Lady Wildcats go 1-2 in Momence Holiday Tourney

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
01-03-2007

Saturday, December 30, 2006 - Momence Holiday Tournament - 3rd Place Game

WATSEKA (48)  Sarah Nutter 5-2-12, Katie Cowan 1-0-2, Ali Cowan 0-3-3, Erin Cowan 0-0-0, Alicia Matthias 11-2-24, Andrea McCann 1-4-6, Patience Ault 0-1-1, Andrea Crook 0-0-0.  TOTALS 18 (12-25) 48.

HANOVER (34)  Danielle Graham 3-2-9, Samantha Plant 2-0-4, Beth Flores 1-3-5, Jordan Kramer 3-3-11, Anna Turturillo 0-1-1, Lindsay Martinez 0-0-0, Megan Parks 0-0-0, Chrissy Homolka 0-0-0, Anna Plassman 1-0-2, Tori Dahlin 0-0-0, Brenda McQuade 1-0-2.  TOTALS: 11 (9-16) 34.

FREE THROWS:  WATSEKA (12-25, 46%) Matthias 2-9, Nutter 2-4, Ali Cowan 3-5, Katie Cowan 0-1, Andrea McCann 4-4, Ault 1-2;  HANOVER (9-16, 56.2%) Graham 2-3, Kramer 3-4, Turturillo 1-2, Flores 3-6, Plassman 0-1.

REBOUNDS:  WATSEKA (23) Matthias 8, Nutter 5, McCann 4, Katie Cowan 3, Ali Cowan 2, Ault;  HANOVER (20) Plassman 7, Turturillo 4, Dahlin 2, Graham 2, Plant 2, Flores, Martinez, Parks.

STEALS:  WATSEKA (8) Matthias 3, Nutter 2, Katie Cowan 2, McCann;  HANOVER (1) Parks.

ASSISTS:  WATSEKA (5) Matthias 3, McCann, Ali Cowan;  HANOVER (6) Kramer 4, Graham, Homolka.

3-GOALS:  WATSEKA (0);  HANOVER (3) Jordan Kramer 3.

 

Saturday, December 30, 2006 - Momence Holiday Tournament - Semifinal Game

PBL  (6-8)  Lauren Boman 0-5-5, Eden Tolley 5-0-10, Jamie Garrell 8-0-17, Kelly Satterlee 3-2-8, Jenna Seibring 7-1-15, Chelsea Cluver 1-0-2, Liz Foster 0-0-0, Courtney Seim 0-0-0, Breeona Grenwold. 0-0-0.  TOTALS  24 (8-10) 57.

HANOVER (50)  Danielle Graham 4-0-8, Samantha Plant 2-0-4, Beth Flores 3-0-6, Jordan Kramer 5-0-14, Anna Turturillo 3-3-9, Lindsay Martinez 2-1-5, Megan Parks 0-0-0, Chrissy Homolka 0-0-0, Anna Plassman 0-0-0, Tori Dahlin 0-0-0, Brenda McQuade 0-0-0.  TOTALS: 21 (4-7) 50.

FREE THROWS:  PBL (8-10, 80%) Boman 5-8, Seibring 1-2;  HANOVER (4-7, 57.1%) Turturillo 3-4, Martinez 1-3.

3-GOALS:  PBL (1) Jamie Garrell;  HANOVER (4) Jordan Kramer 4.

Friday, December 29, 2006 - Momence Holiday Tournament - Quarterfinal Game

PEOTONE (41)  Sarah Stack 6-5-17, Kayla Bailey 1-0-2,  Jenny Bisping 3-3-9, Kelly Bisping 0-0-0, Stephanie Campbell 2-0-4, Rachel Parnau 0-1-1, Jenny Boll 0-2-2, Mary Murdie  2-2-6, Annie Szymanski 0-0-0. TOTALS: Megan Clarke 0-0-0, Kristen Kotsea 0-0-0.  TOTALS:  14 (13-24) 41.

HANOVER (58)  Danielle Graham 2-5-9, Samantha Plant 0-1-1, Beth Flores 0-1-1, Jordan Kramer 2-4-10, Anna Turturillo 8-6-24, Lindsey Martinez 1-3-5, Megan Parks 0-1-1, Chrissy Homolka 0-0-0, Anna Plassman 2-0-4, Tori Dahlin 0-1-1, Brenda McQuade 0-0-0.  TOTALS: 16 (24-36, 66.7%) 58.

FREE THROWS:  PEOTONE (13-24, 54.1%) Stack 5-8, Bisping 3-4, Boll 2-4, Murdie 2-2, Parnau 1-4, Szymanski 0-1, Bailey 0-1.  HANOVER (24-36, 66.7%) Kramer 4-5, Martinez 3-4, Turturillo 6-9, Graham 5-6, Parks 3-5, Dahlin 1-1, Fores 1-1, Plant 1-2.

3-GOALS:  PEOTONE (0);  HANOVER (2) Jordan Kramer 2.

MOMENCE Holiday Tournament
Quarterfinals
Momence, Ill. 74,  North Newton 33
Watseka, Ill,  43, Tri-Point 32
HANOVER CENTRAL 58,  Peotone, Ill. 41
Paxton-Buckley-Loda 60, South Newton 32
Semifinals
Momence, Ill.  54, Watseka, Ill. 45
Paxton-Buckley-Loda 57, HANOVER CENTRAL 50
7th place
North Newton 44, South Newton 38
5th place
Tri-Point 31, Peotone, Ill. 30
3rd place
Watseka, Ill. 48, HANOVER CENTRAL 34
Championship game
Momence, Ill. 71, Paxton-Buckley-Loda 25

MOMENCE, ILLINOIS (12-30-2006) -  It was a disappointment.  There's no way around that.  Hanover Central lost twice on the final day of the annual Momence Holiday Tournament Saturday after starting the day with an outside chance to win it all.

HC could not overcome a third quarter letdown against Paxton-Buckley-Loda, losing 57-50 in the semifinals of the eight-team tournament and they didn't have much left for a 48-34 loss to a fairly good Watseka team in the third place game.

"The good thing is," said coach Doug Nelson, "this doesn't ruin our season.  We've still got a lot of games to play and the important ones are still ahead."

Hanover appeared to be headed for the championship game when they led 24-16 in the second quarter.  But Paxton-Buckley-Loda rallied behind guards Jamie Garrell and Lauren Boman, plus 5-11 Jenna Seibring.  The Panthers (6-8) ripped off runs of 7-0 and 8-0 in the third period to build a 45-30 lead in the final minute of the third quarter.

Then, HC (5-6) mounted the rally of the year.  Sophomore guard Jordan Kramer scored five quick points to cut the lead to 10 and the whole team seeded lifted.  With Kramer and fellow sophomore Lindsay Martinez and Danielle Graham in the lineup, the Lady Cats forced seven fourth quarter turnovers and finally tied the game 48-48 on a three-point goal by Kramer with 3:25 left in the game.  PBL forward Eden Tolley scored consecutive baskets after a time out to create a four point lead before Anna Turturillo sank two foul shots.  Garrell, who led all scorers with 17 points, scored on a 10-foot shot and HC could not respond, going scoreless over the final 1:38.  PBL also defeated Hanover Central 45-41 last year in the Momence quarterfinals.  It was a bad loss because the Lady Cats appeared to be the superior team.

"I'm proud of the way we came back," said Nelson. "But we have a lot to work on.  We had that lapse in the third quarter and they have some quick guards. They took advantage of it."

In the third place game, HC truthfully looked tired.  Anna Turturillo, HC's 5-9 senior forward, who scored 24 points in the quarterfinal win over Peotone on Friday, did not score a basket against Watseka's 6-foot junior Sarah Nutter.  Turturillo had missed two weeks in late December with a leg injury before playing three games in 24 hours at Momence.

HC led only once at 9-8 against Watseka before the Warriors, from Will County, Illinois, scored eight in a row including six by 5-7 senior guard Alicia Matthias.  Matthias scored 16 first half points and wasn't stopped until the Lady Cats assigned some one to 'face guard' her in the second half.  Hanover scored only three third quarter periods and they didn't have much energy in the second half trailing by more than 10 points most of the half.  The best the Lady Cats could do was to pull within 38-28 with 4:23 to play.  Watseka was just 12 of 25 in the game from the foul line.  Unlike the semifinal, Hanover was beaten by a more skilled team.  The Lady Cats continue to have stretches where they break down fundamentally, especially on offense.

"We're young," said Nelson.  "We have a lot of people who weren't on the varsity last year.  I'm trying hard to stay patient.  But I'm repeating myself.  We're making the same mistakes. We've got to get better and we will.  We'll work for it.  It's not February yet."

Nelson doesn't want to make excuses but Hanover has two players (Anna Plassman and Samantha Plant) who didn't play last season, two others (sophs Danielle Graham and Lindsay Martinez) who are new to the varsity and Turturillo, who has missed a quarter of the season with injuries.  But they'll get no sympathy during the second half of the schedule which pits the Cats against teams like 3A Calumet (7-5), Kouts (11-1) and Boone Grove (11-2) before the PCC tournament in late January.

"We're at a point in our schedule," said Nelson, "where we're playing some games that could go either way.  Washington, South Central, Calumet.  If we play well, we can win.  Like it was here.  It's a good barometer."

MOMENCE NOTES:  The Momence Tournament was probably the best stretch of the season for 5-5 guard Jordan Kramer who averaged 11.6 in three games and sank nine three-pointers.

"I asked her to be more aggressive on offense," said coach Doug Nelson, "and she was."

More than one Hanover player has the maddening habit of dribbling the ball up the floor and killing their dribble 20-25 feet from the basket whether they are being guarded or not.  By the time they realize they could shoot or drive to the basket, the defense has recovered.  The resulting pass is usually deflected or intercepted.  The scenario is a sign of inexperienced players who don't have a command of the offensive end of game.

"I can't tell you," said Nelson, "how many times I've told them.  Don't think.  Just shoot."

Sophomore Danielle Graham scored 26 points in three games and showed the ability to take the ball to the basket on the dribble.  Nelson has been starting sophomores Graham, Kramer and Lindsay Martinez together despite some defensive liabilities because the three play well together.  HC has also been starting 5-8 junior Anna Plassman along with 5-9 senior Anna Turturillo to get some size on the floor.  HC used 11 players in all three games in Momence, but Nelson warns that may not continue in the second half of the season.

"I've been trying to give everybody a chance," he said.  "We're getting to the point where I'm going to have to cut that rotation down and play the best players."

The make-up of the Momence Tournament will change next season as North Newton, reportedly, will not return.  There is also a chance that Hanover Central will not come back after eight years in the small school, Illinois eight team holiday event.  Hanover, with a new gymnasium, would like to host their own holiday tournament, and with the breakup of the Lake Athletic Conference (LAC), 2007 is obviously the time.  The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA), in another of its rules that defies explanation, limits high school basketball teams to two regular season tournaments per season.  With the end of the LAC comes the end of the LAC tournament so 16 teams can compete in another tourney, if they wish.  HC is just a 2A school, but they will certainly be 3A in four years and coach Doug Nelson wants to upgrade the schedule.

If HC wishes to begin an annual event with four or eight teams, now is the time.  Crown Point currently has no tournament events on its schedules and might want to play at HC if the field has quality.  Gary West Side is another school that might welcome the chance to play in a nearby tournament that they don't have to host.  Andrean is in the Wheeler Holiday tourney but they don't play Hanover or Crown Point and might like to.

"I'd like to have pool play," speculated Nelson last week.  "Two pools of four teams.  Everybody plays each other and then you have four final games for seventh, fifth, third and first place."

That would mean three days of play, at least.  The guarantee of four games is big for schools like CP or Merrillville, which are locked into 14-game league schedules and need to get some non conference action.  Teams that might be asked to play at a Hanover holiday tournament include Lowell, North Judson, Rensselaer, North Newton, Griffith, Gary Roosevelt,  Plymouth, New Prairie.  Under present rules, Porter County Conference (PCC) teams Morgan Township, Kouts, Hebron and Boone Grove are unavailable because they all play in the 90-year-old PCC tournament as well as the annual South County tournament.  The possibility of games like Crown Point vs. North Judson or Hanover Central vs. Andrean is very intriguing in an era where schools play the same teams three and four times.

Hanover got a lift in the third place game from junior Beth Flores.  After Watseka had set some hard picks to free leading scorer Alicia Matthias, Flores entered the game and quickly bumped a couple of Watseka players to the floor.

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Revised: January 03, 2007 .