April, 1999
News & Updates
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Welcome to the news area of the Region Roundball Review. This page will be updated as information becomes available. Please note that not all links shown here will stay active indefinitely. Many links are to daily on-line publications that change or remove links from their sites on a daily basis. For your convenience, you can use the calendar at the right to access news for a particular day. If you have any news about girls basketball in the Region or around the State, please e-mail us with your information and we will include it here. Thanks. |
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| News thru Thursday, April 29 |
According to a tip from one of our regular
visitors, and confirmed by the University of Louisville women's basketball
coaching staff, Jeffersonville junior standout Sara
Nord has given a verbal commitment to be a Cardinal after her senior
season of high school basketball. Nord, a 5'5 guard, averaged 22.0 points,
7.2 assists, and 5.9 steals during the 1998-99 season. As a sophomore,
Nord broke a school record in 1997-98 with an amazing 210 season assists
over 24 games.
According to Pat McKee of the Indianapolis Star,
Latrice McMichel (5'11 guard) of Indianapolis
Tech has signed to play at Seward County Community College in Liberal,
Kansas. McMichel averaged 18.4 points, 3.7 assists and 3.7 steals during
the 1998-99 season. Also, Tiffany Kyser of
Culver Academy has signed to play at IUPUI.
With the impending vote on class basketball taking place
on Monday, the on-line papers are full of editorial and evaluative pieces
on the subject. The most comprehensive offering of articles appears in
the Indianapolis
Star, where a week-long series looks at the class tournament issue
from every aspect imaginable. Also, the IHSAA
has released the results of its two surveys conducted in connection
with the class basketball topic. The principals' survey came back with
an overall 60% vote in support of class tournament play. The other survey,
filled out by over 14,500 fans during the season, showed a 53% preference
for something other than the multi-class tournament. We will be reporting
on the outcome of the IHSAA Executive Board vote on Monday, which looks
like it is leaning very heavily toward the status quo of multi-class tournament
play.
Ft. Wayne North Side girls head coach Tonya
Burns-Cohrs, 36, who we reported earlier this month was pursuing
a WNBA career, has had a gigantic pick set on her hopes and dreams after
the WNBA cancelled its open tryouts, originally scheduled to take place
in Detroit on Friday. The WNBA/player's union dispute is the culprit which
has pushed the playing schedule so tight as to preclude the opportunity
of picking up any additional players who might wish to try out for a WNBA
team. The disappointment for Burns-Cohrs is very real, as she had dedicated
herself for the past ten months to getting into WNBA playing shape to attend
the tryout. You can read about her thoughts in the Ft.
Wayne Sentinel (one-day link).
The Purdue womens basketball program continues to be in
the news with the following coverage:
"Curry embraces challenge of coaching national champions," Lafayette Journal & Courier, - An interesting and revealing Q & A session with Coach Curry.
"Having Curry as new coach makes Purdue's recruiting easier," Pat McKee of the Indianapolis Star - With a 5-year contract, Coach Curry is able to sign needed guard recruit.
"Boilers Receive Letter From Parks," Gold & Black Online - JUCO guard signs with Purdue.
"Benningfield
Visits Purdue," Gold & Black Online - With post positions
a concern after graduation in 2000, the unofficial visit of 6'3 Kentucky
high school junior is seen as promising.
The official announcement of the appointment of Tracy
Roller and Marsha Frese as assistant
coaches at Ball State University was made yesterday, and College
Sports News Daily is carrying an article about the background of these
two. Roller, a former standout at Crown Point High School and Eastern Illinois,
is leaving her assistant coaching position at Valparaiso University after
three years to take on her new duties at Ball State. Tabbed by BSU head
coach Brenda Oldfield as "one of the
finest recruiters in the country," Roller's strengths in home-state
recruiting are expected to be a big asset in taking the struggling Cardinal
program to the next level. Frese's background as a sports anchor for KALB-TV
in Alexandria, Louisiana, is expected to help promote the women's basketball
program in the Muncie area and around the state.
For those of you who are interested in seeing some of the
new talent headed into the high school ranks during the next few years,
the AAU State Tournaments for pre-high school age groups are taking
place this weekend. Tournament play will be going on starting Friday night
in Indianapolis for Level I 12U and 13U (national qualifier), in Lafayette
for Level I 10U and 11U (national qualifer), and around the state at various
other locations for all age group Levels II and III (consolation tournaments).
For complete brackets and scheduled playing times, visit the Indiana
AAU website Tournaments & Draws page.
Good luck to all NWI teams in the AAU state finals! (Go CP Tigers!)
| News thru Sunday, April 25 |
Manchester guard Megan
Eckert went scoreless in the first half of the Nancy Rehme/Border
Wars Classic in Ft. Wayne last night, but ended up walking away with game
MVP honors after she kicked it into high gear in the second half scoring
18 points, 13 coming in the first three minutes of play. Her scoring spurt,
together with the efforts of standouts, Amy Waugh
of Homestead and Erin Rhodes of Oak Hill,
brought the Indiana team back from the dead and a 13-point deficit at the
half to gain bragging rights for Indiana with an 87-76 win over Ohio. You
can read about the entire game in the Ft.
Wayne Journal Gazette.
There
have been several college signings in the past few days:
West Lafayette senior Keaton Brumm, formerly of Andrean and Crown Point, will be hitting the hardcourt for Indiana University South Bend next season. Brumm, who averaged 15.4 points and 4.7 assists per game for the Red Devils during the 1998-99 season, was named her team's MVP. Brumm was also a Journal & Courier all-area second-team pick and first-team all-Hoosier conference selection.
Whitney
Avery of Clinton Central is headed to St. Joseph's College after
putting the ink to a National Letter of Intent. The 5'8 guard averaged
19.0 points, 6.1 assists and 4.4 steals as a senior for the CC Bulldogs
to help her team to a 16-3 regular season record and a No. 4 ranking in
Class A by the end of the 1998-99 regular season campaign.
Sarah
Gordon of Prairie Heights has signed a National Letter of Intent
to attend Huntington College. The 5'8 guard averaged 20.7 points during
the 1998-99 season, leading the Northeast Corner Conference in scoring.
Gordon holds seven school records for the Prairie Heights Panthers, including
a career scoring total of 1,379 points. Huntington College coach Lori Culler
will look to Gordon for offensive contributions of penetration and long
range shooting. Gordon hit 59 big ones from beyond the arc during her last
season of high school basketball.
The SAC has announced its All-Conference selections in
the Ft. Wayne area for the 1998-99 season as follows:
Sarah Ratzlaff,
Bishop Dwenger
Rachel King, Bishop Luers
Jennie Moppert, Bishop Luers
Sara Schaefer, Bishop Luers
Laura Hebel, Concordia
Linda Graham, Elmhurst
Maria Marchesano, Elmhurst
Lashonda Conwell, Harding
Julie Stauffer, Northrop
Maggie Bruening, North Side
Antoniette Gregory, Snider
Kia Jones, Snider
Brooke Minniear, Snider
The Indianapolis Star is carrying two feature articles
on the impending IHSAA vote on class basketball. The Executive Board is
scheduled to make its intentions known at its meeting on Monday, May 3.
"Its
shine dulled, high school hoops facing crucial vote"
"This
time, the call is for keeps"
| News thru Wednesday, April 21 |
Purdue's Stephanie
White-McCarty has taken the first step toward receiving one of the
country's highest women's sports honors after she was named the winner
of the Honda Award as the top woman collegiate basketball athlete for 1998-99.
Pat McKee of the Indianapolis
Star reports that the award puts her in the running for the Honda-Broderick
Cup, which will be presented to the top collegiate woman athlete of the
year on June 14 at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of
Athletics Convention in Reno, Nevada. Last year, Chamique Holdsclaw of
Tennessee was named the cup winner.
High school and college coaches are highlighting the news
today, with various hirings, resignations and non-renewals (a nice word
for "terminations") around the state. The reasons for his resignation
were not stated.
As announced in the The Evening Star, Eastside High School in DeKalb County, varsity coach Lonny Emenhiser submitted his letter of resignation to the school board after six Blazer seasons, during which he compiled a 72-53 record.
In the Ft. Wayne News Sentinel (one-day link), it was reported that the contract of Bellmont girls coach Dave Miller was not renewed by a 5-0 vote of the Adams County School Board. Miller, who coached the Squaws for the past 13 years, had received criticism at the end of the season from parents who were displeased with his coaching style.
The Bloomington Hoosier Times is reporting the promotion of Larry Winters from JV to varsity head girls basketball coach at Bloomington South. Winters coached the JV girls for the past five years and inherits a young, but athletic, team of varsity players.
As we reported earlier, varsity coach Bob White of Southwestern High School resigned his coaching position after school administrators were unable to meet his conditional demands for increased salary and gratis use of Southwestern's gym for his AAU team over the summer. Now, the Indianapolis Star is reporting that the Southwestern School District is taking a look at its pay scale for the position, which comes in at nearly 40% less than the boys varsity coach. Many school districts around the state have corrected this pay discrepancy, yet there are others who are still struggling with the issue. A popular decision that puts less strain on already-strained school budgets is to phase in increases over a period of several years to equalize pay and meet Title IX requirements.
The Ft.
Wayne Journal-Gazette is reporting that Indiana Purdue Ft. Wayne
(IPFW) has selected Karl Smesko as it's new
women's basketball coach. Smesko comes to Ft. Wayne from the University
of Maryland, where he has been an assistant coach for the past year. Before
that, at age 26, he coached Walsh University to a 1998 NAIA Division II
National Championship after compiling a 29-5 season record. Smesko hopes
to bring his winning ways to the IPFW Mastodons women's program, which
went 2-24 in the 1998-99 season.
Butler University is looking at a net effect after adding
one player to its roster, while losing another to transfer. Coming into
the Bulldog fold is 5'11 Valerie Burg of Kankakee
Community College, who averaged 16.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists
per game while garnering Kodak Junior College All-American status two years
running. Leaving the Bulldogs is 5'9 junior Sarah
Hurrle ('96 Roncalli), Butler's leading scorer (13.3 ppg) this past
season and former Indiana All-Star. She is headed to Western Michigan University,
where she will play with one year of eligibility left after sitting out
next season. You can get more info on the comings and goings of the Butler
womens program in the Indianapolis
Star, and a look at the just-completed Butler season at the Butler
women's basketball website.
| News thru Sunday, April 18 |
With the end of this season also comes the
anticipation of next season and speculation as to who some of the top high
school players to keep an eye on. USA
Today recently named its picks of the top 30 underclass(wo)men
in the nation to watch next season, including two players from Indiana
-- sophomore Shyra Ely of Ben Davis and freshman
Shanna Zolman of Wawasee. Also, Fast
Break, a website covering girls and women's basketball around the country,
has named Hammond Morton's Cathy Herring as
one of the Fast
Break Top 40 junior prospects in the nation at No. 37.
Connnersville senior April McDivitt
will be playing her last game on the Spartan Bowl hardcourt today in the
North-South All-Star Reebok Classic, and she shares some thoughts about
that in the Connersville
News-Examiner. McDivitt also discusses her schedule for the summer,
which includes showing hogs, a pasttime she has been unable to enjoy the
past three summers due to the many college basketball camps she has attended.
Another participant in the North-South Reebok Classic today
is senior Traci Joslin of the Cambridge City
Lincoln Lady Golden Eagles. Traci and her twin sister Staci
Joslin led their 2A team to a 51-15 record over the past three years
and both will be playing at Hanover College next season. Traci gives her
thoughts on getting the opportunity to play with some of the best players
in the state today in the Connersville
News-Examiner.
Ft. Wayne North Side girls head coach Tonya
Burns-Cohrs is following her ambitions to play in the pros by planning
to attend the WNBA tryouts in Detroit later this month. Burns-Cohrs
was a 1981 Indiana All-Star standout from Leo High School, and played at
Iowa State, where her jersey was retired after setting 31 records there.
You can read about Burns-Cohrs' plans and background in the Ft.
Wayne Journal-Gazette (one-day link).
The WNBA held its Pre-Draft Camp this weekend in Chicago,
and former East Chicago 5'9 forward Monica Maxwell
('99 Louisiana Tech) and former Gary West Side 6'3 forward Danielle
McCulley ('98 Western Kentucky) were in attendance to display their
talents in hopes of being selected in the April 27 WNBA Draft. The complete
list of hopefuls who attended the camp can be viewed on the WNBA
Pre-Draft Camp Participant List. Purdue players Stephanie-White
McCarty and Ukari Figgs were unable
to attend the camp due to classroom obligations, but both came in for required
pre-draft physicals. According to coverage in The Times, Orlando
Mystic and former Purdue coach Carolyn Peck
has both players on her priorty players list for the draft.
All of us, players and spectators alike, can be thankful that the womens/girls
basketball game has evolved to its present-day state. Just take a look at these
uniforms to see what we mean. This photo is from 1910 when knee-length skirts,
sleeves and Texas-size hairbows were the accepted norm of attire on the hardcourt.
(Wonder if those skirts ever got in the way of a really mean crossover dribble...)
Although we still see some big hairbows (AAU) and sleeves (LA Tech), we haven't
seen a skirt all season long. We bring you this gem just for fun from the WNBA
site under its History
of Women's Basketball feature.
| News thru Saturday, April 17 |
The Region's Jackie Campbell,
Jeanette Gray and Kristin
Cheairs will have their hands full at the 11th annual North-South
All-Star Classic sponsored by Reebok slated for tomorrow at the Connersville
Spartan Bowl. All-American friends and rivals, Kennitra
Johnson and April McDivitt, will be
teaming up their talents for the South Team, while Campbell, Gray and Cheairs
will pool their talents for the North Team. The girls' action is slated
to begin at 2:00 p.m. Chesterton's Jack Campbell
will be guiding the North squad, and Connersville's Larry
Miller will drawing up the X's and O's for the South. You can read
a preview article about the Classic in the Connersville
News-Examiner. The complete rosters for the North and South teams
can be found in our news from April 3.
Winamac senior Shallon Bowden
signed a National Letter of Intent at her school on Wednesday to play at
Bethel College next fall. Bowden, a 3-time Winamac MVP with a 3.7 GPA,
is expected to help fill the gap created by Bethel's top-scoring graduating
senior. You can read about Bowden's signing in the Logansport
Pharos Tribune.
Although it seems that many college scholarships are going
to the taller guards around the nation these days, there is still hope
for the vertically-challenged in the world of basketball with the signing
of 5'5 guard Jennifer Turner of Terre Haute
North by Division II University of Charleston. Turner, a 4-year standout
for TH North, was hooked up with the Charleston program through Tom
Jacoby, Turner's AAU coach and father of former Purdue star, Jennifer
Jacoby. You can read about Turner's college choice in the Terre
Haute Tribune Star.
Coach Bob White of Southwestern
High School resigned his coaching position after school administrators
were unable to meet his conditional demands for increased salary and gratis
use of Southwestern's gym for his AAU team over the summer. White, whose
standout daughter Delena White graduates this
year, was rumored to be leaving with the exit of his talented daughter
from the team. Delena will be playing at Hannibal-LaGrange College in Hannibal,
Missouri, next fall. You can read about White's resignation in the Shelbyville
News.
As the end of school draws near, schools around the state
are making plans for the varsity team camps to be allowed by the IHSAA for
the first time this summer. Although attendance at summer camps cannot
be required of players as a condition for making a team during the school
year, summer conflicts will be leaving athletes with some tough choices.
The summer camps are a topic of an article appearing in the Shelbyville
News, with comments from several coaches about the impact the camps
will have on coaches, players and programs.
Both Purdue and the University of Southern Indiana (USI)
are looking to junior colleges to fill empty slots on their rosters, and
it looks like both are making some headway.
Purdue is currently in the hunt for a talented guard with the exit of Stephanie White-McCarty and Ukari Figgs from the Lady Boilermaker lineup, which leaves a gaping hole in their penetrate-and-dish offense. The Purdue coaching staff has its eye set on Shinika Parks, a 5'9 guard from Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas. As reported in the Lafayette Journal & Courier, Parks is scheduled to visit the Purdue campus next weekend.
USI has already accomplished its mission
with the signing of former Indiana All-Star and Princeton High School standout,
Nicole McDaniel, who will transfer from Olney
Central Junior College next fall. Daniel, a 5'9 forward/guard, averaged
13.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 4.0 steals this past season
for Olney. You can read about McDaniel's transfer in the Evansville
Courier & Press.
Purdue fans, it's time to mark your calendars. The home
opener for the Lady Boilermakers is set for November 21 at Mackey Arena
against Vanderbilt.
If you've been waiting for the 10U, 11U, 12U, and 13U state
tournament brackets for Levels I, II and III to be posted at the new Indiana
Association AAU site, wait no longer. They are now available for viewing
and printing at http://bounce.to/indiana.aau
or http:/www.regionroundball.com/geocities/aau.
| News thru Friday, April 16 |
North Newton junior standout Kristi
Koselke has verbally committed to play at Valparaiso University
after her senior season next year. Koselke, a 6'1 guard, averaged 18.5
points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game this past season and will
be playing with the Center Grove 16U AAU team this summer. Koselke plays
point guard for the North Newton Spartans, a position at which Valparaiso
struggled this season with attrition and injuries. You can read about Koselke's
choice of college in today's Times,
as well as additional information in a previous
feature article that appeared in The Times earlier this season.
Senior guard Abbey Coons of
Hobart has been chosen as the Post-Tribune/Coca-Cola girls basketball Leadership
Award winner for 1998-99. Coons, who carries a 4.4 GPA on a 4.0 scale,
is headed to Notre Dame, where she intends to take a shot as a walk-on
for Muffett McGraw's nationally-ranked Lady Irish. Coons averaged 15.7
ppg and led her team to its first sectional win ever in Hobart girls basketball
history.
The Muncie
Star Press has chosen Eastbrook's Laurie
Kitts as its 1998-99 Player of the Year for East Central Indiana.
The 5'11 Kitts, who was the 1997-98 state scoring leader at 28.9 ppg, will
be attending Ball State this fall, where she will give a boost to the Cardinals
struggling program. While averaging 27.5 ppg and 11.7 rpg this season,
Kitts broke the Grant County girls scoring record in February.
With Eastbrook's Laurie Kitts,
NorthWood's Amy Zercher and two other freshman
recruits headed to Ball State, new head coach Brenda
Oldfield, will have the basis for setting a new tradition at Ball
State. The Lady Cardinals have had only one winning season in the past
21 years. Oldfield, together with new assistant Tracy
Roller, will have their work cut out in terms of building a new
reputation for the BSU program to gain the interest of potential home-state
recruits. But that is just what Oldfield intends to do. You can read about
her strategies to bring Ball State into the circle of competitive Indiana
women's college teams in the Muncie
Star Press.
| News thru Thursday, April 15 |
(Happy 18th Birthday, Noelle!)
According to a recent press
release by the IHSAA Board of Directors, Hanover Central girls
basketball coach Dennis Foster has been suspended
for unsportsmanlike behavior for an undisclosed period of time or number
of games. Although the exact incident the resulted in the suspension was
not stated in the summary, actions of Foster and one of his players after
the team's game with Eastern at the Maconaquah Semi-State are most likely
responsible. (See Ft.
Wayne News-Sentinal article.) A Hanover Central player was also
suspended from further athletic participation in the 1998-99 school year
and her letter of apology was accepted and noted by the IHSAA Board. The
Hanover Central administration reported to the IHSAA that it will
exclude two fans from all Hanover Central girls basketball contests until
January, 2000, as well. Hanover Central administration was commended by
the IHSAA for its prompt reporting and handling of the situation.
The Indianapolis
Star is reporting that Butler University is expected to announce
the appointment of Wendy Gatlin, an assistant
at Iowa the past two seasons, as its new head women's basketball coach.
Gatlin is expected to take the Butler program to new heights, with Top
25 team status as the goal of the Butler athletic office. Comments by former
Martinsville standout, Kristen Bodine, are
included in the Star article by Pat McKee. Also impacted by the appointment
of Gatlin is Kelly Kuhn (Lake Central), who
just completed her freshman year at Butler.
The WNBA is finally getting down to business of the new
season after settling its dispute with the players association for the
season set to begin in June. Issues of allowing now-defunct ABL players
into the league has been settled as part of the agreement, allowing each
franchise to select up to three ABL players on this year's roster, and
an unlimited number of ABL players for next year's team. The WNBA will
also expand the league by four teams next summer. Complete details regarding
the settlement can be viewed in the Indianapolis
Star.
| News thru Tuesday, April 13 |
Valparaiso University women's basketball assistant
coach, Tracy Roller, has submitted her resignation
and will be leaving the Crusader program to serve as an assistant coach
to newly appointed Ball State head coach, Brenda
Oldfield. Roller is highly regarded by the Valpo program and a number
of Valpo recruits (and their parents) as an inspiring and energetic component
to the Valpo coaching staff. Roller stated that "it was a very emotional
decision to leave (the Valpo) staff and the great team that we will have
coming back next season. I will really miss the Region and especially the
players on this team." Roller, a former high school standout at Crown
Point in the late l980's, is looking at the move to Ball State as a wise
one for her college coaching career and her ultimate goal of a head coaching
position in the college ranks sometime in the future.
The Terre Haute Tribune Star and the Lafayette Journal-Courier
are both offering up their picks for All-Area girls basketball players for their
respective parts of the state.
The Terre Haute Tribune Star has put together its All-Vigo County High School Girls Basketball First and Second Teams, with TH South senior Cara Stuckey (pictured at left) voted MVP for Vigo County. The Tribune Star also has a number of individual awards, including TH North senior Jennifer Turner as Best Shooter, TH South senior Joileen Brewer as Best Rebounder, Stuckey as Best Passer, TH South junior Sarah Beykirch as Best Defensive Player, and TH South sophomore Kristen Weddle as winner of the Sportsmanship Award.
The Lafayette
Journal-Courier has chosen Clinton Prairie senior Kourtney
Mennen as Girls Basketball Player of the Year in the Lafayette area.
All-Area First and Second Teams were also named. Both Mennen and Mennen's
coach, Connie Garrett (who was named the JC
Coach of the Year), place Mennen's talents in a class with former Lafayette-area
greats Stephanie White and Jennifer
Jacoby. Region fans might be interested to know that former Crown
Point and Andrean player, Keaton Brumm, was
named to the JC All-Area Second Team.
The issue of class sports still broils in the background
of girls basketball post-season awards and area all-star games statewide.
Depending upon which publication you read, the arguments for the multi-class
system and the single-class system are each gaining support. Two articles
are appearing on-line today regarding the topic, one indicating growing
support for multi-class in the Shelbyville
News and one indicating growing support for single-class in the
Indianapolis
Star. The decision on this issue, which will greatly impact next
year's girls basketball state tournament and ultimately season schedules
around the state, will be made by the IHSAA Executive Board at its meeting
on May 3.
The Shelbyville
News is also carrying an interview with IHSAA Executive Commissioner
Bob Gardner on a round of IHSAA topics, including summer team camps
conducted by high school coaches, the possibility of mandatory heart testing
as part of preseason physicals, and a new coaching education program for
non-teaching coaches.
Senior Monica Maxwell (East
Chicago) of Louisiana Tech University was recently named to the 1998-99
Louisiana Sports Writers Association All-Louisiana Second Team for the
third straight season in a row. Maxwell came on very strong at the end
of her last college season to help LA Tech to the Elite Eight, where the
Lady Techsters lost to eventual National Champ Purdue.
Pat McKee of the Indianapolis
Star brings us up-to-date on several issues with regard to women's
basketball, including the negotiations between the WNBA and the players'
union, as well as post-season honors and status of several Indiana-based
or homestate college players, including Notre Dame sophomore Kelley
Siemon, St. Joseph's junior Angie Hupfer
(Pendleton Heights), and Earlham junior Vicki Painter
(Heritage Hills).
| News thru Sunday, April 11 |
The East-West NWI All-Star Classic last night
in East Chicago showcased some of the Region's best senior girls basketball
talent. Kristin Cheairs of West Side (16 points),
walked away with game MVP honors while helping the East Team defeat the
West Team 68-60. The East Team also had balanced scoring from Jackie
Campbell of Chesterton (11 points), Abbey
Coons of Hobart (11 points), and Erin Jedlikowski
of Portage (10 points). The West Team was led by Lori
Moore of Lake Central (12 points) and Clatossica
Williams of East Chicago (8 points). Jackie Campbell won the 3-point
shooting contest, draining 25 treys in two rounds of the 3-point halftime
shooting competition. Campbell will be attending nationally-ranked Colorado
State University next fall.
Kennitra Johnson and April
McDivitt continue to rack up the honors individually, while raising
the stock of Indiana high school girls basketball on the national scene.
Both were named to today's Parade Magazine All-America High School Teams
-- Johnson to the First Team and McDivitt to the Second Team. The Parade
Player of the Year is Nina Smith of Iowa.
The Boilermaker
Basketball Recruiting website maintained by Bob Richards is carrying
a recruit
profile on 6'2 Shyra Ely, Ben Davis sophomore
sensation, who is high on Purdue's list of recruits for scholarship year
2001. Ely, who was featured in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated
for Women as the top sophomore in the country, averaged 19.3 ppg and
11.4 rpg during the 1998-99 high school season.
De Pauw 5'8 senior guard Kelly Morrison
(Huntington North '95), was recently named a Division III Women's Basketball
1st Team All-American by Columbus Multimedia. Morrison, who holds every
3-point record at DePauw, averaged 17.9 ppg, and boasted a 3-point shooting
percentage of .500 on 83 of 166 attempts, and a free throw shooting percentage
of .905, going 76 for 84 from the line. Morrison was also named the Columbus
Multimedia South Player of the Year. You can read all about Morrison on
her DePauw player
profile page. Region-area fans might be interested to know that one
of Morrison's teammates is former Lake Central guard Katie
Imborek, who racked up 22 game appearances during her college freshman
season, the second most by any DePauw freshman. You can also view Imborek's
player profile at the DePauw
Women's Basketball Homepage.
MS
NBC News is carrying an opinion piece on the state of women's basketball
and how that relates to the WNBAPA (the women's players union) dispute
with the WNBA. Some excellent reading.
| News thru Friday, April 9 |
Nearly two weeks ago (see news of March 31), we passed on the names of those players who were selected for the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association (ICGSA) First Team. The IHSAA has tracked down the ICGSA Second Team selections as well, and they are as follows:
Jennifer Callier,
senior, Indianapolis Cathedral
Baranda Collins, senior, Austin
Heather Cusick, senior, Kokomo
Julie Geisler, junior, Jasper
Kirsti Holloway, junior, New Washington
Lynne Johnson, junior, Corydon Central
Dorcas Lawson, senior, Terre Haute South
Kristin Lowry, senior, Logansport
Bethany Miller, senior, Princeton
Maria Recker, senior, DeKalb
Jennifer Turner, senior, Terre Haute North
Amy Waugh, senior, Homestead
Delena White, senior, Southwestern (Shelbyville)
Natalie Will, senior, NorthWood
Shanna Zolman, freshman, Wawasee
Lello Gebisa (6'5 C, West Lafayette) has signed with Duke University. Gebisa averaged 19.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per game. Also on Gebisa's short list before she decided on Duke were Northwestern and Michigan. You can read about Gebisa's choice in the Lafayette Journal-Courier and the Indianapolis Star.
Schmeyko Bolden (5'11 F, Evansville) Bosse has signed with Southeast Illinois Junior College in Harrisburg, Illinois. Bolden averaged 19. 5 points and 9 rebounds per game during her senior season. Although she was looking early on at some Division I schools who had shown an interest, Bolden chose to go the junior college path due to grades and test scores which would prohibit her playing at a Division I school next fall. You can read about Bolden's college choice in the Evansville Courier & Press (one-day link).
Amanda Adams, (5'3 G, Madison) has signed to play basketball for The University of New Orleans Privateers in the Sunbelt Conference. Adams was the leading scorer for the Madison Cubs, who were runners-up in the 3A South Semi-State. Adams averaged 13.7 points, 3.7 assists, and shot 53.6% from 2-point range. You can view more information about Adams at the Madison Lady Cubs web site.
For additional signings so far for 1999 seniors,
go to the Indianapolis
Star.
Even with a National Championship under their belts and
the controvery of a new coach settled, the Purdue Lady Boilermakers and
their new coach continue to be in the forefront of statewide and national
news. The following are some of the better stories we found as the '98-'99
Lady Boilermakers celebrate their final days together:
"Boilermaker players impressed with new coach" (Journal & Courier Boiler Station) Kelly Komara, Katie Douglas, Candy Crawford and Stephanie White-McCarty relate their first impressions of new Head Coach Kristy Curry.
"A ‘Creole’ feeder system for Purdue" (Kokomo Tribune) - Great interview with LA Tech Head Coach Leon Barmore about Kristy Curry's departure (among others) from the Lady Techsters program to Purdue.
"No 'I' in team -- or Purdue" - ESPN - On-line article by ESPN special correspondent, Mechelle Voepel, about why Purdue is the best TEAM in the nation.
| News thru Wednesday, April 7 |
The Associated Press All-State selections are in, and Jeanette Gray of Valpo has been honored with a First Team selection, together with April McDivitt, 5-7, Sr. (Connersville), Kennitra Johnson, 5-8, Sr. (New Albany), Shyra Ely, 6-1, So. (Ben Davis), and Jill Hartman, 5-11, Sr. (Evansville Memorial). You can view the complete AP selections at the Indianapolis Star. Region-Area players who were named to various AP All-State lists are as follows:
High Honorable Mention: Kristin Cheairs, 14.8 ppg (West Side), Jackie Campbell, 18.1 ppg (Chesterton), Jenny DeMuth, 19.5 ppg (Highland), Abbey Coons, 15.7 ppg (Hobart), and Jamie Gutowski, 8.8 ppg (Andrean).
Honorable Mention: Erin Jedlikowski, 12.4 ppg (Portage), Erica Martin, 21.1 ppg (Kouts), and Tracie Mezera, 24 ppg (River Forest).
Both April McDivitt
and Kennitra Johnson have been named by USA Today
to its All-USA Second Team. The USA Today Player of the Year is 6'4 Nina
Smith of Waterloo, Iowa, who will be attending Wisconsin University
next fall. Also named by USA Today to its Third Team was Alicia
Ratay of Lake Zurich, Illinois, who will be attending Notre Dame
next season.
For those players who are contemplating pursuing a college
basketball career, there is much you need to know in achieving your goals.
The Coach's Edge web site is a great place to get a wide variety of info
on the college scholarship game. Visit their College
Bound Basics section to get valuable information on a variety of topics,
including campus visits, National Clearinghouse basics, the ever popular
and confusing rules surrounding the National Letter of Intent, as well
as other related topics. This is one of the best sites on the web with
valid and worthy info for the high school athlete pursuing a college scholarship.
Lots of great info for high school coaches, too.
Local news coverage of players recently selected to the
Indiana All-Stars:
Heather Cusick, Kokomo
Times
Kristen Lowry, Logansport
Pharos Tribune
Natalie Will & Amy Zercher, The
Goshen News
Ball State University has named its new coach.
Brenda Frese Oldfield, an assistant at Iowa
State for the past two years, will take the reigns of a program that has
gone 54-127 in the past seven seasons under former coach Robyn Markey,
who resigned last month. Oldfield will be inheriting some high school talent
next fall in the form of Amy Zercher (NorthWood)
and Laurie Kitts (Eastbrook). You can read
about Oldfield's selection in the Indianapolis
Star.
Finally, Hanover Central players
and fans might be interested in a piece at the Ft.
Wayne News-Sentinal that appeared back in March (we just found
it) about the finish to the Hanover Central/Eastern game. The claim is
that one of Hanover's senior players tried to deck an official after the
game. Some interesting coverage... or is it fiction?
| News thru Sunday, April 4 |
Happy Easter!
The selections for the Indiana All-Star Team have
been announced and only Jeanette Gray of Valparaiso
made the cut of players from the Region. The entire
roster of the Indiana All-Stars can be viewed at the Indianapolis Star,
as well as an article featuring the thoughts
of All-Star head coach, Greg Kirby (Valparaiso) about the team. Congratulations
to Jeanette on a great honor to represent all the players from the Region. You
can read Jeanette's reaction to being selected for the All-Star Team in The
Times. This article also discusses the absence of both Jackie
Campbell (Chesterton) and Kristin Cheairs
(Gary West Side) from the All-Star roster. The All-Star games will be June 19
at Market Square Arena and June 26 in Frankfort, Kentucky. To purchase tickets
for the game at Market Square Arena call (800) 669-7827, extension 1231.
Both Kennitra Johnson (New
Albany) and April McDivitt (Connersville)
made a good showing for Indiana high school basketball yesterday in the
WBCA All-American High School game in Hartford, Connecticut. Johnson walked
away with MVP honors for the Red Team with 16 points and 6 steals (a new
WBCA All-American game record), and McDivitt had 10 assists, 5 points and
2 steals for the White Team. You can read about the outstanding performances
of both of these players in an article appearing in the New
Haven Register.
| News thru Saturday, April 3 |
A legion of NWI players will get their last hurrah in high school girls basketball in the Northwest Indiana Basketball Classic, set for Saturday, April 10, at 4:00 p.m. at East Chicago Central. Two teams of senior players representing the East and West areas of the Region are as follows:
| East Team | West Team |
| Gerri Harper, Roosevelt Francis Malone, Roosevelt Kristin Cheairs, West Side Tamara Smith, West Side Tamara Somerville, West Side Jackie Campbell, Chesterton Bridge DeCordia, LaPorte Shannon Wells, Merrillville Abbey Coons, Hobart Erin Jedlikowski, Portage Jessica Yagelski, Michigan City |
Kim Law, Morton Jenny Taylor, Morton Lori Moore, Lake Central Jennifer Bayer, Lowell Christy Koby, Hanover Central Clatossica Williams, EC Central Tynisia Fair, Hammond Angie Zemen, Highland Laura Jelski, Highland Melissa Austin, Highland Meghann Sullivan, Andrean Stacy Jones, Bishop Noll LeTisha Adams, Griffith |
| North Team | South Team |
| Jackie Campbell, Chesterton Kristin Cheairs, Gary West Side Heather Cusick, Kokomo Lello Gebisa, West Lafayette Jeannette Gray, Valparaiso Laurie Kitts, Eastbrook Kristin Lwory, Logansport Kourtney Mennen, Clinton Prairie Maria Recker, DeKalb Amy Waugh, Homestead Amy Zercher, NorthWood Coach: Jack Campbell, Chesterton |
Emily Butler, Center Grove Jennifer Callier, Indpls Cathedral Cortney Cooper, Martinsville Jill Hartman, Evansville Memorial Jenna Hayes, Indpls Roncalli Kennitra Johnson, New Albany Traci Joslin, Cambridge City Dorcas Lawson, TH South April McDivitt, Connersville Erika Roudebush, Hamilton SE Kristy Thomann, North Vermillion Coach: Larry Miller, Connersville |