2005-2006 Girls Basketball  Top-10 Poll, Week-16 A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith (3-1-2006)

MERRILLVILLE, IN (3-1-2006) - The area girls basketball season ended abruptly after the regional as seven teams in the six-county area (Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Jasper, Newton and Starke) we call NW Indiana were eliminated at the regional level.  The upset loss by Merrillville at the sectional probably hurt NW Indiana's best chance for a state title berth.

Form did not hold true at the regional as South Bend St. Joseph's may have been overconfident against Bishop Luers while defending 1A champ Tri-Central and high-flying Argos both fell victim to what may be an emerging powerhouse at Lafayette Catholic.

There were comments in the paper about how "St. Joe thought of themselves as the team to beat" and how "they were too good to worry about being overconfident."  Sometimes the only team that can beat great teams is their own ego.

Our public-private school scoreboard showed a 3-3 tie in state finalists (there are no presently no private schools in Class 4A) with Lafayette Catholic, Heritage Christian of Indianapolis and Bishop Luers of Fort Wayne ensuring that the public-private school sports debate will linger and blossom through the summer.

A major controversy erupted at the Plymouth regional where a shot by Kouts transfer Rebekah Basinger was supposedly ruled to be a two-point shot for Kokomo, but three points were put on the board by the Plymouth scorekeeper, making it 59-57 for South Bend Washington with 1:04 to play.  Top-ranked South Bend Washington turned the ball over and Kokomo's Aubrey McDonald was fouled on a three-point attempt with 11 seconds left.  McDonald hit two out of three shots to tie the game.  But before Kokomo passed the ball inbounds, play was halted and the 'extra' point  was taken away from Kokomo.  Instead of the game being tied 59-59, Kokomo suddenly trailed 59-58.  They had to foul intentionally and lost 60-58.

Obviously the strategy of the game and possibly its outcome was altered by the scorer's mistake.  But Kokomo, which held Washington top scorer Skyler Diggins to just 12 points on 3-of-12 shooting, was eliminated anyway.

2A favorite Westview got to the finals where they will be rejected soundly by 2A state favorite Heritage Christian.  Other than that matchup, anyone can win the state finals this week.

NOTE: For true fans.  All the state girls finals games will be carried live from Conseco Fieldhouse on ComCast cable Channel 4 beginning Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m., CST. 
      

31st Indiana Girls State Basketball Finals

Date: Saturday, March 4 .

Site: Conseco Fieldhouse, 125 S . Pennsylvania Street , Indianapolis .

Admission: Session $10 . 00; Season $18 . 00 .  

Reserved tickets can be purchased at the participating schools the week of the state finals .  

Contact participating schools for ticket distribution hours .  

Tickets also will be available game day at the ticket office at Conseco Fieldhouse .

Home Team: The winner of the north semi-state game will be the designated home team .

10:36 a.m., EST – Class A – Lafayette  Catholic (17-10) vs. South Central (Elizabeth) (23-5).
12:30 p.m., EST – Class 2A – Westview (24-3) vs. No. 1 Heritage Christian (24-3).
6:06 p.m., EST – Class 3A – (FW) Bishop Luers (23-4) vs. Evansville Memorial (23-4).
8:00 p.m., EST – Class 4A – No. 1 (SB) Washington (25-1) vs. Castle (24-3).

1.)  4A  Merrillville (19-3)

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.  For some reason, teams with senior transfers have trouble facing teams that have played together all their lives.  Even lesser teams.  This one will stick with Merrillville until next season starts.  Center Brittney Moore (12. 1 points, 10.8 rebounds) graduates after four good years and Merrillville will change dramatically.  Sharon Houston (14 ppg., 7 rebounds) also can't be replaced.  The Pirates return a lot of speed and will be exciting to watch in 2007.  And sometimes you win the sectional the year after you have your best team.  When you look at the eight DAC teams, Merrillville is still one of the favorites in the Duneland Conference.

Bottom line:  The Pirates beat sectional champions Chesterton, East Chicago and Andrean. They beat Valparaiso an unprecedented three times.  They beat Lowell and Michigan City who had school record regular season win totals.  Merrillville was the No.1 team in 2006.

2.) 4A East Chicago (18-6)

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

EAST CHICAGO -   East Chicago won the sectional for the first time in 10 years, beating rival Gary West Side.  They had the region's top offensive player in Dee Dee Jernigan (16.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists) who moved to the point and was dominant.  Jernigan's points went down as her assists went up, as they should at her new position.  EC played the toughest schedule in NW Indiana so their record is misleading.  But here's another team that won't be the same in 2007 with Jernigan, Kelly Watts (15.8 points, 8.3 rebounds) and others graduating.  More than one person has said that EC has good players coming so, while they'll start slowly next year, who knows what they'll be in February of 2007.

Bottom line:  They beat arch-rival Gary West Side twice and won the sectional title.  Only the loss to Merrillville and losing that late lead to Elkhart Memorial made it certain they would be the season's No. 2 team.

3.)  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.  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 becomes a very big team now with 5-10 sophomore Kim Brown and 6-3 soph Ish Shah Terry moving up.  The big graduation loss will be lead guard Jamie Sherls, but West Side always fills that position well.  East Chicago probably won't be an issue next season, and the Cougars own Munster.

Bottom Line:  West Side, Munster and Lake Central return as 1-2-3 starting next year.  The Cougars need a top summer from the two big girls to become a state contender.

4.)  4A  Valparaiso (13-8)

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

VALPARAISO -   Valparaiso lost three times to Merrillville (19-3), but they beat sectional champs Plymouth (19-3), Munster (19-5) and Chesterton (16-8), all by 10 points or more.  The Vikings set a high standard in the last two years and were penalized in 2006 in polls because they didn't live up to their own standards.  Senior Erica Humes (17.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.0 assist, 2.9 steals) graduates after a year when she was the true Duneland Conference MVP.

Bottom line:  The junior varsity at Valparaiso had six, six-foot players.  (Re-read that last sentence again for effect.)  They return guard Lauren Prow next year and the team will struggle early.  But by next February, Valpo will be one of the sectional favorites and the long range future is very bright.

5.) 4A Munster (18-5)

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

MUNSTER -   Munster got a bad draw and they fell two points short of East Chicago.  Forget about it.  The future is now or, at least eight months from now.  The Lady Ponies return what could be the top-ranked team in 2007.  They have the lead guard in Lauren Meneghetti and the post player in 6-foot-2 Natalie Emro.  With Lowell, EC and Merrillville taking huge graduation hits, only Lake Central and West Side appear to stand between Munster and the 4A regional title.

Bottom line:  Other than a nonconference win over Merrillville, they didn't get over the top in big games.  But 2007 is clearly their year -- IF they can overcome Gary West Side.

6.)  4A Chesterton (16-8)

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

CHESTERTON -   Chesterton pulled the biggest upset of the season, 50-43 over DAC champ Merrillville in the 4A Sectional 2 final to complete a three-game sectional sweep.  The Trojans were routed 71-48 by No. 1 South Bend Washington.  But who cares?  They won the sectional title and ended with a strong winning record.  The cupboard is almost bare for 2007, though as six seniors graduate including all-area forward Kelly Pellar (17.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 steals), who played out of position all year and made it work in the end.  But Chesterton will return one player who played any significant minutes at all in 2006 and she was a freshman.

Bottom line: The Trojans figure to fall below the .500 mark next year.

7.)  4A Michigan City (14-11)

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

MICHIGAN CITY -   The Wolves did all the 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.  MC lost to a Washington team that went to the state finals.  The Wolves need defensive stoppers though.  They can't count on Tucker to block everyone's shot.  I'd like to see EC 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 over the last three years and then look at the final record this season.  MC needs to play 50 games this summer to get ready for the 2007 state tournament.

Bottom line:  2008 will be too late.  It's now (2007) or never for MC.

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 beat anybody but LC 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.  But that's over.  The Indians also were two players short due to injury all season.  They simply didn't say much about it.  Still, LC returns lead guard Allison Aguilera, post player Jenelle Kapelinski and wing shooter Jenny Britton.  You know more players are coming.  The Indians got the winning feeling back this season and they need to play together over the summer to maintain it.  

Bottom line:  The future is very bright for LC, which rivals Michigan City in returning talent in the DAC.  Hopefully coach Tom Megyesi will also be returning for one more year.  LC vs. Munster is the big new rivalry in 2007.

9.)  3A Andrean (15-8)

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

MERRILLVILLE -   Andrean came to play at DeMotte, disposing of Roosevelt and host Kankakee Valley for the 59-ers' 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.  Andrean didn't beat Benton Central at the regional, but BC probably had more overall talent.  The 59ers return all but two players in 2007 and they will again be able to go 8-9 deep.  The sectional title of 2006 set the stage for a big run downstate.  The standards at Andrean are always very high and a sectional title is no big deal to them.  The 3A private school bracket is a monster with St. Joseph's and Bishop Luers.  Nobody gets post-season trophies cheaply in Class 3A.  Right now, it's a lot easier for 4A schools to get to the state finals.

Bottom line:  The 59ers should improve upon the 15-8 record in 2007 and the sectional is still soft looking.  With graduation finally hitting superpower St. Joseph's somewhat, the 59ers have a realistic chance at the regional title.

10.)  2A  North Judson (19-3)

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

NORTH JUDSON -   Judson was hit by late season injuries which 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 strength.  But the Jays played Rensselaer twice in a 20-day span and lost both games, so they deserved to be out of the tournament.  Judson beat Benton Central (21-4) and Rochester (17-5) twice, while their only losses were to 20-game winners.  But when you get injuries late in the year, that's a sign.  And the sign says, "Go home."  The Jays lose Miranda Howard (17.0 points, 7.2 rebounds) but they can replace those numbers by the 2007 playoffs.

Bottom line:  Bolen should be healthy and Judson has enough coming back to be a regional contender in 2A again.  It could be Judson or Westview vs. Boone or Wheeler for the regional title.

On the outside looking in...

11.)  2A Rensselaer (20-5)

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

RENSSELAER -   The Bombers got beat by Westview in the 2A Rensselaer regional final, but Westview has a better team.  This is a very athletic team with Allison Malone and Courtney Meyer returning.  They lose size with Reagan Kanne graduating, but this is still a very good 2A team.  They did beat North Judson twice, but they were not strong at the regional and Rensselaer needs to come north and take on some 3As or 4As.

Bottom line:  You can't laugh off 20 wins.  Rensselaer returns all the guards on the varsity in 2006.  A top season is in the books and another one is coming in 2007.  But North Judson is nearby.

12.)  2A Boone Grove (14-10)

21-2 (2005), 17-5 (2004),  22-5 (2003)

PORTER TOWNSHIP -   Boone Grove lost to Rensselaer by four, but they won the PCC tournament and won the sectional.  Two wins over arch-rival Wheeler made it a good year.  Cortney Flanigan (17.0 points, 5.8 assists, 6.0 rebounds, 3.5 steals) was the top player in the Porter County Conference and will be the top returning guard in NW Indiana for 2007.  This team loses just one senior (center Kara Kessler), so they will almost certainly win more than 14 in 2007.  Much of the PCC suffers big time graduation losses in June of 2006 so Boone will be the pre-season favorite next year.

Bottom line:  Boone also needs to play a tougher schedule.  They should play Valparaiso, Rensselaer and Lowell, all natural rivals.  It would help them in the post-season.  But whatever the schedule, Boone's sophomores will be more effective next year and Flanigan is the lead guard that every team needs.  Boone returns five, 5-foot-10 players.  2007 will be another year of high expectations.

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.  There will be a sectional realignment, but not until after 2007.  Lowell needs ball-handlers and that's something that can develop over the summer.  

Bottom line:  If Kelly Johnson and Gabi Goetz return 100% from injuries, Lowell will start the season No. 3 behind Munster and Andrean in the final year of the Lake Athletic Conference.  But when the playoffs come, the LAC bows down to West Side.  Something big has to happen over the summer to change that.

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Revised: March 01, 2006 .