2005-2006 Girls Basketball  Top-10 Poll, Week-10 A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith (1-10-2006)

MERRILLVILLE, IN (1-10-2006) - The big move of the week was clearly made by Michigan City, which scored a season high (for opponents) 50 points on 4A No. 4 South Bend Washington (14-1) and then defeated Valparaiso (10-5) for the first time since the consolidation of Elston and Rogers in 1995.  Over the holidays, it went unnoticed that the Wolves beat three-time 1A champ Tri-Central and smoked out (Fort Wayne) Carroll by 20.  They clearly have the talent on the floor and now its kicking in.

The other mover and shaker may be Andrean, which tied Munster at the top of the LAC with wins over Morton and Highland.  Quietly, Hobart (9-5) has pushed their win streak to five games and Crown Point has climbed the victory pole up to 10-5.

We do not obviously have a state finalist in the making.  But if you throw in Morgan Township (10-4), Griffith (8-5), Wheeler (8-5), Washington Township (9-4) and even Whiting (8-3) on top of all the top-10 teams, this is a very good season overall in NW Indiana girls basketball.

Tuesday night's big showdown in South Bend sends No.1 3A St. Joseph's (12-0) to 4A No. 3 Washington (13-1).  The game of the year might be Friday night in Illinois when St. Joe (12-0) takes on Chicago city champ Whitney Young (13-0) in the Chicagoland Classic in Willowbrook, Illinois.  St. Joe will also take on Loyola Academy (15-3) the next day.  Also look for the score out of Indianapolis Tuesday night as it's 3A No. 3 Bishop Chatard (13-1) and 4A No. 1 Carmel (13-1) Tuesday night (1-10-2006) at Carmel.

Porter County Tournament (PCC) Girls Championship

at Morgan Township  --  Monday (1-15-2006)  Quarterfinals
Boone Grove (5-9) vs. Morgan Township (10-3)   5:30 p.m.
Hanover Central (7-6) vs. LaCrosse (0-13)   7 p.m.      

at Morgan Township  --  Tuesday (1-16-2006)  Quarterfinals
Washington Township (9-5) vs. Kouts (7-7)  5:30 p.m.
South Central (13-0) vs. Hebron (6-8)  7 p.m.

at Morgan Township  --  Friday (1-19-2006)  Semi-Finals
Boone or Morgan vs. Hanover or LaCrosse  --  6 p.m.
Washington or Kouts vs. SC or Hebron - 7:30 p.m.

at BOONE GROVE --  Saturday (1-17-2006)  Champiosnhip
33rd PCC Girls championship game -  6 p.m.

1.)  4A  Merrillville (12-1)

12-10 (2005), 18-3 (2004), 15-8 (2003)

MERRILLVILLE -   Merrillville rolled over Portage for a second time and clinched a winning season.  Sharon Houston scored 18 for the Pirates, who led 27-8 after one period.  Portage is weaker than the New York Giants but Merrillville has defeated MC (10-5), East Chicago (9-5), Crown Point (10-5), Andrean (8-4) and Valparaiso (9-5) twice.  The Pirates play nothing but 4A schools the rest of the way, but they are favored over everyone left on the table.  Still, this team is not convincing for the post-season, allowing 45 points a game.  Could they really beat Chesterton, Crown Point and Valparaiso on the road in a five-day span?  Can the Bears really get to the Super Bowl???

2.) 4A  East Chicago (9-5)

21-4 (2005), 17-5 (2004), 21-1 (2003)

EAST CHICAGO -  The Cardinals crushed Gary West Side 63-35  but lost to St. Joseph's 69-58.  St. Joe's Melissa Lechlitner scored 26 while EC's Dee Dee Jernigan finished with 23 in a battle of D-1 players.  Kelly Watts had 18 for EC while St. Joe's Sydney Smallbone scored 16 in another battle of D-1 players.  Why St. Joe vs. East Chicago was never a part of the 'Region Rumble' is beyond me.  It has been a top caliber matchup for four seasons now.  The Cardinals are moving up on strength of schedule and they have (Chicago Heights, Ill.) Marian Catholic (14-3), Munster (13-3) and Warsaw (9-4) still left.  No one else in NW Indiana is playing this level of competition.  EC has loaded the schedule because they know what's coming at sectional time.

3.) 4A  Valparaiso (9-5)

21-2 (2005), 23-3 (2004), 16-8 (2003)

VALPARAISO -  Valpo was upset at Michigan City 36-33 and took a fifth loss for the first time in three years.  The Vikings jumped to a 9-4 lead and could not get much going the rest of the night.  Valpo has to be closer to perfect than other teams due to their style of play and 6-2 Emma Tucker of Michigan City controlled the foul lane at key moments.  All five of the teams to beat Valpo  (Carmel, Michigan City, Crown Point and Merrillville twice) have 10 or more wins and are at least five games over .500.  The Vikings have seven games left including Chesterton (8-5), West Lafayette (8-4) and a rematch with Crown Point (10-5).  In this week's NFL theme, Valpo is the New England Patriots.  Everybody knows they'll be ready for the playoffs.

4.) 4A Gary West Side (9-5)

23-5 (2005), 22-3 (2004), 20-4 (2003)

GARY - The 'Side' took two whippings, by 58-32 to East Chicago and 58-52 by 2A No. 3 Fort Wayne Harding.  But it's always good they are playing that level of foe.  Against good teams, West Side's lack of outside shooting shows up.  The Cougars get a lot of points in transition against lesser foes, but they did look like the New York Giants against EC.  But in regards to East Chicago, keep in mind.  EC beat Gary West Side 63-46 last year and then lost to the same team 45-41 in the game that counted in the post-season.

5.) 4A Munster (13-3)

17-6 (2005), 6-15 (2004), 6-18 (2003)

MUNSTER - This has been down time for Munster, which has played just two games in 20 days.  Munster coasted by Calumet 59-43 in a game that was close for too long to Munster's liking.  The Lady Ponies have to gear up for a home game against LAC rival Andrean this Friday.  The 59ers are even with Munster in the LAC standings.  In an NFL sense, Munster is the Denver Broncos.  They've had a light January so far and there's just six games left, including a Jan. 25 date with East Chicago (9-5).

6.) 4A Crown Point (10-5)

17-6 (2005), 14-8 (2004), 12-9 (2003)

CROWN POINT - The Lady Bulldogs staggered their was to a 37-34 win over Chesterton on a shot by Stephanie Poulos with 12 seconds left.  CP did not score in the entire second quarter.  I don't know how coach Tom May has this team at 10-5, because they are really shaky at guard.  But the Lady Bulldogs are in second place in the DAC.  But hold on.  CP's schedule is super tough the rest of the way with Michigan City (10-5), Valparaiso (8-5) and Merrillville (12-1).  This week's foe Lake Central has won four in a row.  Crown Point is the Carolina Panthers.  Good 'D,' but nobody really knows how on earth they've won all these games.

7.) 4A Chesterton (9-5)

11-11 (2005), 14-8 (2004), 13-10 (2003)

CHESTERTON - The Trojans got nipped by Crown Point 37-34 in a game they should have won as they held the Lady Bulldogs to just nine field goals.  I can't really explain how the Trojans lost that game.  But as Lou Rawls would have said, 'The road is rough. The going gets tough.'  Chesterton has five winning teams (Highland, Michigan City, Merrillville, Valparaiso and Hobart (9-5) left to play.  They are the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Tough on 'D' but don't bet on the Trojans.  Look who they have lined up ready to play them.

8.) 2A  North Judson (13-1)

22-4 (2005), 12-9 (2004), 13-8 (2003)

NORTH JUDSON - North Judson coasted by Kankakee Valley 44-22 and the Jays, who have lost only to 3A No. 6 Plymouth (11-2) are hiding in the weeds out in Starke County.  But can Judson do anything about high-flying 3A Benton Central (11-1) on Jan. 14?  Judson is like the Seattle Seahawks; nobody's paying any attention to them, but they could be moving on after the big name teams are gone.  As of Monday, the Judds had 10 teams at .500 or better on the schedule and three other 6-7 teams.  A very good schedule for a 2A school.

9.) 3A Andrean (8-4)

9-13 (2005), 7-14 (2004), 15-9 (2003)

MERRILLVILLE - The 59ers stayed tied for first place with a 47-42 win over Highland in the LAC.  I don't think the 59ers have played anywhere near their capability on offense.  The 59ers were just 13 of 21 from the line against Highland, but that's an improvement over some games earlier this year.  The numbers certainly disagree with me (I believe the 59ers shoot less than 35% from the field as a team) but I can't believe they shoot the ball as badly as they have in some games.  What is intriguing about the 59ers is, if you can't handle the ball early in the year, you can't handle it later in the year either.  If you can't rebound early in the year, you'll get your butt kicked on the boards late in the year as well.

But if you are getting open shots and firing bricks, you can get hot late in the year and hit a few big shots and make a run.  Gary West Side did it last year.  In this week's NFL theme poll, Andrean is the Washington Redskins.  That team that used to be good years ago and nobody notices they have started winning again.

10.) 4A Michigan City (10-6)

6-15  (2005), 6-16 (2004), 6-14 (2003)

MICHIGAN CITY - The Wolves' limp-wristed record over the past three years left them with a lot to prove and the proof is in the house. MC has defeated three-time 1A state champ Tri-Central (10-3), DAC power Valparaiso (for the first time in 11 years, and strong 3A squad Carroll (9-6).  The most impressive game of all probably was the 58-54 loss on the road at South Bend Washington (14-1) last week.  Washington at home, brings more heat than NIPSCO, but MC went down to the wire with them.  MC is the San Diego chargers.  The team that might be big next year when a lot of the stars on other teams have moved on.

On the outside looking in...

1.) 4A Lowell (11-3)

13-8 (2005), 15-9 (2004), 11-12 (2003)

LOWELL -  Lowell stumbled around and lost 35-33 to Griffith last Saturday, not scoring a field goal for about 22 minutes. The Devils were 15 of 26 from the line after shooting about 75% all year.  Lowell's 'Gang of Four' starters Ashley Cosentino, Julie Swisher, Rachel Thiel and Kim Bell still plays almost all 32 minutes and the Devils do what they can with what they have.  They aren't in the top 10 because there just aren't enough of them.  You can only do so much with six usable players.  There's no way the Devils beat East Chicago or Gary West Side.  But what about this scenario?  Lowell and Lake Central get byes in 4A sectional one.  Superpower East Chicago draws West Side in one quarterfinal while Munster (13-3) draws Highland in the other.  West Side beats EC and Highland beats Munster.  Lowell beats Lake Central and Highland and wins the sectional.  Can't happen?  Are you sure?

2.) 1A South Central (13-0)

18-7 (2005), 12-8 (2004), 9-13 (2003)

UNION TOWNSHIP - Mallory Gorski scored a region-best 51 points Saturday night in SC's 85-72 track meet with Kouts (7-7). Gorski was 17 of 19 from the line but her teammates were 4 of 13.  South Central has given up 65 or more points in four of the last five games but they are 13-0 and, barring them overlooking Hanover Central (7-6) Thursday night (1-12-6) they'll be unbeaten headed into the PCC tourney next week.  The Satellites have drawn Hebron, which should carry a 6-game winning streak into the PCC playoffs. Three teams have scored season-high point totals against SC. I know the Satellites offensive style contributes to that but what happens in the playoffs when the games slow down?

3.) 2A Rensselaer (9-2)

15-7 (2005), 10-11 (2004,   9-12  (2003)

RENSSELAER - The Bombers have still lost only to Benton Central (10-1) and St. Joseph's (10-0) and the wins are starting to pile up. Other than the conquest of Maconaquah (10-3), I don't know if Rensselaer has a big win yet, but they'll have some chances 3A West Lafayette (8-4), 2A North Judson (13-1) and 1A Tri-County (10-3).  Let's check back with this team later.

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Revised: January 12, 2006 .