NW Indiana Girls Basketball Renegade Poll: Week 11

2003-2004 Girls Basketball

'Renegade' Poll: Week 11

A USA-365.com Special Report

(1-28-2004)

For some reason, the IHSAA does not draw for the state tournament until seven days before that tournament begins (maybe someone else is inconvenienced by that?) so teams head into their final games not knowing what the immediate future holds. There is still a distinct top four squads in 4A but the specter of undefeated Northern Indiana Conference (NIC) champion South Bend Washington (16-0) and Northern Lakes Conference (NLC) champion Warsaw (19-2) looms very large at the regional and semistate. The best chance of a northwest Indiana (Lake, Porter, LaPorte county) team surviving regional play still appears to be in Class 1a where Hebron or Washington Township might be solid enough to slip by Argos (12-5) or West Central (10-6).

1. Gary West Side (14-2)

No logic-based poll would lose faith in West Side for a one-point road loss against a team with three future Division I players. This is still the favorite to survive the Valparaiso Regional. Who is Erica Simpson? Simpson scored 18 in a 69-31 victory over Roosevelt and had 16 against St. Joseph's. The Cougars' losses are 63-62 at St. Joseph's (11-6) and 48-32 at Kokomo (16-2) two months ago. They have more difference makers on the bench than civil court and they are home at sectional time. Nobody in northwest Indiana has beaten them in a big game in two years.

2. Valparaiso (16-1)

Valpo crushed LaPorte 55-28 for the VHS girls' 13th win in a row. Only one team, Merrillville, has scored more than 40 points against Valpo all year. Breanne Gustke (8.1 ppg.) scored a career-high 22 against the Slicers. Valpo was only 31 of 51 (60.1 %) from the foul line in a five game span that ended last weekend. That's not good enough. Valpo's game this weekend (Jan. 30) with Crown Point is significant because CP can apply some semblance of the fullcourt pressure that Merrillville and West Side can bring. With 6-3 Cassie Kerns and 6-foot forwards Gustke and Lindsay Humes (12.9 ppg.) up front, the Vikings are probably the only team that could survive three teams in three days.

3. East Chicago (14-4)

East Chicago got leveled 57-43 at Indianapolis Tech last week, but that type of competition does a team more good than beating some overmatched girl scout troop like many of the other Lake County teams do. 5-10 soph Dee Dee Jernigan averaged 20.1 over a 5-game span. Free throw update... 6 of 16 against Tech... still lame. East Chicago faces an interesting season-finale with Highland (16-4), a game that is of absolutely no help to them. West Side, the team EC must beat, is unlike Highland in almost every way. This team appears to only have 19 games and they are an independent. Teams like Wheeler (16-3) and Boone Grove (14-3) need to sign up to get whipped by EC. It would prepare them for the 2A state tournament.

4. MERRILLVILLE (14-2)

Merrillville eased by Lake Central 40-32 behind 17 points from 5-10 senior Marshay Jolly, four steals from Melissa Borom and 10 rebounds from Julie DeMuth. The Pirates have had a largely quiet season, a blessing after DeMuth's former team (She is a transfer from Highland) was hyped far beyond their ability in the last three seasons. Forget the record. Barring injury, the Pirates have the number one shot at beating Valparaiso at the CP Sectional. This is a senior-dominated team and that means a lot of pressure. But they have done what they needed to do in the regular season. Merrillville needs a bye in the state tournament because they close the season with four games in 11 days.

5. Chesterton (13-4)

The Trojans edged Portage 44-37 as Stephanie Boyle (12.7 ppg.) grabbed 13 rebounds. Boyle scored 15 as the Trojans beat Michigan City 57-49 the week before. Holly Melton scored 10 in just her second double figure game of the season. The 5-5 guard needs to score in double figures every game because Chesterton does not presently have enough offense to beat Merrillville or Valparaiso. Chesterton also ends the year with four games in 11 days and that means they also need a first round sectional bye. Teams do not need to be playing twice in the final week of the season. They need to be preparing for the tournament.

6. CROWN POINT (11-6)

Crown Point coasted past Michigan City 84-57 last week (Jan. 23) with Cassie Pruzin (16.9 ppg.) scoring 26 and Blayre Reeves (6.6 ppg.) adding a season-high 16. The 84 points is very welcome for a CP team that shoots just 34-percent. But you have to ask what kind of defense Michigan City was using? The Chicago Bulls don't hit 84 points most nights in 48 minutes. Pruzin's numbers, 4.8 rebounds, 38-98 (3s), 5.1 assists, 101 (5.9) steals and 51 of 66 from the line (77.3 %) are better than anyone else's in northwest Indiana. CP needs more than her though and 5-9 soph Jackie Clements (0.7) scored 12 against MC. CP doesn't need to beat Valparaiso this week (Jan. 30) but they need to make a better showing than last month's 58-34 rout.

7. LAKE CENTRAL (9-8)

The Indians are a product of the 'new' Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) where you play 14 league games. They are almost a .500 team with a lot of quality. The Indians lost 40-32 last week to Merrillville despite 11 of 12 from the line. Reverse the two losses to Crown Point where LC led by 9 points in the second half each time and Lake Central's record would shine more. The Indians also have four games in the final 11 days so they need a first round bye at the Gary West Side sectional. LC is a very experienced team that would give East Chicago problems.

8. Highland (16-4)

The Trojans got by Lowell 52-41 to win the Lake Athletic Conference again but that's kinda like Howard Dean saying he's got the most committed constituency. Somebody tell him he's losing. The Trojans broke a 68 of 120 (56.6%) foul shooting slump with 11 of 14 against Lowell. Highland is a fine defensive team but still an awful shooting (19 of 52 against Lowell) team and they need a good showing in the final game at East Chicago (14-4) on Feb. 6. The Trojans will benefit from getting a warm-up shot at EC offensive star Dee Dee Jernigan. They don't have the attack to win three times at the Gary 4A Sectional but the the Trojans could beat East Chicago.

9. Wheeler (16-3)

There is a large drop-off from Highland to Wheeler but the BearCats, a 2A team, don't care about that. Freshman Becca Bruszewski scored a career-high 30 in a 56-26 rout of Whiting. Bruszewski (16.4 ppg.) has averaged 19.7 over her last nine games. Wheeler allows only 35.6 points per game. The little Bears simply must improve this schedule next season and there is confidence they will with first year coach Tim Powers. Playing super-weak teams like Whiting, Morgan Twp. and Lake Station this month figured to hurt them but there may have been a benefit. The loss of junior Allison Roper (12.2 ppg.) shortens an already short bench and the three twinkies on the schedule allowed Wheeler to play some inexperienced young players.

10. Lowell (11-7)

Okay. Okay. There really isn't a 10th strong team. But Lowell didn't get waxed the way I thought they would at Highland, losing just 52-41 Saturday (I appreciate the saying that a team didn't get annihilated is faint praise) so I slipped them back up here. Soph guard Ashley Cosentino is averaging 8.2 over the last four games. Lowell is 48 of 72 (66.5 %) from the line in the last four games. Soph Rachel Theil is an effective rebounder. One ominous note. Lowell closes the season with four games in 11 games and they finish against Hammond on Saturday, Feb. 7. They desperately need a first round bye so Lowell does not have to play on Tuesday, Feb. 10. A Gary West Side quarterfinal game would leave the Devils with only one practice day before the sectional.

What's going on????....

Hanover Central (9-9)

This team was lower than dirt after losing a 10-point lead to lose at South Central (8-7) on Jan. 15. Somehow, four days later, they may have pulled the upset of the season, beating Boone Grove 42-40. The Lady Cats, a 2A power in the late 90s, then stumbled past Kouts (10-8) in a crazy game that had to lift them even though they didn't play that well. Jill McElmurry (14.5 ppg.) hit every big shot and Christie Wick (9.3 ppg.) showed signs she can be the solid scorer they need her to be. Hanover has a very athletic team that forces turnovers. What do they need to win the 5-team Bishop Noll Sectional (HC, Boone, Wheeler, Lake Station and Noll) next month? Frankly, the Lady Cats need Boone to draw Wheeler while they play someone else. If they have to beat Boone and Wheeler, that's too much to ask. If HC only meets one of the region's top two 2A teams and it's late in the week, preferably in the sectional title game, the Lady Cats may have another upset in them.

Outside the area.......

3A South Bend St. Joseph's (11-6)

SOUTH BEND: One of the state's most intriguing teams, St. Joseph's, the 700-teen Catholic school near the University of Notre Dame, is a young, finesse team that is as highly skilled as any prep squad. Junior forward Aimee Litka, a 5-9 wing player, averages 16 points per game and 5-7 sophomore Melissa Lechlitner (14.4 points, 5.1 assists) has been the starting point guard since game one of her freshman year. Litka has committed to Valparaiso University and Lechlitner is already on the record to go to Notre Dame.

In the backcourt is another Division I freshman Sydney Smallbone, a 5-9 guard said to be a great shooter. Smallbone (12.0 ppg.) scored 13 in the 63-62 loss to Gary West Side last week (Jan. 24) and she totaled 18 in a 68-45 win over Elkhart Central on Jan. 12. After 17 games, the freshman was 17 of 21 (81.1%) from the foul line. Believe it or not, St. Joe also has another freshman, 6-3 center Kristin Dockery, a raw player who has been in double figures three times. Throw in 5-9 veteran Katie St. Clair (12.3 ppg.) off last year's state finals team and this is again, what it was in 2003, a state title contender.

The schedule has been monstrous with Gary West Side, East Chicago, Summit Athletic Conference champion Snider, Penn, undefeated South Bend Washington and nationally rated Naperville Central of Illinois.

The only flaws on this team are experience and physical strength. A good, big team could push them around. A very disciplined team could catch them on a bad shooting night. But they have played teams that are far more talented than they will see in Class 3A's playoffs. This is a rarity in girls basketball... a truly good offensive team. Nobody in northwest Indiana is in their class and the Indians appear to be a Plymouth Semistate victory over Bishop Luers or Tippecanoe Valley away from a return to the state finals.