WEST TERRE HAUTE —
Superior defense was the story of the opening night of the Terre Haute Savings Bank Tip-Off Classic on Wednesday at West Vigo.
Owen Valley and Terre Haute North delivered the outstanding shutdown performances to advance to the second round of the season-opening tournament for girls high school basketball.
Owen Valley topped South Vermillion 58-25 behind the play of point guard Alicia Wilson, who gathered eight steals on her way to 16 points.
Terre Haute North’s point guard Nicole Anderson was equally disruptive, making seven first-half steals to spur her Patriots to a 33-3 half-time lead. North went on to a 53-12 victory over a young North Central squad. The two Patriot squads will meet up Saturday at noon in a semifinal contest.
Adrienne Pritchard and Layne Curley added 13 points for Terre Haute North, while Sierra Sykes added four steals and plenty of hustle plays. The Patriots will face their first true test of the season against a seasoned Owen Valley squad.
“They’re very aggressive defensively, nice little point guard, got some good shooters and some size,” North coach Mike Allen said. “They’re a very well-disciplined team that executes offensively. We’re going to have to play better and take care of the basketball. And defensively, keep them out away from the hoop.”
North committed 15 turnovers in its victory, and Allen is asking for better offensive execution.
“I was happy with our intensity on offense, very unselfish, but sometimes we're unselfish to a fault," Allen said. “There’s times where we made one too many passes that led to turnovers. But you can’t fault people for trying to get their teammates the basketball.”
OV coach Todd York said his team is in this tournament to win it. His Patriots led 14-2 after the opening quarter and held South Vermillion to 1-of-9 shooting in the first half while forcing 17 turnovers.
“Last year we came in here to just try to get three basketball games; this year, we came in here to try to contend for a championship,” York said. “You've got four seniors and three juniors so it's time. I saw some good things and some things we need to work on. We wanted to come in here and gain some people’s respect.”
Owen Valley guard Sheldon Williams added 15 points, draining 5-of-6 shots from the field including a pair of 3-pointers, pairing with Wilson for a strong backcourt performance.
“Alicia got it going and we look for her to do a lot of our scoring. She was good in the halfcourt defense. Overall, the team in the halfcourt set, played pretty good defense,” York said.
South Vermillion coach Tim Terry said his team will continue to work. Bailey Mack led the Wildcats with nine points.
“We’re playing a lot of freshmen and sophomores. We’re going to try to get better every game,” Terry said.
The Wildcats will play North Central on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. in the consolation bracket. The Thunderbirds showed they have some young athletes that will get better — possibly sooner rather than later — at the varsity level.
“We’re very young and it’s a team filled with players that have never won at the high school level,” Cummings said. "The eyes were pretty wide open coming down the floor early on. Their size obviously hurt us. We’ve got a lot of speed, but their height really neutralized it,” North Central coach Jacob Cummings said. “We’ve got four freshmen that play a lot of minutes and no seniors so the future is ahead of us.”
SOUTH VERMILLION (25) — Spivey 0-1 1-3 1, Wright 0-2 2-2 2, B.Mack 3-9 3-4 9, Freed 1-4 0-1 3, Russell 3-7 1-2 7, K.Mack 0-0 0-0 0, Vitaniemi 0-2 1-2 1, Crouch 0-1 0-0 0, Hixon 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 8-29 FG, 8-16 FT, 25 TP.
OWEN VALLEY (58) — Wilson 7-11 2-2 16, Williams 5-6 3-4 15, Corder 0-4 1-2 1, Eldridge 1-4 1-2 3, Richardson 4-6 0-0 8, Herrington 3-7 1-2 7, Jones 3-10 2-3 8, Dayhuff 0-1 0-0 0, Swaim 0-1 0-0 0, Bucy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-51 FG, 10-15 FT, 58 TP.
South Vermillion 2 5 4 14 — 25
Owen Valley 14 9 20 15 — 58
3-point shooting — SV 1-5 (Freed 1-1, B.Mack 0-3, Vitaniemi 0-1), OV 2-7 (Williams 2-2, Corder 0-2, Richardson 0-1, Swaim 0-1, Wilson 0-1). Rebounds — SV 26* (Freed 6, Hixon 4), OV 28* Eldridge 5, Richardson 5). *Includes team rebounds — SV 3, OV 2. Steals — SV 6 (Russell 2), OV 17 (Wilson 8, Corder 3, Richardson 3). Assists — SV 3 (Mack 2, Andrew), OV 11 (Wilson 3). Turnovers — SV 28, OV 14. Blocks — SV 0, OV 1 (Eldridge). Total fouls — SV 11, OV 17. Fouled out — none.
TERRE HAUTE NORTH (53) — Anderson 5-10 0-0 10, Curley 4-9 4-7 13, Sykes 0-1 2-4 2, Clark 0-5 0-0 0, Pritchard 5-8 3-7 13, Bendickson 2-6 0-0 5, Middleton 1-4 0-0 2, Staub 2-7 0-0 4, Crick 0-4 2-3 2, Lucas 1-3 0-1 2. Totals 20-57 FG,
NORTH CENTRAL (12) — Kreischer 0-11 1-2 1, Netherlain 1-3 0-0 3, Swalls 0-4 0-2 0, Kennedy 0-1 0-0 0, Evans 1-6 2-5 4, Mangram 1-2 0-0 2, Caddell 0-2 0-0 0, Miller 0-2 0-0 0, Carrio 0-0 0-0 0, Pritchard 1-1 0-0 2, Street 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 4-27 FG, 3-10 FT, 12 TP.
TH North 16 17 11 9 — 53
North Central 0 3 5 4 — 12
3-point shooting — THN 2-11 (Bendickson 1-5, Clark 0-3, Curley 1-3), NC 1-2 (Netherlain 1-1, Swalls 0-1). Rebounds — THN 45 (Crick 9, Anderson 9, Staub 8, Sykes 5, Pritchard 4), NC 23 (Evans 5, Swalls 4). Steals — THN 18 (Anderson 7, Sykes 4, Middleton 2, Curley 3), NC 8 (Kreischer 2, Mangram 2). Assists — 8 (Clark 3, Middleton 2), NC 1 (Kreischer). Turnovers — THN 15, NC 24. Blocks — THN 5 (Anderson, Curley, Pritchard, Bendickson, Staub), NC 2 (Swalls, Evans). Total fouls — THN 12, NC 17. Fouled out — none.
Next — Terre Haute North (2-0) plays Owen Valley on Saturday at noon at West Vigo. North Central (0-2) plays South Vermillion (0-1) on Saturday at 9 a.m. at West Vigo.
High School
Related Photos
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Keep away: North Central freshman guard Gabby Kreischer (10) hangs on to the ball as Terre Haute North's Nicole Anderson tries to force a jump ball.
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Fastbreak: Terre Haute North guard Layne Curley brings the ball up the floor against North Central Wednesday evening.
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Shooter: Terre Haute North forward Lindsay Clark gets off a shot against North Central in their first-round game of the Tip-off Classic Wednesday night in the West Vigo gym.
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis In the open: Terre Haute North's Layne Curley gets off an open shot in the Patriots' win over North Central Wednesday night.
Discussion
Tip-off Classic: Dominant D lifts North, OV
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Softball sectionals up for grabs
All three Vigo County high schools and Northview appear to have a realistic chance of winning sectional championships in softball this week.
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West Vigo softball holds off nemesis Edgewood in softball sectional
Ice cream was enough of a reward Monday night after the West Vigo Vikings beat eight-time defending champion Edgewood 6-2 in extra innings in the opening game of the Class 3A softball sectional at Edgewood High School. But that’s not what Vikings want.
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Terre Haute South, Northview vie for tennis regional title
Terre Haute South and Northview take respective records of 10-5 and 11-5 into the Greencastle Regional today.
Coach Bill Blankenbaker’s Braves will play Seeger at 4:30 p.m., while coach Emily Goff’s Knights will take on Crawfordsville about 6 p.m. -
Terre Haute North offense unable to get going in loss to Mooresville
Jack Kirchner chose to give credit Monday night to Mooresville pitcher Taylor Chitwood, not to the Greg Maddux-size strike zone she seemed to enjoy.
But if there were no excuses forthcoming from Kirchner and his Terre Haute North High School softball team, it wouldn’t have been hard to find a spectator or two to come up with extenuating circumstances about the Patriots’ 4-1 loss at the Class 4A Martinsville Sectional. -
Terre Haute North looking strong going into girls track regional
Terre Haute North might need an off night for anyone to catch them in the girls track regional at Evansville Central.
The Patriots are as well-rounded as they’ve ever been, and two relay teams are state contenders with times ranking No. 2 in Indiana among times recorded all spring.
Terre Haute South, Northview and Sullivan have athletes among the contenders in multiple events as well. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Shakamak's Green hits two homers in win over West Vigo
Shakamak improved to 22-3 on the season behind a complete-game effort from Brett Yeryar, and Patrick Green hit two solo home runs in a high school baseball game Monday.
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Vikings win in extra innings at Rockville
West Vigo scored six runs in its first two innings Saturday, then needed a ninth-inning single by Lucas Fagg to escape with a 7-6 extra-inning win in nonconference high school baseball at Rockville.
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TH South beats Northview in Big Four makeup baseball game
Terre Haute South wrapped up a share of the MIC baseball title and finished up the Big Four Classic with an 8-1 victory over Northview in less than 24 hours on Saturday morning.
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Olds pitches South to share of MIC baseball title
Friday night, winning the second game 5-0 and earning a share of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title.
Damon Olds was dominant on the mound for the Braves, striking out 14 and walking just one while pitching a three-hit shutout. -
South wins first half of doubleheader against Lawrence North
Host Terre Haute South kept its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title hopes alive — and clinched no worse than second place in the process — by downing Lawrence North 4-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday night.
The second game, which started after Senior Night festivities between games, ended past the Tribune-Star deadline. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Calleja pitches West Vigo past South Vermillion
Brandon Calleja had 13 strikeouts to lead West Vigo to a 5-1 victory against South Vermillion in high school baseball Friday.
Brandon Behringer went 2 for 4 with two RBI for the Vikings, who secured second place in the Western Indiana Conference.
Kaden Lawson had double for South Vermillion (15-7), which finished 4-2 in the WIC. -
Seibert returns from injury to win three events as Braves win sectional crown
His baseball equivalent might be Rick Sutcliffe of the 1984 Chicago Cubs.
When Tyler Seibert returned to the Terre Haute South track and field lineup Thursday for sectional action at Terre Haute North, it was like the midseason trade the Cubs made for Sutcliffe that earned them a playoff spot. -
South switches up lineup to defeat North in tennis sectional
Terre Haute South coach Bill Blankenbaker said two weeks ago that he would change the Braves’ lineup after the 3-2 dual-meet loss to Terre Haute North.
The Patriots knew it was coming, but they couldn’t do anything to stop it. -
PREP ROUNDUP: North slips past Northview in eight-inning baseball game
Colton Pittman drew a bases-loaded walk to score Zach Milam with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as host Terre Haute North edged Northview 8-7 in high school baseball Thursday at Jennings Field.
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PREP ROUNDUP: North and South to face off for tennis sectional title
The winner of the Terre Haute sectional for girls high school tennis will come down to Terre Haute North and Terre Haute South.
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Terre Haute North gets 10 event victories to claim 12th straight sectional crown
Terre Haute North won 10 events Tuesday night while winning the Indiana High School Athletic Association girls track and field section at South Putnam High School for the 12th straight year.
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North, South to meet in first round of baseball sectional
The Indiana High School Athletic Association announced pairings for the baseball state tournament Tuesday and the draw offered up a Vigo County battle in the opening game.
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PREP ROUNDUP: West Vigo softball clinches share of WIC title
West Vigo clinched at least a share of the Western Indiana Conference softball title with a 6-4 victory over Edgewood on Tuesday.
Jacy McClain and Bailee Waters had RBI singles in the fourth inning to break the game open for the Vikings. -
Track sectional titles on the line
Expect one heck of a high school dual track meet Thursday night when Wabash Valley boys visit Terre Haute North for sectional action.
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Prep report: Patriots, Braves favored to advance from tennis sectional 1st round
Persons attending this week’s girls tennis sectional championship match at Terre Haute North might want to pack a lunch.
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Local ADs happy to see spring come to a close
Brian Mancuso is the most experienced of the high school athletic directors in Vigo County — and that’s a very relative term — but even he wasn’t quite ready for the headaches that have accompanied spring sports the last few weeks thanks to rain, rain and more rain.
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South baseball remains in first-place tie with Center Grove
Heading into Saturday’s Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference baseball doubleheader against Center Grove, coach Kyle Kraemer of Terre Haute South wasn’t completely optimistic.
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Kehrt Award goes to Emily Bell, Lee Davis
Emily Bell of Terre Haute South and Lee Davis of Terre Haute North are the 2013 recipients of the Willard M. Kehrt Mental Attitude Award.
Bell and Davis were nominated by their schools and chosen in a vote by the Kehrt Award panel. Both will be recognized at awards assemblies later in the month at the schools.
Bell played varsity basketball four years at South and is competing in track this season, running the 800 and two relays. “I wanted something to do my senior year,” Bell said.
She plans to attend DePauw University and play basketball. DePauw is the reigning NCAA Division III champ in women's basketball.
Bell tore an AÇL playing in a basketball tournament the summer after her sophomore season. She missed most of her junior season but came back to play her senior year and was second leading scorer and leading rebounder her final season.
Bell also was leading rebounder her sophomore year. -
South softball's power display earns Braves share of MIC
The fun that the Terre Haute South high school softball team had Saturday — including those five home runs — was all the result of the hard work the Braves had put in before the game, coach Dwayne Stout said after the game.
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Pirtle takes medalist, leads Sullivan to WIC title
Sullivan took team and individual honors in the Western Indiana Conference boys high school golf championships played Saturday at Idle Creek.
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Prep roundup: Patriots drop doubleheader to Carmel baseball
Host Terre Haute North saw its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference baseball championship hopes suffer what was probably a fatal blow on Saturday as the Patriots lost a doubleheader to Carmel by scores of 8-7 and 11-8.
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Timely hits: After slow start, Terre Haute North rallies to beat Mooresville
No-hit through three innings, Terre Haute North’s bats came alive — especially Sam Wolf’s — just in time to rally for a 4-2 home victory over Mooresville in high school baseball Friday evening at Jennings Field.
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Linton’s Weber to coach at BNL
Bedford North Lawrence High School has announced that Steve Weber will be the Stars’ head coach for the 2013 season.
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Freshman group adds to Big Four teams' baseball tradition
The Terre Haute North-Terre Haute South high school baseball series wasn’t an inning old last week before T.J. Collett of the Patriots lashed a run-scoring single.
That hit helped the Patriots take a 2-0 lead, but in the top of the second inning a three-run double by Justin Jenkins sparked the visiting Braves to a four-run inning.
North tied the score in the bottom of the second inning, Collett driving in another run. And just before rain caused the game to be suspended, South called Logan Ames in from its bullpen for some solid pitching.
Not bad for a trio of freshmen. And the weekend hadn’t even started yet. -
Pairings drawn for high school softball sectionals
The IHSAA announced Thursday its pairings for the 2013 sectional softball tournament slated for May 20-25.
Regionals will take place May 28. - More High School Headlines
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