2007 Girls Basketball Sectional Tournament Preview:  Hanover Central Lady Wildcats A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith (02-03-2007)

Class (2A) Hanover Central Wildcats (8-10)
Sectional titles (2) 1999-2000
Regional championships (1) 1999

Class 2A at Lake Station (CST)
2/6 (Tu) 7 p.m. -   Bishop Noll [5-15] vs. Lake Station [1-19]
2/9  (F) 6 p.m. -   BOONE GROVE [17-4] vs. HANOVER CENTRAL [8-10]
2/9 (F) 7:30 p.m. Wheeler [17-3] vs. Bishop Noll (5-15)
2/10 (S) Championship game - 7:30 p.m

Class 2A at Jimtown (EST)
2/6 (Tu)  John Glenn [8-11] vs. Jimtown [18-2] 6 p.m.
2/6 (Tu) Westview [15-4] vs. Bremen [7-13] 7:30 p.m.
2/9 (F) Glenn or Jimtown vs. Westview or Bremen - 6 p.m.
2/9 (F) Fairfield [13-7] vs. LaVille [8-11]
2/10 (S) Championship game - 7:30 p.m

Class 2A at Winamac (CST)
2/6 (Tu) North Judson [16-4] vs. Rensselaer [13-7] 6 p.m.
2/9 (F) Winamac [13-7] vs. North Newton [4-13] 5:30 p.m.
2/9 (F) Rochester [9-11] vs. North Judson or Rensselaer
2/10 (S) Championship game - 7:30 p.m

Class 2A at Fountain Central (EST)
2/6 (Tu) Delphi [3-17] vs. Seeger [5-14] 6 p.m.
2/6 (Tu) Fountain Central [10-9] vs. Sheridan [3-16] 7:30 p.m.
2/9  (F) Delpi or Seeger vs. Fountain Central or Sheridan 6 p.m.
2/9 (F) North Montgomery [18-2] vs. Clinton Central [5-14] 7:30 p.m.
2/10 (S) Championship game - 7:30 p.m

Class 2A Regional at Renssealer (CST)
2/10 (S) Fountain Central winner (probably Nortn Montogomery) vs. Lake Station winner - 11 a.m.
2/10 (S) Jimtown winner vs. Winamac winner  -  1:00 p.m.
2/17 (S)  2A Regional Championship - 7:00 p.m.

Strengths: Kramer is a good lead guard with a good three-point shot.  Anna Turturillo can score and rebound within 10 feet of the basket against most teams. Depth. Coach Doug Nelson uses 10 players and they are not identical.  Beth Flores is a rebounder who sets hard picks.  Chrissy Homolka is a good shooter.  Danielle Graham is good on the dribble-drive to the basket. Tori Dahlin blocks out well on rebounds.  Eventually, these specialties should make this a good team.  "Eventually" needs to be this week.

Weaknesses:  Size. This is a very small team. They cannot lose 5-9 Anna Turturillo for any reason. 5-9 Anna Plassman is the only backup center and they cant lose her either. Shooting.  The offensive confidence levels on this team seem to swing wildly.  Other than Kramer, Turturillo and many timesd, Flores, nobody is really hard-headed about what they want to do on the floor.   Some of these girls have never even been to Lake Station, the town that hosts the sectional.

Outlook: The Lady Cats haven't beaten either Boone or Wheeler in three years.  But there is a feeling they are improving and could stay close to either one.  I wish they had everybody healthy and the loss of senior Samantha Plant, who is not a big scorer, could come into play if the score is close in the late going.  HC has no seniors or guards with any experience on the bench and that will matter.  On the plus side, Kramer is playing as well as she has all year.  Turturillo is healthy and she can score on the young forwards of Boone.  Chrissy Homolka is getting in position to score and scoring from the perimeter and tiny Lindsay Martinez also seems as healthy as she has been this season.  Hanover is playing their best ball now.  The question is: Is Hanover's best good enough to beat Boone Grove?

Hanover's Key Players:

1. Anna Turturillo - 5-9 senior forward
10.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 46-61 (FTs) 75.4%

It's not "breaking news" that Turturillo is the No.1 key to Hanover's chances.  Anna has to score and rebound, probably in double figures for the Lady Cats to win anything.  HC is a small team.  They don't really have another true post player on offense.  If Anna is having good luck close to the basket, it will open up shots from Kramer and Hanover will be in good shape at the offensive end of the floor.  She may benefit from coach Nelson moving his post players away from the basket because, if HC can clear away the help defense, she can get to the basket on everybody in this sectional except for Becca Bruszewski.

2. Jordan Kramer - 5-5 sophomore guard
8.3 points, 3.9 assists,  25-78 (3s) 32.1%,  30-33 (FTs) 90.9%

This is also no news flash.  Kramer has to be the leader in getting the ball up the floor or no game plan will work.  While she can hit the jump shot (she scored 22 against Kouts last Saturday), one key next week will be how many times Jordan can drive and get fouled.  She is hitting over 90% from the line.  Kramer scored two key baskets driving to the basket against KV, and that's what she has to do in the open court.  Of all the players at this sectional, only Flanigan is as good with the ball as Jordan Kramer is.  Boone will double team her and she has to be ready to split the double-team pass over it.

3. Beth Flores - 5-8 junior forward

Flores is one of HC's most important players because she's one of the few who plays with an attitude.  HC is a very small team and they need somebody like Beth to set picks and grab rebounds.  No offense works if you don't set a screen and Flores is probably HC's best at picking off the opponents.  Beth does get into foul trouble and the crowd yells at her, but if HC pulls off an upset win, Beth Flores will be a major reason why.


WHAT WILL HAPPEN?  Hanover does get a first round bye, but that's all they get.  The Lady Cats draw the Porter County Conference (PCC) champion Boone Grove Wolves in the opener, a team they have not beaten since the PCC championship game in 2004.  On a neutral site, Hanover does not have a big solo defensive match for Boone all-stater Cortney Flanigan (20.4 ppg.) and may simply double-team all-stater Cortney Flanigan and dare the other girls to beat them.  Another option is a box-and-one defense that has one player, probably sophomore Danielle Graham, follow Flanigan, to encourage others to shoot.  The logic here is that the teams shoot the ball better at home than they do on the road.  Hanover must keep Flanigan out of the lane at all costs and if they leave Boone jump shooters open, that's a calculated risk.

In the earlier meeting, Boone won 51-36 behind 24 from Flanigan, but Hanover hurt themselves with 10-of-21 foul shooting.  Jordan Kramer and Daneille Graham, two sophomores who can score in double figures, were nearly shut out on that night with Kramer scoring the only two points between them.  That's unlikely to happen again.

Hanover does have a half dozen girls who will be playing in their first ever sectional and that alone makes the Lady Cats an underdog.  But they got a bye, and if Boone gets caught looking ahead to arch-rival Wheeler, HC may have an outside chance for a major upset.  Considering what both teams have done the last two weeks, it's not at all impossible.

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Revised: February 03, 2007 .