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2005-2006 Girls BasketballTop-10 Poll, Week-4A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith(11-30-2005) |
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2005-2006 Girls BasketballTop-10 Poll, Week-4A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith(11-30-2005) |
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EAST
CHICAGO, IN - (11-30-2005)
The landscape steadied a little last week as girls
basketball teams reached the 1/4 pole. Merrillville stayed undefeated.
But despite home court wins over Valparaiso and East Chicago, there is no
certainty over their status. The 'usual suspects' are still there in the
form of Valparaiso, EC and Gary West Side. Beyond that it's wide open and
the message might be that we haven't seen anybody's best game yet.
Outside of NW Indiana, the top emerging freshman, South Bend Washington's 5-9
guard Skyler Diggins continued to average 20 a game for the Panthers (6-1).
Maybe Penn's big number wins over Chesterton and Portage were not that
surprising as Penn improved to 6-0 with a 61-46 win over undefeated Northwood
(5-1).
I
think the recently completed football season proves that you never know who's a
state contender but it would seem that no one in NW Indiana is equipped to
handle two-time 4A champ North Central or defending 3A champion St. Joseph's
(3-0).
South
Central rose to the No. 1 ranking in Class 1A for the first time in school
history, but a Dec. 13 Porter County Conference (PCC) game at Morgan Township
(5-0) looms large for them. St. Joseph's 35-point victory over a good
Andrean team is ominous for everyone in Class 3A in this half of the state.
As
always, this poll isn't about who won the most meaningless games before the
first of the year. Wins in December are about as binding as Nick and
Jessica's marriage vows. If you don't rank teams based on how good you think
they are, your poll is meaningless.
One or two games mean nothing. A won-loss record means little more. You either tell the whole truth or you lie. The following is exactly where these teams belong. If you disagree, where's your poll?
1.)
4A East Chicago (3-2)
21-4
(2005), 17-5 (2004), 21-1 (2003)
EAST
CHICAGO -
Early season wins and losses are misleading so despite losses to Class A No. 1
Hope and a 68-62 road loss at Merrillville, I think EC is still the better team.
The Cardinals were strong in a 64-50 win against Sandburg of Orland Park, IL,
Tuesday. Kelly Watts had a season-high 25 against Sandburg (3-2).
What you look for with EC is how senior transfer Candace Bishop works in and how
they shoot free throws. Bishop had seven against Sandburg and EC was a dishwater
16 of 28.
2.)
4A Valparaiso (3-2)
21-2
(2005), 23-3 (2004), 16-8 (2003)
VALPARAISO - Valpo decisively defeated Michigan City (2-1) and undefeated Plymouth (5-1) to hold their position in this poll. The losses are to Carmel (6-0) and Merrillville (5-0) which should not lower them. I think this team is a quiet sectional and regional title contender because a lot of people think they have nothing. Michigan City came in confident against Valpo and got beat by 16. For Valpo to reject Plymouth 53-31 indicates the Vikings are ready to rumble. Nobody just wipes out Plymouth that way.
3.)
4A Merrillville (5-0)
12-10
(2005), 18-3 (2004), 15-8 (2003)
MERRILLVILLE
- The
Pirates have home court wins over Valparaiso (3-2) and East Chicago (3-2) but
not by enough to say that they are the superior team. Britney Moore had an
insane 20 points and 24 rebounds in a 65-49 rout of Portage Friday night
(11-25-5). Merrillville has completed a successful first quarter of the season
but they know the first 25% of the year is the least important portion. There no
point in analyzing the Pirates because they are about to change dramatically
when 6-2 senior Sharon Houston becomes eligible. If that addition works out (not
that many senior transfers are successful) this is the top team. But
there's no way to know that right now.
4.)
4A Gary West Side (2-2)
23-5
(2005), 22-3 (2004), 20-4 (2003)
GARY
- West Side
has lost to Kokomo (5-0) and Heritage Christian (4-0) but, as always, it's not
who you beat, it's who you play. The 'Side' rolled over the state
line and shut down Crete-Monee 87-59 with 6-1 Erica Simpson scoring 19.
West Side's schedule seems tougher this year including game with St. Joseph's
(3-0) and 2A power (Fort Wayne) Harding (4-1). The 'Side' never really
gets started until after the first of the year.
5.)
4A Munster (4-2)
17-6
(2005), 6-15 (2004), 6-18 (2003)
MUNSTER - Munster has rebounded from early losses to Valparaiso (3-2) and Chesterton (4-1) to win four in a row and that's why they never fell in this poll. A contrast of styles Friday (12-2-5) when the Lady Ponies face Griffith (6-1) but they are also the favorite in the 16-team Lake Athletic Tournament which begins Tuesday. Dec. 6.
6.)
4A Chesterton (4-1)
11-11
(2005), 14-8 (2004), 13-10 (2003)
CHESTERTON - Even though Chesterton has beaten Munster, I still think Munster is the better team. The Trojans struggled to wins over Crown Point 40-39 and Wheeler 51-40 in the last week. Senior Kelly Peller had 12 steals against Crown Point. The Trojans go largely with just six seniors but it will be Peller's conversion to point guard, a difficult one as a senior, that will determine what the Trojans can do this year.
7.)
2A North Judson (5-0)
22-4
(2005), 12-9 (2004), 13-8 (2003)
NORTH
JUDSON - I
have a major disagreement about this team which went to the state finals last
season. Many though the best player off this team graduated
after last season. That isn't the case. As
long as the Jays have junior lead guard Kristen Bolen, they will be close in
every game. I'm not exactly sure just how Chelsea Howard, Miranda Howard and
Leann Howard are all related but they scored 30 points total in a 65-52 victory
on the road at 3A Twin Lakes last Saturday (11-26-5). Judson steps up in
class at 3A Plymouth Saturday.
8.)
4A Crown Point (3-3)
17-6 (2005), 14-8 (2004), 12-9 (2003)
CROWN POINT - The Lady Bulldogs took a tough loss 40-39 at Chesterton and a 'red light' loss 62-43 at Lowell. Now, true, Lowell did sink 32 of 38 from the line Tuesday (11-30-5) but CP won’t use that as a shield from the truth. They don't handle and shoot the basketball very well. The CP nine-girl rotation just isn't producing points and changes are on the horizon. CP has a strong junior varsity but a couple of those girls are going to be moving on up. There isn't a bad player on the CP roster but, truthfully, there isn't a real good one right now either. CP has LaPorte, Lake Central and Boone Grove lined up and they better win those because to gets a lot tougher after that. The Lady Bulldogs still have four games (2 each) left with superpowers Valparaiso and Merrillville.
9.)
3A Andrean (2-2)
9-13
(2005), 7-14 (2004), 15-9 (2003)
MERRILLVILLE - It would be unfair to drop Andrean for their 35-point loss to St. Joseph's. That's a little like blaming the mouse when the cat gets a hold of him. I think St. Joseph's is the premier team in Indiana at any level. The 59ers can now concentrate on the LAC tournament which begins Tuesday night, Dec. 6. Though Munster is the favorite, Andrean matches up fairly well with all the LAC contenders. Don't overreact to one blowout loss here.
10.)
4A Highland (4-2)
19-5
(2005), 17-6 (2004), 24-3 (2003)
HIGHLAND
- Highland,
like Munster, has roared back after an 0-2 start to win four in a row. The
LAC is deceptive in that there are a couple of easy wins behind the bushes if
you just keep going. The Trojans beat Calumet, Portage, Gavit and
Lake Central all by 10 points or more. Highland has established themselves
again. They typically beat teams
that don't have much offense. That
will have to change for next week’s LAC tournament.
On the outside
looking in:
1.)
1A South Central (4-0)
18-7 (2005), 12-8 (2004), 9-13 (2003)
UNION TOWNSHIP - The Satellites won on the road at Glenn 45-43 a good victory over a team with a style designed to beat the fast-breaking SC girls. I'm not sold on this team's No. 1 ranking in Class 1A. I wish the satellites had lined up a killer schedule for this season. SC plays 14 Class 1A schools. The big test for them will be the tournaments, the Mid-Winter Classic this month and the Porter County Conference (PCC) championship in January. There's no need to go undefeated, but tourney titles are a boost.
2.)
4A Lowell (4-0)
13-8
(2005), 15-9 (2004), 11-12 (2003)
LOWELL
- How come
Lowell isn't in the top-10 after beating Crown Point 62-43, the biggest Lowell
win in memory over CP? There is a reality here. Lowell has just five players they count on.
Unofficially, guard Julie Swisher (20.2 ppg.) is 23 of 24 from the
foul line, a ridiculous 95.8%. Ashley
Cosentino (16.5 ppg.) played all 32 minutes of wins over Hanover Central and
Crown Point. But you can only do so much with five players in Class 4A.
The key to this team is three players who have not played a lick so far,
freshman Mallory Pratt, injured 5-10 sophomore forward Gabby Goetz and injured
5-5 double-figure scorer Kelly Johnson. If
by some minor miracle, all three could be playing and playing well in February,
this team has a chance to beat one of the big scary monsters (EC, Munster or
Gary West Side) in the sectional.
3.)
2A Rensselaer (4-0)
15-7 (2005), 10-11 (2004, 9-12 (2003)
RENSSELAER
- Clearly
this team has not been challenged yet, but I wouldn't make too much of
Rensselaer's undefeated status because the Bombers will take their whipping from
undefeated St. Joseph's Saturday afternoon. It
will do Rensselaer good to get slapped around by about 30 by St. Joe and they'll
come back strong against Benton Central (4-1) next week.