 |
2005-2006 Girls BasketballTop-10 Poll, Week-5A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith(12-6-2005) |
|
|
2005-2006 Girls BasketballTop-10 Poll, Week-5A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith(12-6-2005) |
|
VALPARAISO, IN - (12-6-2005)
The 16-team Lake Athletic Conference (LAC) tournament highlights this week's
schedule and they are still using the same format which has one major flaw.
For reasons that are not explained, the LAC plays quarterfinal games on Thursday
night and semifinals Saturday morning at 10 a.m., skipping Friday night, the
traditional Indiana basketball night.
Nobody says it but this schedule exists this way because there is a feeling that the girls aren't good enough to waste a Friday night on. Host Highland and the rest of the LAC clearly don't want to burn a Friday night on girls basketball even though an LAC final four (lets say Andrean, Munster, Hammond and Highland) would draw at least 500 fans) on a semifinal Friday. On Saturday at 10 a.m.. you can't pay anybody but parents to show up. One LAC semifinal last year was played in front of two dozen sleep-deprived next of kin. Rumor has it those 24 were forced to show up at gunpoint. Saturday morning 10 a.m. league championship games in December are a slap in the face to girls basketball. The 'Small Fry' League doesn't play championship games at 10 a.m. but the LAC does?
When the LAC breaks up (thankfully) next year and seven teams (KV, Munster, Highland, Andrean, Lowell, Griffith and Hobart) form their own league, they should copy the long-standing Porter County Conference (PCC) tournament exactly and have a one week tournament for both boys and girls over the Christmas Holidays. The January PCC tournament plays to a sellout crowd on the final night and draws 6,000 fans in a week. These schools could top that easily.
The Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) could draw 12,000 fans for a week long championship tourney but they insist that a double round-robin, which coaches hate with a passion, is a better idea. It's Indiana. We're a slow state mentally.
There needed to be a change at the top of the poll. Valparaiso and East Chicago have played the toughest schedules, but Valpo has done more with it. I'm afraid that EC is struggling to find the right mix of personnel and roles. Plus, too many people bought into the pre-season spin that 'Valparaiso's lost 80% of their offense from last season' line.
So
what? Since when does Valpo win games on offense?
1.) 4A Valparaiso (5-2)
21-2 (2005), 23-3 (2004), 16-8 (2003)
VALPARAISO - Valpo controlled Lake Central 44-31, pulling away in the fourth quarter. Erica Humes scored 24 points and Lauren Prow grabbed nine rebounds. Valpo then totally shut down offensively-challenged Highland 32-19 Saturday night (12-3-2005). Humes and Prow combined for 23 of the 32. The Vikings win a lot of games where they don't shoot well, because they don't appear to take many chances defensively and aren't out of position. Valpo held Highland (5-3) to just six field goals. I don't think a lot of people would bet against Valpo in a match with Merrillville. Guards win games.
2.) 4A East Chicago (3-3)
21-4 (2005), 17-5 (2004), 21-1 (2003)
EAST CHICAGO - How can East Chicago be here? They have played six winning teams, losing to Chicago powers John Hope and Whitney Young (Sounds like a rather lame 10 o'clock news team) plus a loss to Merrillville. But EC has also beaten Orland Park, Illinois' Sandburg, Hammond (5-2) and Clay (5-1). The EC loss to the Pirates was at Merrillville and I still think EC is the better team. The Cardinals sank just 6-of-15 from the foul line to lose another close one. The schedule they play is impressive ,but they've lost three times now by six points or less and poor foul shooting is a problem this group has had for two years.
3.) 4A Merrillville (6-0)
12-10 (2005), 18-3 (2004), 15-8 (2003)
MERRILLVILLE - The Pirates held Chesterton to just 11 second half points and won 44-34 despite making 28 turnovers. Brittney Cruse had 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals to lead the Merrillville attack in what was a shaky game for the winners. Again, this team is a work in progress and they get 6-2 senior Sharon Houston eligible next week. Any true analysis of this team awaits Houston's fitting into the offense and defense.
4.) 4A Gary West Side (3-2)
23-5 (2005), 22-3 (2004), 20-4 (2003)
GARY - West Side has lost to Kokomo (5-0) and Heritage Christian (7-0) so you have to ignore the won-loss record here. The 'Side' beat up on Calumet 79-38 in a no-contest game last week. The Cougars have Clay (5-1), Jefferson (5-2) and Munster (5-2) coming in the next three weeks. A good, tough schedule. More so than West Side has played in past years.
5.) 4A Munster (5-2)
17-6 (2005), 6-15 (2004), 6-18 (2003)
MUNSTER - Munster blasted Griffith (5-2) by 23 points, playing the way they should play. Griffith trailed 26-11 at the half. The Lady Ponies consistently use 12 players and, in the long run, that will get them set to play West Side and East Chicago at sectional time. The Mustangs drew Clark in the first round of the LAC tournament on Dec. 6 and they'll then face a tough test from Andrean (3-2) in Thursday's quarterfinals.
6.) 4A Chesterton (4-2)
11-11 (2005), 14-8 (2004), 13-10 (2003)
CHESTERTON - The Trojans lost by 10 to Merrillville even though they forced those 28 turnovers. Chesterton doesn't have much offense other than 5-10 senior Kelly Peller (18 ppg.) The Trojans have only lost Penn (7-0) and Merrillville (6-0) so they cant be too bad. The Trojans play at Michigan City, Portage and Lake Central in the next two weeks and these are games they should win.
7.) 2A North Judson (5-1)
22-4 (2005), 12-9 (2004), 13-8 (2003)
NORTH JUDSON - North Judson lost 50-42 to Class 3A Plymouth (6-1), a quality loss for a 2A team. Guard Kristen Bolen scored 15 but the Jays hit just 14 of 24 from the line. The Jays take on 1As Oregon-Davis (5-3) and West Central (4-2) before getting getting back to some 3A teams later this month. Why North Judson, an independent plays no one in Lake County (or why no one in Lake County plays them) is an interesting question.
8.) 4A Crown Point (4-3)
17-6 (2005), 14-8 (2004), 12-9 (2003)
CROWN POINT - The Lady Bulldogs barely survived .500 LaPorte 42-38 last week after a 19-point loss at Lowell (5-0). I'm afraid the margin of defeat at Lowell says more about CP than it does about the Devils. The Lady Bulldogs have had poor shooting teams before (most girls teams can't shoot well), but the turnover totals are high and CP isn't physical enough for the schedule they're playing. Ready or not, here comes the heart of the CP schedule. Five games in eight days for the Lady Bulldogs including Valparaiso (5-2), Boone Grove (5-3) and Michigan City (3-1). CP needs to come out swinging or they'll get knocked out.
9.) 3A Andrean (3-2)
9-13 (2005), 7-14 (2004), 15-9 (2003)
MERRILLVILLE - Andrean is exactly where they thought they'd be with losses to Merrillville (6-0) and St. Joseph's (5-0). Things will change in the next seven days. The 59ers open the LAC tournament with Kankakee Valley and they should advance to face tournament favorite Munster (5-2) Thursday night. The question has come up, who seeds these tournaments? Andrean lost to two top-5 undefeated teams, but they aren't one of the top four seeds? Highland was massacred Saturday and Hammond got beat like they stole something by unranked Elwood, but that was after the seeding was decided? And had the 59ers played Lowell and beaten Lowell they'd be seeded but the game was postponed because Lowell went to the football state finals for the first time in history? So Highland can coast into the semifinals while Andrean has to beat the LAC favorite? Is that the story??
10.) 4A Highland (5-3)
19-5 (2005), 17-6 (2004), 24-3 (2003)
HIGHLAND
- Highland got shut down totally by Valparaiso 32-19 but they
truthfully never beat the Vikings. The Trojans got the No. 2 seed in the LAC
tournament (don't ask me how, with an 0-2 start and a 5-3 record) so they will
play every tourney game at home. The Trojans will take on Wheeler (4-3), a
decent team they usually handle, in the first round of the LAC tournament. The
winner gets a soft game with Whiting (5-1), a team that's over their head
in this tourney. East Chicago's traditional problem is foul shooting. Highland's
problem is shooting, period.
On the outside looking in:
1.) 1A South Central (5-0)
18-7 (2005), 12-8 (2004), 9-13 (2003)
UNION TOWNSHIP - As questionable as the Satellites's schedule is, they are 5-0 and the Class 1A No. 1 ranking puts a target on their backs. The Lady 'Lites' travel to Morgan Township on Dec. 13 for the first big PCC matchup of the year. No matter what happens here, a rematch is likely in the January Porter County Conference (PCC) tournament.
2.) 4A Lowell (5-0)
13-8 (2005), 15-9 (2004), 11-12 (2003)
LOWELL - Somebody at the Times newspaper got carried away and put Lowell in at No. 2 in NW Indiana. That's unfortunate. The Devils stumbled their way to a 32-22 win over Hobart Saturday behind 14 rebounds from Rachel Thiel and seven blocked shots by Kim Bell. But that isn't the point. Lowell has been using only five players and they know they can only go so far with just five players. The Devils drew Morton in the first round of the LAC tournament and then they would play Griffith. It's not unlikely Lowell reaches the semifinals but then they have to play two games in one day with only five players.
3.) 2A Rensselaer (4-1)
15-7 (2005), 10-11 (2004, 9-12 (2003)
RENSSELAER - Rensselaer took a 27-point whipping by superpower St. Joseph's, but that loss has nothing to do with their future (St. Joe is 3A) and it probably did them a lot of good. No one benefits from being undefeated and coaches probably secretly enjoy their highly-regarded team getting a smack down early because it makes them pay better attention. Rensselaer takes on Benton Central (5-1) Tuesday (12-6-2005) night. Maconaquah (5-1) is also on the schedule, as is powerful West Lafayette (4-2).