Hawaii State | Archive | January, 2007

FISHERS ���?? Hamilton Southeastern lived up to its
Class 4A No. 1 ranking Jan. 17 with a 55-42 drubbing of 4A No. 7 visiting Lawrence
North. The undefeated Royals were paced by a near-flawless all-around
performance by sophomore Courtney Osborn, who led all scorers with 27 points.

Hamilton
Southeastern coach Chris Huppenthal said he feels his team ���?? now 17-0 and right on schedule for a
potential regular season-ending battle of 4A unbeatens Feb. 1 with Avon ���?? is
getting better and is happy to defeat a solid opponent.

���?Lawrence
North is a great basketball team,â�?� Huppenthal said. â�?��?They are well coached, and
this was the kind of game we are going to have to play in the tournament
against great opponents.â�?�

Osborn
wasted no time in dazzling the home crowd. With the game tied at 10, Osborn
scored the final five points of the quarter by connecting on the first of four 3-pointers
and then finishing with an 18-foot jumper from the right wing as time expired.

After Azjah
Bass scored on a layup for Lawrence North (14-4) to draw the Wildcats within
three, Osborn exploded.

Over the
span of 91 seconds, Osborn hit another jumper from 18 feet, a pair of free
throws, and her second long-range three to give her Royals a 10-point cushion
at 22-12 lead with 4:48 to go before the half.

Yet Lawrence
North refused to roll over. The ���?Cats clawed back into the game and, with three
seconds remaining in the half, senior Kaylia Richardson found herself wide open
under the basket for a layup that cut the Royals���?� lead to 29-23.

LN cut the
lead to one at 31-30 when Bass hit a 17-foot jumper, but that was as close at
the Wildcats would get the rest of the way. That���?�s because with her team
leading 35-32, Osborn took the game over again.

She
converted a three-point play when she was fouled on a layup with 1:18 remaining
in the quarter. Osborn then made both a defensive and offensive play that
separated her from everybody else on the court on this night.

The
Wildcats pushed the ball on a fast break, but Osborn leapt out of nowhere and
intercepted a pass near midcourt, then immediately started the offense. But instead
of pulling up and taking an ill-advised quick shot, she took her time, shook
her defender, and hit a wide-open 12-footer from the left corner with 19
seconds left.

���?She makes
me look smart,â�?� Huppenthal said. â�?��?A lot of people will look at the points, but
the things she did when Erinn (McGee) went out with foul trouble, handling our
basketball team and the composure she showed â�?�¦

���?She
handled the pressure and, when it came to ball handling and running our
offense, she took over. She is just a tremendous player.â�?�

In the fourth
quarter, Lawrence North attempted to close the gap by dialing from long-range. Unfortunately,
there was no answer. The Wildcats managed only 2-of-9 accuracy from behind the
arc, compared with Southeastern���?�s perfect 2-for-2 effort late.

Lawrence
North was led in scoring by Bass and Daress McClung, who each had 16 points. The
Wildcats will travel Jan. 20 to face Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference
rival North Central (Indianapolis)
at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Michelle
Harrison added 11 for the Royals, who next face a Saturday trip to Lafayette
Jefferson for a 7:30 p.m. ET Hoosier Crossroads Conference matchup with Jan
Conner���?�s much-improved Bronchos.

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INDIANAPOLIS ���?? Brebeuf needed someone to step up. Gone was the 12-point lead
that the Class 3A No. 12 Braves had built in the first quarter, and they now
were down two heading into the decisive fourth quarter in a Jan. 18 showdown
with 4A 10^th-ranked Carmel.

Enter 6â�?��?�6â�?�
Ta���?�Shia Phillips. The reigning Indiana Player of the Year stepped up in a big way,
scoring 11 points in the final period to lead host Brebeuf (14-5) to a comeback
58-49 win over the Greyhounds.

���?It is a
good win, but I personally donâ�?��?�t think we played our best game,â�?� said Brebeuf coach
Kendall Kreinhagen. ���?We mentally broke down for awhile and let the pressure of
the zone get to us.

���?The good
thing is we won, but we got some things to work on.â�?�

The highly
anticipated matchup looked at first to be a blowout when Brebeuf used a
full-court press to stymie the Carmel
offense. It took the Greyhounds (13-3) nearly three and a half minutes to
record a field goal, and they found themselves trailing 18-6 behind an early
six-point surge from Brebeuf���?�s Callie Curry.

A
mistake-ridden second quarter allowed Carmel
back in the game, though. Behind 11 Brave turnovers and seven points from
Lauren McRoberts, the Greyhounds cut the lead to one point with 51 seconds left
on a McRoberts layin. Carmel
trailed by just two going into the break, 27-25.

In an
error-filled first half (both teams had 18 turnovers), it was going to come
down to who made the better halftime adjustments.

���?We really
talked about getting better passing angles and not letting our passes float,â�?�
Kreinhagen said. â�?��?We did a pretty good job of that in the second half.â�?�

The better
effort kept the Carmel
defense at bay, and Brebeuf committed 10 less turnovers in the second half. But
it appeared as if Carmel
might escape with an **** road win.

The
���?Hounds hung with every Brebeuf punch thrown in the third quarter and were able
to take their first lead of the game, 34-32, on a jumper by Danielle Havel. The
lead would trade hands four more times, with Carmel
ahead 40-38 on Havel���?�s 3-pointer at the
buzzer.

It was all
Phillips from then on. She simply took over, scoring 11 points in the final
quarter. Brebeuf started the quarter on a 10-2 run and never looked back,
coasting to the win.

���?We got
back to basics and played the way we are capable of,â�?� Kreinhagen said.

Phillips led
the way with 21 points and 15 rebounds.

���?That is
what she is capable of doing,â�?� Kreinhagen said. â�?��?When we can get her the ball,
she is capable of dominating the game.â�?�

Curry also
scored in double figures with 16 points, while Lauren Meadows added 10 points
in the Brebeuf victory.

Carmel was led by Chrissy Steffen with 14
points. The normally dominant duo of McRoberts and Havel was held to nine and
11 points, respectively.

���?I think
we did a really good job defensively, which I think frustrated them a little
bit,â�?� Kreinhagen said. â�?��?They are both very good players, and we had to play
like that.

���?We were
able to stick to the scouting report and play the way we needed to.â�?�

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