Aylsworth
Managing Editor
If
you want quality girls basketball, look no further than the Metropolitan
Interscholastic Conference. Five of the league’s eight schools have won state
titles, with a pair of them (North Central (Indianapolis) and Ben Davis) having
done it twice.
This
league, which finished with a state-best .818 winning percentage (99-22) against
other conferences a year ago, is a meat grinder. An amazing five schools
finished in the ICGSA’s Class 4A Top 10 last season: Ben Davis (first),
Lawrence North (third), Carmel (fifth), North Central (sixth), and Terre Haute
South (ninth).
And
the league also produced the 4A state champion, although it was Carmel that got
hot at the right time instead of large-school favorite Ben Davis. The
Greyhounds reeled off eight straight wins – including a shocking 56-45 regional
championship upset of Ben Davis – that culminated with an 84-72 thumping of
South Bend Washington in the state finals.
So
can the MIC match its fantastic season of a year ago? Let’s find out!
Top
teams
Ben Davis
What
to say about Ben Davis? The Giants, the sure-fire favorite to win last year’s
4A state title, return all five starters from a team that went 24-2 and shared
conference champion honors with North Central. Ranked No. 1 in both the Indiana
Coaches of Girls Sports Association (atop 4A) and the Indiana Basketball
Coaches Association (all four classes combined) polls, BD is an even bigger
favorite to go all the way this season.
And
for good reason. If ever there was a squad to be up to that challenge, it’s
this one.
Still, the MIC’s most-tenured coach, Ben Davis’
Stan Benge, said one of his team’s goals will be trying to get better every
game.
“The conference should be the toughest in the
state,” said Benge, now entering his 24th season on Indy’s westside.
“We have everybody back, so we will have a big target on our back.”
Four
players – 5’7” senior guard Alex Bentley (Penn State), 6’0”
junior guard Dorothy “Dee-Dee” Williams (Purdue), 5’10” senior forward DeAirra
Goss (Western Michigan),
and 5’9” senior reserve forward Emily Huber (Ava Marie) – will head off to
play college ball when they’ve hung up their purple jerseys. Bentley, a 5’7”
senior guard capable of single-handedly taking over games with her kinetic
energy, and Goss, a 5’10” senior forward, were all-conference selections.
All
five starters return, so imagine the focus and cohesiveness – especially when
the Giants get a chance for revenge at their two conquerors, North Central and
Carmel. (BD was playing its fifth game in eight days in a 57-50 loss at the
former, and the Giants’ regional loss to eventual state
champion Carmel sent shockwaves through the state.)
Starting
lineup:
G Sr 5’7” Alex Bentley (15.0 ppg, 2.8 apg, 2.6 spg)
F Sr 5’10” DeAirra Goss (10.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
G Jr 6’0’ Dorothy “Dee-Dee” Williams (3.9 apg)
F Jr 5’11” Vivian Holcomb (6.1 rpg, 2.0 spg)
F So 5’10” Bria Goss (10.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.6 apg,
3.1 spg)
Key reserves:
G Jr 5’7” Jordan Huber
F Sr 5’9” Emily Huber
F Jr 5’8” Demetria Nunley
G So 5’4” Janee’ Kimball
C Fr 6’2” Shawnece Teague
G Fr 5’9” Brionna Arnold
G Sr 5’7” Chanel Simmons
Factoids:
Ben
Davis will compete in the seven-team Avon Sectional with Brownsburg, Decatur
Central, Indianapolis Manual, Indianapolis Tech, Pike, and the host Orioles …
the Giants finished No. 1 in final Class 4A coaches’ poll and first overall in
the combined IBCA poll a year ago … BD had the state’s fifth-best record at
24-2last season … Ben Davis was the 4A state champion in back-to-back seasons
in 2000 and 2001
Punahou’s Robert Toma KHON2 Player of the Week
Posted on 20 November 2008 by .
Kingsley Ah You-Owner
www.HawaiiDigitalSports.com
kahyou@digitalsports.com
292-1780
Hawaii Digital Sports has partnered with KHON2 Sports to feature all our student-athletes from the entire State! Contact Kingsley Ah you to learn how to showcase your GAME VIDEO highlights on the KHON2 Sports news!
Click here to view the KHON2 Athlete of the Week ROBERT TOMA!
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Special Mahalo to Kanoa Leahy, John Veneri and President and General Manager of KHON2 Joe McNamara for their desire to feature our Youth and High Schools!
Click on these articles to view our Partnership!
10-10-08
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Starcomm Sports Radio: HHSAA Football Championship
Posted on 19 November 2008 by .
STARCOMM SPORTS RADIO WILL BE BROADCASTING LIVE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL GAMES FOR
NOVEMBER /DECEMBER 2008:
Date Time Game
7:30p HHSAA D-I Semi Finals Punahou vs Farrington Click Here!
Fri. Dec. 5 4:30p HHSAA D-II Championship Game
7:30p HHSAA D-I Championship Game
Fri. Dec. 12 5:00p HUB Goodwill Goodwill Game
8:00p Hawaii Prep Football Classic
Archived Game:
Fri. Nov. 21 7:00p HHSAA FB State Playoffs
D-I Qtr Finals: Farrington v Kealakehe- Click here to Listen!
RADIO: AM 1500 “THE TEAM
INTERNET: www.starcommsportsradio.com
Stream powered by www.hawaiidigitalsports.com
Go To: www.HawaiiDigitalSports.com for school web sites, Videos, Photos etc.
Starcomm Sports Radio begins its 18th year of radio coverage of the best in high
school sports. Starcomm Sports Radio has exclusive radio and internet
broadcast rights to the OIA, ILH, and the HHSAA State Championships. The
2008-09 broadcast schedule includes over 60 game broadcasts from August
2008 through May 2009, to include football, volleyball, basketball, softball, and
baseball.
Live game action will be heard on the Honolulu Radio Network (AM 1500 “The
Team”, and ESPN 1420 AM). In addition, Starcomm Sports Radio will be
streaming its broadcasts on line at www.hawaiidigitalsports.com, and on
www.starcommsportsradio.com. All broadcasts will be live and Hawaii Digital
Sports will archive each broadcast.
Lad Panis, veteran play-by-play announcer, continues as the voice of high
school sports. Joining him in the booth will be former St Louis Crusader football
and basketball head coach Delbert Tengan. Tengan returns as the lead color
analyst for football and basketball broadcasts after working with the Starcomm
Team in 2003. Other members of the broadcast team will include former Pac-5
and Harvard quarterback Neil Rose (select football games); BYU-Hawaii alum
and assistant coach Brandon Akana (boys volleyball); UH alum and former
assistant coach Dana Takahara (girls basketball), and former Rainbow Wahine
star Jocelyn Robbins-Akana (girls volleyball).
Contact: David Kawada @ 368-7792 (david@starcommwireless.com)
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GBB: Center Grove’s big comeback seals 48-44 win over Decatur Central
Posted on 19 November 2008 by .
By E. Shawn Aylsworth
Managing Editor
GREENWOOD – Host Center Grove trailed Decatur Central 39-28 after three quarters of play in its season-opening girls basketball game Nov. 18. In the parlance of presidential candidate John McCain, the Trojans had the Hawks right where they wanted ’em.
By canning all eight of its final free throws and holding Decatur Central to just two points until a meaningless 3-pointer just ahead of the final buzzer, Center Grove came back from the dead to capture a 48-44 victory.
CLICK THE PLAYER TO THE LEFT FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH CG COACH JOE LENTZ!!
The visitors, who came in with two games under their collective belts, controlled this one throughout. Leading 13-7 after one, Decatur Central built its advantage to 11 on two occasions before halftime, the last coming at 26-15 on a second-chance layup by 5’10” junior forward Diana Jovanovic.
But Center Grove went on a 12-4 run spiked by back-to-back threes from 5’10” senior guard Kelli Lippold and 5’9” senior guard Brittney Shaner to cut the lead to just 26-23 at the break.
The Hawks came out strong in the second half, scoring the first points of the third period on a bizarro three-point play that consisted of a free throw by 5’10” senior forward Olivia Yaryan and then a layin by 5’6” freshman guard Lexus Murry that followed at least three – if not four – offensive rebounds.
Yaryan’s layin with 15 seconds to go in the third quarter once again jacked the Hawks‘ lead up to 11, and there still appeared to be no reason to panic when Jovanovic hit one of two free throws for a 40-32 lead on Center Grove 6-foot senior center Hannah Bedan’s fourth foul with 6:04 to play.
Note the 1-of-2 free throw success, however – it was a big-time harbinger of things to come.
The Hawks would convert only two of their eight free throw attempts in the fourth quarter. Combine that with a bevy of turnovers and no less than three misses on easy drives to the bucket in the game’s last two minutes, and you have a recipe for disaster.
Mix in Center Grove’s flawless 8-of-8 effort from the stripe over the contest’s final 2:27, and Decatur Central’s goose was cooked.
The Trojans were led by the 14 points of 6’2” junior center Kirsten Gliesmann, who was joined in double figures by 6-foot sophomore forward Melody Doss with 10 points. Shaner added nine points for 15th-year CG coach Joe Lentz’s team.
Decatur Central’s standout 5’10” junior forward Anna Munn, meanwhile, led all scorers with 18 points.
Center Grove will get to savor the victory for two days before battling Indian Creek Nov. 20 in the second semifinal of the Johnson County Tournament at Whiteland. Indian Creek (2-0) advanced by downing Edinburgh, 82-30, on Tuesday. The winner of their semifinal will face either Franklin (1-0) or host Whiteland (3-0), a 64-43 first-round winner over Greenwood, for the county title Nov. 22.
Decatur Central has now sampled schools from three of the state’s toughest conferences, going 1-2 against the Hoosier Crossroads Conference’s Brownsburg (a 53-28 win in the season opener), Conference Indiana’s Perry Meridian (a 60-55 loss), and now Center Grove of Indiana’s deepest league, the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference.
Next up for the Hawks is their first home game, a Nov. 20 date with Roncalli (1-0).
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GBB: 3A #6 Crawfordsville hangs on to slip past 1A #9 Turkey Run, 41-40
Posted on 19 November 2008 by .
By Mike McGraw
Executive Director
CRAWFORDSVILLE – It is only mid-November, but if the Nov. 18 contest between 3A No. 6 Crawfordsville and 1A No. 9 Turkey Run is any indication, it is going to be a fantastic girls basketball season.
Crawfordsville won this struggle, 41-40. Had the game lasted one more minute, the result would have been different. Had it lasted two more minutes, it would have been the same.
That is how evenly matched these two teams were.
STAY TUNED FOR VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS!!
Both squads are very talented, yet both were missing a key cog in their arsenals due to injury. Both teams are extremely well-coached, yet both made more than their share of early season mistakes.
The result was a highly entertaining affair that was not settled until the final seconds.
The best way to describe this game is to take a look at the game inside the game.
Crawfordsville (2-0) used a stifling man-to-man press to jump to a quick 5-0 lead. That produced the first adjustment from Turkey Run coach Sam Karr. It resulted in a 7-0 Warrior run, and the battle was on.
At the end of the first eight minutes, Turkey Run (3-1) clung to an 11-10 lead. But the Warriors’ only real interior presence, Adrian Francis, had picked up her second foul with 10 seconds remaining in the quarter.
As the second period began, the objectives for both squads were clear. Crawfordsville coach Darren Haas needed to get his big offensive gun, junior Alex Gasaway, more involved in the action, whereas Turkey Run needed to slow the pace and survive the quarter without Francis.
Once again, both units were successful. Gasaway (a game-high 15 points) netted six points in the period and finished the half leading the Athenians with 10 points. Meanwhile, Turkey Run controlled the tempo and managed to reach intermission trailing only 20-18.
Haas knew the Athenians’ best chance lied in pounding the ball down low to Gasaway and senior Mandi Johnson. Karr, on the other hand, was well aware that the Warriors’ advantage came in the open court.
For most of the third period, Crawfordsville implemented its strategy far better. With two minutes remaining in the quarter, the Athenians had stretched the margin to seven at 33-26.
Lightning strikes quickly, however – especially when it’s wearing powder blue.
It is no accident that Crawfordsville’s last four shots on the quarter were all perimeter jumpers and, fueled mostly by transition baskets, Turkey Run went on an 8-0 run to end the third holding a 34-33 lead.
The chess game intensified in the fourth quarter, and the pace slowed dramatically. Neither team was willing to waste a possession on anything less than a quality shot.
As a result, the final minutes were punctuated by crucial free throws on both sides. It is here that the outcome was decided.
Turkey Run missed several opportunities from the charity stripe, while Crawfordsville – mainly in the person of Johnson – capitalized. For the game, the Warriors were just 13 of 27 from the line, while the Athenians went 9 for 14, three of those in the tense final minute.
Two charity tosses from Johnson with just under 10 seconds to play gave Crawfordsville a 41-37 cushion. Turkey Run, which was led by the 13 points of Chelsea Francis, responded with a 3-pointer in the final seconds but was left with no time to regain possession.
The outcome of this struggle will long be forgotten by tourney time. Nonetheless, those in attendance came away with knowledge of two things.
Crawfordsville is a team that has learned to play in pressure situations. Turkey Run is a legitimate 1A state title threat.
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GBB SCOREBOARD: Week 2
Posted on 18 November 2008 by .
Results from Week 2 (Nov. 17-22) of the
2008-09 girls basketball season, courtesy of John Harrell’s Indiana high school
basketball website:
Bellmont 41, Heritage 27
Ben Davis 42, Bolingbrook (Ill.) 28
Bloomfield 33, North Knox 24
Blue River 53, Wes-Del 21
Carmel 67, Terre Haute North 37
Castle 47, South Spencer 37
Centerville 60, Knightstown 55
Christian Academy 52, Clarksville 45
Columbus East 74, Brownstown Central 52
Columbus North 54, Shelbyville 36
Covenant Christian (DeMotte) 40, LaCrosse 39
Covington 38, Clinton Central 35
Crown Point 70, Warsaw 57 (OT)
Culver Academy 49, LaVille 40
Eastern (Greentown) 47, Lewis Cass 40
Elkhart Memorial 67, Whitko 52
Evansville Bosse 68, Evansville Central 27
Evansville Memorial 67, Jasper 35
Fishers 88, Lebanon 54
Forest Park 40, Loogootee 37
Fort Wayne Concordia 54, Fort Wayne
Canterbury 47
Fort Wayne Luers 49, Brebeuf Jesuit 38
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