 |
2005-2006 Girls BasketballTop-10 Poll, Week-15A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith(2-15-2006) |
|
|
2005-2006 Girls BasketballTop-10 Poll, Week-15A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith(2-15-2006) |
|
MERRILLVILLE, IN
(2-15-2006)
- Okay,
let's take all our clichés and apply them to Merrillville. They never lost
more than two games in a row all season. They beat all of their top rivals. The Pirates were
strong in the post and quick at guard. They're solid defensively and experienced with
more than one offensive threat. They paid their dues with sectional losses
in the past and beat their top foe on the other team's home court.
Merrillville led 3/4 of the game in the sectional title game and then just
imploded, I guess. Give Chesterton as much credit as you can but I don't
understand what happened to Merrillville. The knee-jerk polls will
shove other teams to the top spot, but Merrillville beat Valpo three times,
Michigan City twice, and they beat East Chicago, the new politically correct No.
1 in NW Indiana.
Sometimes there is no real reason why teams lose. Defending 4A champ North Central was eliminated by Carmel, which was then eliminated by Hamilton Southeastern. Class 4A is wide open. Washington has won 16 in a row, but the 1,000 fans they bring to Valparaiso Saturday could go home very quickly if the Panthers don't find some defense.
But 3A is not. Forget Lebanon (22-0). Nobody has the players to stand up to South Bend St. Joseph's (20-2). South Central, which had been slipping since mid-season, met their expected fate. Remember, SC needed a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to beat Argos last year. Argos just evened the score last Saturday. In a lot of respects, it wasn't really an upset.
Want a lock? In 2A... 2A No. 1 Heritage Christian (21-3) has lost only to 4A Pike (20-5), 4A Carmel (20-5) and 3A Bishop Chatard (19-3). They have won their last five games by 15 points or more and, on the computer, Heritage, an Indianapolis school, is 10 points superior to everybody else in the state.
1.) 4A Merrillville (20-3)
12-10 (2005), 18-3 (2004), 15-8 (2003)
MERRILLVILLE - Merrillville inexplicably fell apart, and a 21-9 fourth quarter beat them in the sectional title game against Chesterton. The Pirates will be a DAC contender in 2007, but it will not be the same for awhile with the graduation of 6-2 Brittney Moore and 6-3 Sharon Houston, who had 19 points and 15 rebounds against Chesterton. Merrillville has had two different Division I senior transfers in the last three years under two different coaches and they have not gotten out of the sectional. I cannot explain it. If you said they choked, I cant argue. Want a cheery thought? Sometimes your best team does not get deep into the playoffs. Boone Grove's best team in school history was last year. But they are sectional champs in 2006 as well as in 2003. East Chicago's great teams in the 1990s never got out of the sectional. Certainly the 2006 South Central squad was better than the 2005 South Central that reached the semistate. Looking at the other five teams, if Merrillville was the sectional champ in 2007, it would not surprise me.
2.) 4A East Chicago (18-5)
21-4 (2005), 17-5 (2004), 21-1 (2003)
EAST CHICAGO - Wins over Lake Central, Munster and Gary West Side certainly speak well for the Cardinals. They were lucky to get by Munster 50-48, but they came on very strong against West Side. Here's the deal now. Did they go as far as they wanted to? The Cards drew the long straw at the Valparaiso Regional. They must beat Elkhart Memorial (19-4) and South Bend Washington (22-1). Permission to speak freely? Top-ranked Washington will roll up the score on short-handed Chesterton in the morning and wait while Memorial and EC wear each other out in the afternoon semifinal. In the title game, Jernigan has to decide she'll take out Washington freshman Skyler Diggins defensively. EC wants a head-to-head matchup there and they must live with the results. This is when you have to get bold. EC is senior dominated. There's no "next year." They've got more money on the table than Janet Gretzky. This team has played the schedule to build nerves of steel for a match with Washington (22-1). The season will be a failure if they don't get their chance.
3.) 4A Valparaiso (13-8)
21-2 (2005), 23-3 (2004), 16-8 (2003)
VALPARAISO - Valparaiso got bombed 64-39 by a motivated Merrillville and then they looked on in shock the next night as Chesterton, a team Valpo beat twice, upset Merrillville 50-43. Valparaiso loses Erica Humes, but don't feel sorry for them at all. The Vikings had a good, but not great year, beating LAC champ Munster (18-5) and NLC champ Plymouth (19-3), both in double digit wins. And the big note is, Valpo has a very big future. Not everybody realizes that Valparaiso has six freshmen who are 6-foot tall or taller. That's the equivalent of six 6-foot-6 boys players. And they're all growing. Valparaiso could have six 6-4 forwards in three years. But even if they just have six 6-foot seniors, that isn't a problem. The VHS machine has more height at the lower levels than anyone in NW Indiana. The Vikings will be very young next season when any of six teams can win the DAC. But starting in 2008, the whole league turns green again.
4.) 4A Gary West Side (15-7)
23-5 (2005), 22-3 (2004), 20-4 (2003)
GARY - Gary West Side is another very young team that loses four seniors after losing the sectional to East Chicago Saturday (2-11-2006). The Cougars' senior center Erica Simpson went scoreless in her final game, something that cannot be totally put off to the EC defense. West Side beccomes a very big team now with 5-10 sophomore Kim Brown and 6-3 soph Ish Shah Terry. The big graduation loss will be lead guard Jamie Sherls, but West Side always fills that position well. West Side, Munster and Valpo return as 1-2-3 starting next year.
5.) 4A Munster (18-5)
17-6 (2005), 6-15 (2004), 6-18 (2003)
MUNSTER - Munster got a bad draw and paid for it. They needed to beat arch-rival Highland and then East Chicago and Gary West Side to win the sectional. It was far too much to ask, although the Lady Ponies almost beat EC in a 50-48 game. The Mustangs lose 5-9 forward Jackie Yerga, but they return guard Lauren Meneghetti and post Natalie Emro, so this is a team that could start the 2007 playoffs in the top-10 state wide. But they're starting to call them the Munster "Cubs." Next year has to be "the" year or this team rebuilds. The spotlight is always on here, as this team gets more hype than the Winter Olympics. Graduation at East Chicago opens the window of opportunity for Munster, but it may be a one year gap as West Side has that big team coming fast.
6.) 4A Chesterton (17-6)
11-11 (2005), 14-8 (2004), 13-10 (2003)
CHESTERTON - Chesterton pulled off a stunning victory, 50-43 over DAC champ Merrillville in the 4A sectional 2 final to complete a three-game sectional sweep. Senior Kelly Peller sank 11 of 12 foul shots in the final quarter as the Trojans overcame a five-point lead in what is easily the biggest upset in many years in NW Indiana at the sectional level. She scored 26 of her team's 50 points. But let's be honest. The Trojans won Saturday with 13 field goals. They were mediocre at best in a semifinal win over Crown Point. Unless they can dramatically up the level of play defensively, they will stand no chance against 20-point favorite and top-ranked Washington (22-1) in Saturday's regional semifinals. The Trojans aren't suddenly a great team because they had a big fourth quarter against a team that choked like the Indianapolis Colts. But the truth is, after beating Merrillville, they could lose to Washington by 20 and not care.
7.) 4A Michigan City (14-11)
6-15 (2005), 6-16 (2004), 6-14 (2003)
MICHIGAN CITY - The Wolves did all they could, losing to top-ranked South Bend Washington 78-71 in the South Bend Sectional finals. Center Emma Tucker had 18 points and 19 rebounds as MC rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to pull within 58-57 with 5:50 to play. This is not the last meeting of these teams. Both have lots of underclassmen coming back. MC has only one senior on the roster. MC won two sectional games and was 22 of 29 from the line against the No.1 team. They didn't really expect to win. Tucker averaged 21 points and 20 rebounds in the three sectional games against three run-and-gun foes. This was a fine effort. The Wolves need defensive stoppers though. They can't count on Tucker to block everyone's shot. I'd like to see MC work on a half court trap that enables them to control the pace of the game more than they do. Still, the 2006 season can be closed as "Mission Accomplished." Look at the records the last three years and then look at the final record this season.
8.) 4A Lake Central (11-10)
7-14 (2005), 11-10 (2004), 13-8 (2003)
ST. JOHN - Here's another team that got blown up by the draw. They probably could beat anybody but EC and Munster in the sectional, but they drew East Chicago and lost 49-44. Also, here's proof that the regular season doesn't matter. LC won eight of their last 10 and it didn't matter when EC got a hold of them. It doesn't matter how close you came if you lost. And LC lost to EC twice. Still, LC returns lead guard Allison Aguilera, post player Jenelle Kapelinski and wing shooter Jenny Britton. The future is very bright for LC which rivals Michigan City in returning talent in the DAC. Hopefully, veteran coach Tom Megyesi returns for one more year.
9.) 3A Andrean (15-7)
9-13 (2005), 7-14 (2004), 15-9 (2003)
MERRILLVILLE - Andrean came to play at DeMotte, disposing of Roosevelt and host Kanakakee Valley for the school's first title in four years. I have totally forgotten the two blowout losses to Munster because the 59ers took advantage of a weak sectional and took care of business. But no NW Indiana team (except maybe East Chicago) faces a tougher regional draw. Benton Central won a sectional for the first time in 14 years, so they may have gone as far as they wanted to. But with that said, expect a big crowd to follow BC to nearby Twin Lakes Saturday. Still, I think that if anyone here has a chance against defending state champ St. Joseph's (20-2), it's Andrean who has already seen them this year. Anybody who runs with St. Joe will get gunned down like Dick Cheney's hunting partners. Realistically, Hammond, Benton Central and Andrean have to hold the ball to beat St. Joseph's and Andrean is the only one of those teams who can do that.
10.) 2A North Judson (19-3)
22-4 (2005), 12-9 (2004), 13-8 (2003)
NORTH JUDSON - Judson was hit by late season injuries that crippled forward Chelsea Howard and point guard Kristen Bolen, the team's best player. It's all about the lead guard so it was no surprise they lost to Rensselaer 50-42 in the sectional title game. Judson has a better team than the Bombers at full strengths, but the Jays played Rensselaer twice in a 20-day span and lost both games, so they deserve to be out. Judson beat Benton Central (20-3) earlier this year, but BC is still playing. The Bluejays could have limped into the regional, but they missed 15 of 32 free throws on their home court. Bolen should be healthy for the 2007 playoffs and Judson has enough coming back to be a regional contender in 2A again.
On the outside looking in...
11.) 2A Rensselaer (18-4)
15-7 (2005), 10-11 (2004), 9-12 (2003)
RENSSELAER - The Bombers got 19 points from 5-10 Courtney Meyer to beat North Judson 50-42 Saturday. A 16-5 second quarter wore down an injury-riddled Jays team. Amazingly, Rensselaer sank 30 of 41 free throws in this game, sinking just 10 field goals. They cannot get that kind of foul line favoritism even in their home court this week against Boone Grove. I like Rensselaer. I've been talking about them all year. The Bombers have held 15 teams to 40 points or less with a tall, strong lineup. But they don't match up well with Boone. I didn't think they played well in the sectional and the Bombers must do better immediately or it will be softball season early Saturday.
12.) 2A Boone Grove (14-9)
21-2 (2005), 17-5 (2004), 22-5 (2003)
PORTER TOWNSHIP - Boone Grove won three games in five days including a 39-31 struggle against Wheeler. The Wolves, with just one senior, get to the regional for the second time in four years. Guard Cortney Flanigan has developed into an all-state caliber player, averaging 20 points a game in the last dozen games. It's odd how prep sports goes. This team does not have nearly the overall talent of last year's squad, but they didn't choke when they trailed in the fourth quarter. Still, I didn't think Boone played well at the sectional either and 39 pointz will be a one-way ticket to Loserville Saturday at Rensselaer. Boone girls must find a fine line between deferring to Flanigan to take every shot and taking shots away from their leading scorer. Flanigan scored 26 of Boone's 39 points and she cannot be asked to do more than that. Early Saturday, some other Boone players need to put up a few shots just to let the defense know the Wolves do use all five players on offense.
13.) 4A Lowell (15-7)
13-8 (2005), 15-9 (2004), 11-12 (2003)
LOWELL - Lowell got blasted 56-29 by Gary West Side in a disappointing finish and the Devils again displayed that they have a major post-season problem. They need the caliber of guards that can beat the Gary West Side full court press and they don't have that type of player. Even Ashley Cosentino, an all-LAC player and a four-year varsity player, was overwhelmed by the Side's defensive heat. What worked for Lowell all year, backcourt quickness, was overmatched on this night. If Kelly Johnson and Gabi Goetz return 100% from injuries, Lowell will be formidable within the Lake Athletic Conference in 2007 but Gary West Side is not in the LAC. Baby steps.