NW Indiana Girls Basketball Renegade Poll: Week 14

2003-2004 Girls Basketball

'Renegade' Poll: Week 14

A USA-365.com Special Report

(2-17-2004)

Since the last poll said Gary West Side (one) and Valparaiso (two), last weekend was the high point of the season for this page. West Side and Valparaiso are the last two teams standing. Of the 4 other northwest Indiana teams (Calumet, Lew Wallace, Wheeler and Whiting) still alive at the regional level, only Wheeler has a realistic chance to move on.

1. Gary West Side (21-2)

West Side beat East Chicago for the third time in a row, winning 38-35 in the West Side 4A Sectional championship game. The West Side guards were the leading scorers, Isabella Rhenwick scored 18 in a 54-47 win over Lake Central (11-10) and Belinda Drake scored 11 including the game-winning three-point shot against EC (16-5). It's trivia but one statistic still holds. The Cougars have not lost to any northwest Indiana school. West Side goes head to head with South Bend champion Washington (21-0) in Saturday's Valparaiso Regional. the problem for them will be to face an up tempo team in the morning and probably down-tempo Valparaiso (21-2) in the nighttime championship.

2. Valparaiso (21-2)

Valparaiso won three games, 56-45 over Merrillville (18-3), 53-36 over Crown Point (14-8) and 49-25 over Portage (10-12) to take the sectional championship for a third year in a row. 6-3 center Cassie Kerns (13.7 ppg.) scored 21 in the come-from-behind win over CP and 16 against Portage. Valpo held all three opponents under 40 points and they remain the top-scoring defense team in the state. Valpo has the advantage of preparing for the same type of team Saturday on their home floor. Elkhart Memorial, West Side and Washington are all pressing running teams. Valpo also has a final chance to stop West Side, which eliminated Valpo at the regional level 62-56 two years ago and 59-42 last year. A West Side-Valparaiso rematch would be the climax to the local girls season.

3. East Chicago (16-5)

East Chicago again did not play well in the sectional, barely beating Highland 44-37 and losing 38-35 to Gary West Side. The true test of a good offensive team is how much good defensive squads can slow them in the state tournament. EC is easily slowed when the good teams face them. Still, Dee Dee Jernigan, who scored 13 against West Side, returns next season as the top offensive player in this region and the Cardinals did make 7-of-7 from the line in the championship game, overcoming a year long free-throw problem. EC needs to schedule all the talented teams they can find the next couple of years. They should call Crown Point, which returns four starters, Boone Grove, which returns nine varsity players and Marian Catholic (21-6), the top team in Chicago's south suburbs.

4. MERRILLVILLE (18-3)

Obviously, the Pirates hoped to get past the sectional quarterfinal round, but they got a bad draw and got beat by Valpo (21-2) for the second time this season. They did win the first (and possibly the only) double round robin DAC title and that's a major achievement. It is not easy to add a significant senior transfer. It rarely works. The strength of teams like Kokomo and Warsaw is that they have senior basketball players who have played together all their lives. Those teams defeat teams like Merrillville which come together late. That's a fact. Or at least a trend. The Pirates will be a smoother offensive bunch next year with Melissa Borom and Brittany Usery back at guard, 5-10 Brittney Huish at forward and 6-2 Brittney Moore at center. But CP and Valpo will still have great power. The DAC will be a premier conference next year, possibly stronger overall than it was in 2005.

5. CROWN POINT (14-8)

Crown Point missed a chance for a major upset when they led Valpo by eight in the CP sectional semifinals in the second quarter. A second half avalanche by the Vikings ended the CP season. The Lady Bulldogs will look back on a good scenario when they drew the winner of a first round game between Valpo (21-2) against Merrillville (18-3). That wont happen very often. CP now readies for a peak season in 2005 with league MVP Cassie Pruzin and three-year starter Kaitlyn Sertich at guard plus 5-10 forward Jill Weiand returning as seniors next year. The difference between Valpo and CP is size and that's when 2005-sophomores Anjellica Rospond and Courtney Perry, both six foot tall, must develop into solid DAC caliber starters. The Lady Bulldogs have a half dozen other girls ready to be varsity players but they're all in the 5-4, 5-6, 5-8 height range. Valpo will start 6-2 Lindsey Humes, 6-0 Erica Humes and 6-3 Cassie Kerns next year. The skill level of CP's players other than Pruzin and Sertich, is not good enough to win this league. That is what they must address.

6. Chesterton (13-8)

Chesterton lost 44-38 at Crown Point (14-8) to end the season. Realistically, the Trojans' earlier wins over CP 36-27 and 37-27 came before the Lady Bulldogs upped their playing level. The 13-8 record includes 5 losses to Merrillville, Valparaiso and Gary West Side, something they must address again next year. Chesterton returns 6-foot Stephanie Boyle (13.4 ppg.) and 5-10 Cassie Pellar (9.5ppg.), but they will hurt for backcourt players next year in a league with very experienced guards at LC, CP and Merrillville. Chesterton also can't win this league playing basically seven players. CP and Merrillville will be able to play 10 and Michigan City is coming on. Right now, they appear to be the 4th best team returning in the DAC next year. But they have six months to work on that.

7. LAKE CENTRAL (11-10)

Strength of schedule puts LC ahead of Highland, especially after LC's 54-47 loss to Gary Sectional champion West Side. But sometimes a close loss in the playoffs when no one expected you to win is deceptive. LC had a very average year, losing two games to Crown Point that they should have won. Guard Katie Mitchell will return next season along with 5-11 Ali Vajda. 5-8 Angie Funston, 5-7 Alyssa Duncan and 5-9 Lisa Kruse all have two more years. Here's another team that needs a major upgrade in skill level to win in the league they're playing in.

8. Highland (17-5)

Highland devised a defense to keep it close against East Chicago and they did, losing just 34-29. The Trojans lost Georgiann Michaels to an ankle injury and she didn't play in this game. I don't think that Highland can beat East Chicago right now and that is disappointing to them but this year's team achieved all realistic goals. The Trojans sill have the core of tall players, 6-1 Katie Kane, 5-11 Ashley Sampson and 5-10 Cassie Siska. They will continue to win in the LAC. But you can't prepare for East Chicago and Gary West Side by playing Lowell and Munster. Highland needs to play speed like Boone Grove and South Bend Washington or size like Marian Catholic and St. Joseph's. EC will be nationally ranked next season and, unless Highland comes up with a true creator at guard, they will again have a good regular season and a short post-season.

9. Wheeler (20-3)

Without Allison Roper (12.2 ppg.), Wheeler survived two overtimes against rival Boone Grove 52-50 in a classic sectional championship game. The two wins over Boone, neither at home, are the highlights of a landmark season, 20 wins and the school's first-ever sectional title. Seniors came through. Guard Danielle Geer, Alyse Bruszewski and Maggie Schultz all made big plays as Boone came from behind three times to nearly win after top scoring freshman Becca Bruszewski (16.5 ppg.) fouled out. The Bearcats have a fighting chance to slow Rochester (21-2) in the Rensselaer Regional semifinals but the reality is that Rochester is about 10 points better. More experience than Boone, better guards and more depth.

10. Lew Wallace (12-5)

I don't know how good this team is, but they are big with 6-2 Sharon Houston and 5-11 LaQuita Williams, who are both sophomores. Houston's numbers are so good you question them. She had 14 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks against KV and 20 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocks against Andrean. Their schedule has been poor and they haven't even played 20 games but there's a lot of raw talent here. As Highland proves, you can win with big players even if the skill level isn't that high. The key Saturday is Satrina Canaday, who had seven assists against Andrean. West Lafayette (20-3) has a 5-10 freshman scoring leader named Michelle Oswalt (17 ppg.), and somebody has to guard her. Word is that few teams have outrebounded West Lafayette this season but few teams have inside players like Houston and Williams.

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

Calumet (16-9)

The Warriors struggled to get through a relatively easy sectional beating Griffith 40-37 and Clark 40-27. Senior Sherika Moore had a career game with 21 against Clark as the Warriors won the local 3A sectional for the second consecutive season. Senior guard Kiki Bytnar scored 12 points with 7 assists and five steals. Two sectional titles for a team that was winless in the late 90s is a strong achievement.

But are they satisfied with this? Calumet drew one of the state's most interesting teams in high-flying South Bend St. Joseph's (15-8). St. Joe is in the almost unheard of position of having four certain Division I basketball players, none of whom are seniors. Junior 5-9 forward Aimee Litka is headed to Valpo, soph 5-7 point guard Melissa Lechlitner is going to Notre Dame. At the freshman level are 6-3 center Kristin Dockery and 5-9 guard Sydney Smallbone.

So, Calumet has no chance. Well, not exactly. St. Joe does not have a senior presence, something that cost Boone Grove and East Chicago this year. I don't know what Calumet does defensively, but I'd match Bytnar against Lechlitner and then play a four-player box around the basket to rebound.

St. Joe will overlook Calumet. I'm not going to lie. St. Joe is about a 15-20 point favorite. But it's now or never for Calumet with four senior starters. It is not now-or-never for St. Joe. We are about to see if a sense of urgency can beat the future of South Bend girls basketball.

Outside the area.......

3A West Lafayette (20-3)

WEST LAFAYETTE: Here is a coming power in the home of Purdue University. This 650-teen school is on the rise in girls sports. When Hanover Central went to the state 2A finals in softball last year, the team they beat was West Lafayette.

The Indians are led by 5-10 freshman guard Michelle Oswalt (17.1 ppg., 2.6 steals) and 5-10 junior Emily Coddington (12.0 ppg., 4.6 rebounds, 2.4 steals) are the key players. West Lafayette is a strong rebounding team. Softball star Olivia Ghiselli, another 5-10 player, averages 5.6 rebounds a game and Kate Lechter averages 5.2. The point guard Amy Burrell averages 4.0 assists per game. WL has good depth. Forward Hillary Butler came off the bench to score 13 and grab 11 rebounds in the 60-49 sectional quarterfinal win over Western.

Sometimes opposing coaches lie to build up opposition players but McCutcheon coach Don Burton called Oswalt the best freshman in Lafayette in 15 years. TL shot 55 of 79 in three sectional games including 22 of 26 in the Frankfort (3A) sectional final, a 69-67 win over Benton Central. Coddington scored 21 points including 10 in the final quarter of West Lafayette's 57-47 win over Twin Lakes. Repeated quotes in post game talks speak to how well West Lafayette rebounds and that is a Lew Wallace forte' this week in the regional with 6-2 Sharon Houston.

This is a young team that may not reach the state finals this season but West Lafayette is the favorite going into Saturday's regional at a site very close to home. The two-point win over Benton Central is curious, though. This is the first regional appearance for WL in six years and and they may be nervous. LW has to jump on them at the outset Saturday because this is probably the most talented team in the Lafayette area.

3A WEST LAFAYETTE (20-3)
COACH: Craig Shaeffer - OFFENSE 60.0, DEFENSE. 46.2

Nov. 15 (L) 61-67 at (West Lafayette) Harrison
Nov. 18 (W) 67-44 Seeger
Nov. 20 (W) 57-48 at Western Boone
Nov. 22 (W) 75-55 Indianapolis Broad Ripple
Nov. 22 (W) 68-17 at Tri-County
Nov. 25 (W) 49-47 Lebanon
Dec. 3 (W) 75-35 Rossville
Dec. 9 (W) 58-57 (OT) Twin Lakes
Dec. 11 (W) 52-44 at Benton Central
Dec. 13 (W) 59-36 at Crawfordsville
Dec. 16 (W) 71-53 at North Montgomery
Jan. 8 (W) 75-33 at Attica
Jan. 10 (W) 69-40 Frontier
Jan. 13 (W) 52-50 at Tipton
Jan. 15 (W) 58-49 Rensselaer
Jan. 17 (L) at Brownsburg
Jan. 20 (W) 61-58 Jefferson
Jan. 29 (W) 60-33 Delphi
Feb. 2 (W) 55-36 at Sheridan
Feb. 4 (L) 26-42 at McCutcheon

Frankfort (3A) Sectional
Feb. 10 (W) 60-49 Western (14-8)
Feb. 13 (W) 57-47 Twin Lakes (17-6)
Feb. 14 (W) 69-67 Benton Central (11-11)

Twin Lakes (3A) Regional
Feb. 21 (10 a.m.) Lew Wallace (12-5)