shafer (16.2) and Emily Bobrowski (13.3) are consistent scorers. Boone still has Lowell (10-1), North Judson (8-4) and maybe two games against Hanover Central (9-3) so the story of this tall (for 2A) senior-laden team has not yet been told.
7. (2A) Bowman Academy (9-5)
2011 (17-8), 2010 (12-8), 2009 (5-10)
GARY: The Eagles took some losses to Chesterton, Goshen and Griffith over the holidays. I believe they have a win over Whiting that has not yet been counted elsewhere. Princess German (20 ppg.) was held to 14 in the 64-47 loss to Chesterton and 17 in the 72-50 loss to host Goshen in the Goshen Holiday Tournament, but there's an issue here. Bowman played five games in three days which is probably why they lost three of them. What we really are missing here is Bowman vs. Gary Roosevelt (8-3) and Bowman vs. Gary West Side (7-2) but these are schools that apparently just will not schedule each other.
8. (3A) Griffith (10-3)
2011 (16-7), 2010 (19-6), 2009 (16-7),
2008 (17-5)
GRIFFITH: Okay, and I know that Griffith defeated Bowman in the Hanover Holiday tournament. Do we have to have that talk about 'fairness' again? The Panthers lost to Wheeler and Hanover after Griffith lost guard Alyssa Gebo to injury. She's surely out for some time which limits what the Panthers can do controlling the pace of the game. With that said, Griffith led HC and Wheeler and should have won both games. Sammi Adams scored 21 against Hanover, a game Griffith led by seven in the fourth quarter. The Panthers have three games before Jan. 20, the night they host Lowell (10-1), probably for the NW Crossroads title. But they won't be the same team without Gebo. Remember that the polls are a combination of what you have done and how good you actually are today.
9. (4A) Gary West Side (7-2)
2011 (19-5) 2010 (17-5), 2009 (17-7),
2008 (18-5)
GARY: I have been reluctant to buy into the Cougars, who start three freshmen. But they are 7-0 against Indiana competition with two losses... just 56-53 to Chicago power Marshall and 58-56 to North Lawndale of Chicago. The wins over Riley, Jefferson and Munster aren't a big deal because those schools are having losing seasons. I know that West Side is consistently strong but how much weight can you put on those past records when THIS team is largely freshmen? Even freshmen who finished fourth in an AAU National age group tournament last year? The "Side" travel to East Chicago (9-4) and Benton Central (10-3) this weekend (Jan. 5-6) so if they take those two, we'll know the truth. How do I know West Side is better than rival Gary Roosevelt? I don't.
10. (4A) LaPorte (7-4)
2011 (7-14), 2010 (1-20), 2009 (1-20), 2008 (10-12)
LaPORTE: Flip a coin. The 10th team here is like the Republican presidential primaries. I don't know who could or should be on top. No. 10 here could easily be Greater South Shore Conference (GSSC) leader Wheeler (9-3), Gary Roosevelt (8-3) or Lake Central (6-6), which has lost to four Top-10 4A schools. The Slicers lost 54-30 to Michigan City, but LaPorte is still undefeated outside DAC play. LaPorte, which ended the month 4-0 on the road, starts the New Year with five consecutive road games including rematches at Merrillville (11-0) and Lake Central. Guard Jaclyn Heath (14.4 ppg.) leads a strong sophomore class in a break-through season. Note that LaPorte won seven games all last season.