NW Indiana Girls Basketball: 2006-2007 Week-7 Poll

2006-2007 Girls Basketball

Week-7 Poll

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

(01-04-2007)

MICHIGAN CITY, IN - (01-04-2007) - At the end of the holiday tournaments, the No. 1 team, Michigan City is still standing after winning four times in the Clay Invitational. The Wolves have been No. 1 in any real poll all year, but as I have said before, this is a Rex Grossman year for girls high school basketball in NW Indiana, which means that half the time, region squads are playing defense like the University of Notre Dame football team.

The Region Rumble at Valparaiso University is a hit, but we need a girls holiday tournament in NW Indiana other than the annual South County party in Porter County. We need championship tournaments, not showcases. The whispers are that Hanover Central wants to start a tourney and invite all comers. There is a possibility of a pool play big school-small school concept which could include teams like Gary West Side, Andrean, Munster or even Crown Point and Merrillville. Four small schools in a small school division with HC could include Plymouth, North Judson or New Prairie. Griffith and North Newton might like to get in. The reason this subject comes up now is the dissolution of the Lake Athletic Conference and the LAC tournament which opens up non conference opportunities. The new Northwest Crossroads Conference will not have a tournament next year.

If Michigan City reaches the state finals, they will say they benefited greatly from the Clay tourney, which gave them four more games. They'll now be able to get 22 games in, which beats the IHSAA's archaic 20-game limit. Teams need to find a way to play 22 games instead of that lame 20. If an eight-team pool play tournament gave you four games and extended your regular season by two, you'd be crazy not to consider it. Teams that reached the LAC finals got 22 games and teams that reach the PCC finals get 21. Forgive me for saying it again, but the limit on games is the most inexplicable thing the IHSAA does. Illinois, which is not half the basketball state Indiana is, allows 26 games per season.

Instead of being embarrassed about being Indiana (for reasons like Rex Grossman, Stephen Jackson and Fort Wayne), we should wallow in our "Hoosierness" by playing high school basketball all winter instead of just once a week.

NUMBERS GAME: Kouts has now defeated Boone Grove four times in two seasons even though, on paper, Boone appears to be the better team. Did you know that Argos is 68-15 in the last four years and 11-1 this year? Keeping in mind that there have been four state champs every year for 10 years now, there have been only 13 undefeated girls state champions.

Stephanie Wagner (20.8 ppg.) of Jimtown is 64 of 71 (90.1%) from the foul line. Oregon-Davis star Amber O'Dell (20.1 ppg.) is 54 of 59 (91.5%) from the foul line and O-D teammate Desiree Gilbert (13.3 ppg.) is 21 of 25 (88.6%). North Judson's Kristen Bolen (16.8 ppg.) has 31 three-point baskets in 12 games. Chesterton is 5-7 with no player averaging over nine points per game.

1. (4A) Michigan City (13-0)
2006 (14-11), 2005 (6-15), 2004 (6-16)

MICHIGAN CITY: It was a very merry Christmas for 'Wolf Pack East' as the Wolves won four times, plus a 64-58 win over host Clay in the Clay Invitational. MC knows the big game is Friday Night (Jan. 5) when South Bend Washington (14-1), the Hall-of-Fame champ comes to town. Washington has played a far tougher schedule than MC and both sides know it. But the Wolves are ready. They now have four players averaging in double figures, including 5-foot-6 Katie Noll (10.2 ppg.), 5-9 Bianca McGee (10.2 ppg.), 5-5 TaKenya Nixon (16.2 ppg.) and 6-3 Emma Tucker (13.2 ppg.) who has lifted her average four points in the last eight games. Tucker averaged 20 a game in the Clay tournament, finally playing up to her talent. While Tucker is just 14-of-32 from the line (Nixon is only 45 of 76), the Wolves have the full court game to take out most foes. I don't know how confident they are, so it's hard to project them deep into the state tournament. Trouble for them is, Washington (14-1) is not most foes. The Wolves can't think about anything until they defeat South Bend Washington.

2. (3A) ANDREAN (11-2)
2006 (15-8), 2005 (9-13), 2004 (7-14)

MERRILLVILLE: So far, so good for Andrean. They won the LAC. They won the Wheeler Holiday Tournament. If the stakes weren't high, they are now. Val Tyburski (13 ppg.) seems to want the ball in key situations and the all-veteran starting lineup seems very comfortable against anyone, anywhere. Don't forget the minuses. They are a touch slow compared to the really good teams and they really have no backup for Meagan Stickler at the point. But 6-2 Annie Hovanec is the 'answer' for teams with big post players. And Andrean always has an edge because they set very high goals. I'd say, forget this one game at a time nonsense and start talking about how it's time to put Andrean girls basketball on the state map. It's about this time of the season that really good teams start asking how much they are willing to give up in the next two months for a once-in-a-lifetime shot at the state finals. It is no longer a crazy thought. The Niners still have something to prove every day (like at surging Highland Saturday). But when you win tournaments you are proving yourself.

3. (4A) Munster (12-3)
2006 (19-5), 2005 (17-6), 2004 (6-15)

MUNSTER: For Munster to go out and beat Penn puts them on the rise 2/3 of the way through the season. This is one of Penn's better teams and Munster was up 10 in the fourth quarter before winning 63-60. Lauren Meneghetti scored 30 and the Lady Ponies were 14 of 20 from the line. Okay, I know they got smacked around by Merrillville 62-45, but the strength of schedule for the month of December is very good. This team has played half the DAC plus Gary West Side and Penn. The advice here is the same as it is for Andrean. You don't win championships playing one game at a time. You have to start thinking of yourself as a championship team and setting that as a goal. The 4A Sectional with West Side and LC does not look so tough. At this point, you start playing the game against yourself, trying to get better than you have ever been. The window of opportunity appears to be open for Munster.

4. (4A) Gary West Side (5-4)
2006 (16-7), 2005 (23-5), 2004 (22-3)

GARY: Gary's West Side got smoked out by west side Chicago legend Dorothy Gaters and Marshall 61-36 in the finals of the Gary holiday tournament. This is a talented Cougar team, but there has to be a sense of urgency now because they have 11 more games to play in less than eight weeks. The Cougars can't live on the reputation of past years. They've got to start playing on their own. Let's tell the truth. It's a bad year in NW Indiana girls basketball and Gary West Side is 5-4. That's like being the entertainment director on the Titanic. You better put a really good show on really quick or it's not going to matter.

5. (4A) LAKE CENTRAL (5-7)
2006 (11-10), 2005 (7-14), 2004 (11-10)

St. JOHN: Here's another team that's got to get going and maybe they have, finishing the calendar year with three wins in a row including a victory over Merrillville. Remember, LC has lost to Hamilton Southeastern (14-0), Carmel (10-2), Munster (11-4) and Michigan City (13-0). I'll say it again. You just can't rank teams on wins and losses. There's no way Kouts (11-1) is better than Lake Central and even the Kouts girls and coaches know that. If you even dream of ranking Kouts ahead of Lake Central, you are misleading people. Kouts has a lot more happy cows and rolling hills than St. John. But their girls team could not stop Lake Central with a court order. Michigan City, LaPorte and Crown Point are the next three teams coming up and that's not easy. But this is still a sectional contender. If they can get a little more offense out of the front court, that will become obvious.

6. (4A) MERRILLVILLE (7-4)
2006 (19-3), 2005 (12-10), 2004 (12-8)

MERRILLVILLE: Merrillville crushed Munster and Crown Point before the holidays 52-45 and 60-38. The Pirates are very inconsistent, but they have a winning streak coming up here. Merrillville has to get into the concept of running everybody (but Michigan City) off the floor. Merrillville was only 14 of 23 from the line against Crown Point and just 25 of 70 from the floor in a 62-45 win over Munster. The Pirates could have a nine-game winning streak heading to Michigan City on Jan. 26, but they probably won't. This is just a poor shooting team and that's what worries you about them. But they can win against teams that don't have good lead guards and that's most of the DAC.

7. (3A) Hammond (9-7)
2006 (15-8), 2005 (15-7), 2004 (8-12)

HAMMOND: Hammond is having some problems in close games and they've lost to Highland and Andrean twice each. The Wildcats led Andrean 33-22 at the Wheeler Holiday Tournament and melted down, losing 67-56. Hammond has been held under 40 points six times and a team with this offensive capability cannot be held down like that. Just watching them, the ball needs to go to Denita Phelps every time down the floor. They get away from her and they shouldn't. While they are taking some spankings right now, Hammond needs to continue to understand what the story is. They have to beat Griffith to get out of the sectional, so they have to concentrate on imposing their will on the opposition. And Hammond's will is speeding up the game.

8. (4A) LaPorte (7-5)
2006 (8-14), 2005 (8-13), 2004 (4-17)

LaPORTE: The Slicers got roasted 58-35 by undefaeted Michigan City in a game you just have to let go. Sarah Dermody scored 22 in the 42-35 win over Valpo on Dec. 15. Dermody has scored in double figures 10 games in a row. The Slicers look good compared to the rest of NW Indiana but they have Michigan City (13-0) and South Bend Washington (14-1) in sectional play. The Slicers have to look at the remaining games with Merrillville (Jan. 12) and Michigan City (Feb. 20) as prep for the playoffs. The rest of LaPorte's DAC games are meaningless to them because LaPorte isn't in the sectional with most of the DAC and because so much of the DAC plays a half court style while MC and SBW do not.

9. (2A) Wheeler (11-2)
2006 (14-7), 2005 (18-8), 2004 (19-4)

UNION TOWNSHIP: Wheeler coasted past 1A Attica at the 'Region Rumble' on New Year's Day. Becca Bruszewski scored 25 and hit 12 of 19. The Bearcats did lose 45-36 to Andrean (11-2), but that was an overtime game against a top team. I like the way the Bearcats allow Bruszewski to play off the ball early in the game and then isolate her one-on-one later in games. Guards Lydia and Emilie Naccarato had only 47 turnovers combined in the first 12 games. 87 of 153 (56.8%) is not good from the foul line, but if they can control the pace, they can win most of the time. If no one is hurting, this team has the pole position going into sectional play next month.

10. (2A) BOONE GROVE (11-2)
2006 (14-11) 2005 (21-2) 2004 (17-5)

PORTER TOWNSHIP: Boone lost a second close game to Kouts, which does not speak well for their chances against Wheeler. Kouts could not beat Wheeler and that would indicate that 'Wolf Pack West' is also in some trouble. The Wolves need players other than all-stater Courtney Flanigan (19.5 ppg.) to be productive early in games. Boone is a better team than Kouts, but Kouts has defeated them at the end of the game twice. The answer might be freshman 5-10 forward Kelly Dobson (6.3 ppg.), who is gaining confidence. Boone's forwards also have to realize that that's a position with great depth. It doesn't matter if they foul a lot, they've got to be physical and get rebounds. That's not happening right now.

ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN.....

11. (2A) North Judson (9-3)
2006 (19-3), 2005 (22-4), 2004 (12-9)

NORTH JUDSON: Judson has won five in a row with Kristen Bolen (16.3 ppg.) at lead guard and more scoring from 5-9 junior Chelsea Howard (10.2 ppg.) and 5-8 junior Whitney Trusty (13.2 ppg.). Bolen, who has 31 3-point goals, leads a controlled offense which controls the pace. The Jays have won four of the last five games by 15 points or more. The Jays should be 11-3 when Benton Central gets to Judson on Jan. 13.

12. (4A) Highland (10-5)
2006 (19-3) 2005 (22-4) 2004 (12-9)

HIGHLAND: The Trojans slapped down Hammond for a second time this year and they appear to be charging with four wins in a row. Highland also beat Munster 46-37 before Christmas and they have rebounded from a 4-4 start. The Trojans have allowed just 37 points a game but they have to get a lot better than they are. They play a largely 2A and 3A schedule and then step up into a 4A sectional.

13. (1A) Kouts (11-1)
2006 (12-9) 2005 (12-9) 2004 (13-9)

KOUTS: The Fillies have highlighted their season with two narrow wins over Boone Grove 46-45 and 53-50. 5-8 senior Jacklyn Jessen (15.1 ppg.) and 5-6 senior Marlie Kneifel (12.6 ppg.) lead a team that has been good in close games. 5-11 senior Karley VanDyke is 26 of 35 (74.3%) from the line. The only loss is to 3A Knox (9-3), which is not a bad loss. The fillies know that the biggest three games of the season will be the three games in the Porter County Conference (PCC) tournament in two weeks. If Kouts loses the PCC tournament. It will be tough to rebound for the sectional. If they beat Boone a third time, the Fillies will a major force in 1A sectional play.