Hawaii State | Archive | January, 2007

We know this because Todd has consistently pummeled Managing Editor E. Shawn Aylsworth in the long-standing DUFFL fantasy football league for years. This season, Todd rode LaDainian Tomlinson and Frank Gore all the way to a second-place finish, and his Middletown Fightclub squad posted the 12-team league���?�s best record in the regular season with just one loss.

Here, then, is his fourth installment of what itâ�?��?�s like to be at the helm of a winner â�?�¦

Greetings from Godâ�?��?�s country â�?�¦ Shenandoah!

Sorry this is a little late this week, but Monday games really mess me up. They are even worse when you lose them! We were defeated by a very good Winchester team Jan. 22, 52-48. This is not exactly the kind of momentum we wanted to take into our last conference game with Lapel tonight.

Lapel comes to Shenandoah tonight for the White River Athletic Conference championship game. They are an extremely talented team. Last season, they gave us a great first quarter with a bunch of good, young players. We eventually won, but you could see the balance of power shifting toward them.

Add a state champion 2A player to the mix over the summer and a couple of nice move-ins at Christmas (talk about Christmas bonuses!), and you have a team that is capable of going deep into the tournament. The only factor that can hold them back is chemistry! Has everyone had enough time to get on the same page and is everyone OK with their role?

The things that I have been proudest about for all the success that we have had is that I felt like our kids really bought into what we were trying to accomplish. There were tough times along the way, but several of our players were willing to sacrifice individual glory for the betterment of the team. It is always nice when the biggest problem you face is trying to get your best shooters to shoot more.

Kelly Troxell was that way, and so were Amanda Norris and Chelsea Miller. All of these kids became our all-time leading scorer despite the fact that none of them averaged more that 11 shots per game. I will always remember Chelsea scoring 17 points in the 2005 championship game â�?�¦ IN THE SECOND HALF!

She did not score in the first half against North Judson, and we had played very poorly offensively. We were down, and it looked bad. But Chelsea was one of those kids that you â�?��?get onâ�?� a bit and she would respond. At halftime, I challenged her to take it upon herself to get us going offensively. She did! Then once she got it going, it got contagious and we were able to come back and win.

My point, I guess, is that you have a chance to be a great team when your leaders are unselfish. I hope there are some players out there that can take that to heart â�?�¦ because tourney time is just around the corner!!

Coach T

Todd would love to hear from you! E-mail him at tsalkoski@shenandoah.k12.in.us.

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Click here to listen to the interview with Megan King!

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INDIANAPOLIS ���?? Carmel forward Danielle Havel had been the dominant
player throughout the Class 4A No. 12 Greyhounds���?� Jan. 23 battle at 2A
No. 1 Heritage Christian. The 6-foot junior had poured in 21 points
through the first three quarters of a fast-paced game that saw Carmel
twice build leads of 18 points over the defending 2A state champions.

So it seemed fitting that once the host Eagles made a furious
comeback to tie the game at 59 that Havel would be the one to step to
the free throw line with a chance to win the game with 10.3 seconds to
go before a deafening throng at â�?��?The Pit.â�?�

After her first
charity attempt missed, Havel (pronounced HAY-vull) calmly drained the
second free throw. And that was the difference as the ���?Hounds held on
for a thrilling 60-59 girls basketball victory.

â�?��?I knew I gotta make this shot,â�?� Havel said when asked what was
going through her mind after the initial miss. ���?I told myself, ���?this
oneâ�?��?�s going in.â�?��?� â�?�

Carmel (14-4) shot 60 percent (9 of 15) in a first quarter that
doubled as a track meet. The teams combined for 34 possessions in the
first seven minutes and, behind Havel���?�s nine first-period point, he
Greyhounds led 21-11 after the opening eight minutes.

When Carmel sank four of its first five shots in the second stanza ���??
the last two buckets coming on a laying and a gorgeous left-handed
scoop shot by Havel ���?? the Greyhounds were in cruise control at 30-16. A
jumper by junior guard Ashlee Spearman on a Havel assist and a putback
from sophomore guard Chrissy Steffen pushed the lead to 34-16, and
Heritage Christian coach Rick Risinger found his Eagles (17-3) in a
frightening familiar spot

���?Last year (in a 44-41 Carmel victory) they had an 11-0 run on us, and they did it again this year,���? Risinger said.

Tepid 32-percent shooting signaled big trouble for the Eagles, who
went 5 of 18 from the floor in the first quarter and 5 of 13 in the
second. With Carmel finishing the half shooting 53 percent (16 of 30),
it was no wonder the Greyhounds held a commanding 38-24 lead at the
half.

â�?��?Our kids came out and played hard â�?��?? we attacked,â�?� said Carmel coach Scott Bowen. â�?��?Our size hurt â�?��?em a little bit, I think.

The mauling continued early on the second half as the Greyhounds
sank five of their first six shots. When junior forward Paige
Coapstick���?�s jumper fell at the 4:29 mark, Carmel had again built the
lead to 18 at 48-30.

It appeared that Risinger���?�s long halftime speech had gone for naught.

���?We went through, again, the game plan and said we can���?�t get it all
back at once,â�?� Risinger said when asked about why the Eagles didnâ�?��?�t
return to the floor until just 17 seconds remained before the start of
the third quarter.

That���?�s when the Heritage Christian offense finally kicked in. A 14-4
run over the last half of the period drew the Eagles within eight at
52-44 heading into the fourth, due in large part to much better ball
handling. (The Eagles had committed 11 first-half turnovers but just
two in the third.)

â�?��?We had built the lead, then gave them a snip of hope,â�?� Bowen said. â�?��?We were getting a little rushed with the ball.â�?�

Indeed. After sophomore guard Maggie Byrne���?�s 3-pointer put the
Greyhounds back up 11 with 5:42 remaining in the contest, the bottom
fell out. Steffen���?�s two free throws at the 2:54 mark would be the only
points Carmel would score over the next 5:31, and at one point the
Greyhounds ���?? who obviously missed 6-foot sophomore forward Lauren
McRoberts (out after a second-quarter sprained ankle) had matched their
fourth-quarter scoring output of seven with an equal number of
turnovers.

Heritage Christian, meanwhile, continued to claw away at the
deficit. The Eagles hit three of four shots and made all four of their
free throws, and suddenly they were within just two points at 59-57
with 2:42 left.

Then silence. (At least offensively ���?? the crowd was going absolutely
bonkers.) Seven possessions would go by before HC���?�s leading scorer,
sophomore forward Kelly Faris, banked home a runner on the right side
from an improbable angle to knot it up at 59 with just :22.7 left.

Following a Carmel timeout at :12.2, the Greyhounds executed the
play of the game. On the inbounds pass from halfcourt, Spearman
expertly lobbed over the 5â�?��?�11â�?� Faris to Havel, who went in for the
layup â�?�¦ and promptly got hammered by Faris.

No gimmes here. Havel would go to the free throw line, seeking her first points of the period and a chance at destiny.

Mission accomplished.

â�?��?Sheâ�?��?�s a warrior,â�?� Bowen said. â�?��? Sheâ�?��?�s a competitor and wants to win.â�?�

Heritage Christian had a chance to ultimately prevail, but the
Eagles did not get to run the play they wanted. Instead of working the
ball in to Faris or senior guard Bre Jones, they were forced to go to
guard Alyssa Burton.

And though the 5â�?��?�4â�?� sophomore had made both of her previous
field-goal attempts, this 17-footer from the left side came up short.

Carmel had survived, barely. And Havel was relieved.

â�?��?We knew that had a very strong team and had a swagger,â�?� Havel said.
���?Before (during the season), we haven���?�t held on to leads. So yeah, this
was our best win of the year.â�?�

Havel, who added eight rebounds, seven assists, and two blocked
shots to her game-high 22 points, was joined in double figures by
Steffen (15 points) and Spearman (10).

Jones led Heritage Christian with 19 points, while senior forward
Courtney Turner added 16 points and 11 rebounds. Faris, who scored only
12 points at the target of Carmel���?�s rabid defense, excelled elsewhere
with a game-high 12 rebounds and seven assists.

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INDIANAPOLIS ���?? Lawrence North used good decision-making and stellar
free throw shooting down the stretch Jan. 20 as the visiting Wildcats avoided the
upset bid of Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference rival North Central (Indianapolis), 44-41.

Senior
guard Azjah Bass paced the 4A No. 8 Wildcats with 14 points. Sophomore forward
Daress McClung added 12 points, including four crucial free throws in the final
29.7 seconds to help clinch the win.

MORE TO COME â�?�¦

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