The sectional snow seems to have arrived right on schedule, but the majority of Wabash Valley girls high school basketball teams can be excused for hoping the rest of this week doesn’t continue on a traditional path.
Maybe only one Valley team is a legitimate favorite in sectionals that run today — snow removal permitting — through Saturday, and even that one is a lot iffier a proposition than it might have looked at the beginning of the season.
Two-time defending Class A regional runner-up Turkey Run, with just one starter missing from those teams, would seem to be the team to beat at the Covington Sectional. But the fourth-ranked Warriors’ three Banks of the Wabash Rivals — 10th-ranked North Vermillion, Riverton Parke and Rockville — also enter postseason play with winning records, perhaps an unprecedented situation for those four teams.
“Our sectional got a lot better quick,” noted coach Sam Karr of Turkey Run, which has beaten all three of those rivals but also lost an early game to Rockville.
All four winning teams would seem to be ready to play what would amount to a second Banks tournament starting with Friday’s semifinals; host Covington is winless, and two of Attica’s three wins were against the Trojans.
“It’s about like they seeded our bracket,” said Karr, whose Warriors would probably play Rockville after North Vermillion plays Riverton Parke on Friday. “It should be as exciting as it’s been for awhile.”
Hampered by injuries in postseason play a year ago, Turkey Run hopes it got those out of the way early this season. “We’re in as good a shape as we can be in,” Karr said. “I really like where we’re at right now … we feel good going in.”
Other favorites? Well, third-ranked Mooresville qualifies in the Class 4A tournament at Terre Haute South, although one of the three Valley entrants is guaranteed to reach the championship game; four-time defending champion Owen Valley could be in the Class 3A Sullivan Sectional, although the host Golden Arrows took the Patriots to overtime before losing at Spencer on Saturday; Linton has the best record, but hasn’t beaten everyone in the field, at the Class 2A South Knox Sectional; and injuries leave the Class A Clay City Sectional up for grabs.
At South, the host Braves are 3-0 against Terre Haute North and Northview, the two teams in their bracket. But to reach Friday’s semifinal against the Knights, the Braves will have to beat the Patriots for a third time. The first two games were three-pointers, most recently 37-34 on Jan. 29.
“We just want to keep up our intensity to match North’s,” coach Dave Cassell said of his South team, “and taking good care of the basketball is one of our goals.
“We haven’t been on our own floor for seven games in a row, so playing at home has to be very helpful.”
It might help the Patriots too, coach Mike Allen of North is hoping.
“[South’s gym] is very similar to our gym,” said Allen, whose team lost to the Braves at West Vigo [in the HI-99/Terre Haute Savings Bank Classic] and in Hulman Center. “We’re hoping to have a different outcome this time.
“This could be a good draw for us,” Allen said, “but South has beaten us nine times in a row, so it will be another battle. We’ve got to speed the pace up a little bit [the other game had a 33-30 final score] and get more opportunities to score.”
At Sullivan, coach Ryan Easton of West Vigo hopes to catch Owen Valley looking ahead to a potential Friday semifinal game against Sullivan when the two teams play the only game there tonight.
“We’re familiar with Owen Valley,” said Easton, whose Vikings lost twice to the Patriots this year. “We have our game plan against them, and I’m sure they do against us.
“We respect what [the Patriots] have done and how good they are, but we’re not afraid of them.”
The Vikings and Patriots haven’t met for more than two months, and West Vigo spent more than half of its season trying to get all its players in the lineup at the same time.
“The last third of the season or so, we’ve had everybody pretty healthy,” Easton said.
At South Knox, the Miners have one won already against the host team, their opponent tonight, but would need revenge on Friday if they advance to a semifinal game against North Knox. One big factor for the Miners — literally — is the presence of White River Valley transfer Stephanie Fougerousse in the middle; Fougerousse hasn’t been on a team that lost a sectional game since her freshman year.
Fougerousse isn’t the only player missing from the two-time defending champion Wolverines, which leaves the Clay City Sectional so wide open. North Central and Shakamak will be without key players, but the Thunderbirds have one win this season against the host Eels — the only one of the five teams with a winning record.
Indiana girls basketball sectionals
Class 4A
At Terre Haute South
Today — Terre Haute North (8-12) vs. Terre Haute South (12-9), 6 p.m., followed by Mooresville (21-1) vs. Martinsville (7-13)
Friday — Northview (4-16) vs. North-South winner, 6 p.m., followed by Plainfield (11-11) vs. Mooresville-Martinsville winner
Class 3A
At Sullivan
Today — West Vigo (4-16) vs. Owen Valley (17-5), 7 p.m.
Wednesday — Greencastle (13-7) vs. Edgewood (15-7), 6 p.m., followed by South Vermillion (8-12) vs. Brown County (6-13, 7-13 or 6-14)
Friday — Sullivan (11-10) vs. West Vigo-Owen Valley winner, 6 p.m., followed by Friday winners
Class 2A
At South Knox
Today — Linton (14-7) vs. South Knox (7-15), 7 p.m.
Friday — Eastern Greene (9-13) vs. Bloomfield (12-8), 6 p.m., followed by North Knox (8-14) vs. Linton-South Knox winner
Class A
At Covington
Today — North Vermillion (18-2) vs. Attica (3-16), 6 p.m., followed by Covington (0-20) vs. Rockville (14-6)
Friday — Riverton Parke (12-8) vs. North Vermillion-Attica winner, 6 p.m., followed by Turkey Run (16-5) vs. Covington-Rockville winner
At Clay City
Today — Shakamak (7-13) vs. Union (4-15), 6 p.m.
Friday — North Central (10-10) vs. Clay City (11-9), 6 p.m., followed by White River Valley (2-17) vs. Shakamak-Union winner
Championship games 7 p.m. Saturday.
High School
Snow could be problem for girls hoops sectionals
- High School
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South’s Lough to wrestle for state title
The day didn’t start in a promising fashion for Wabash Valley high school wrestlers at the Evansville Semistate in Ford Center on Saturday — but it got better as it went along.
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TERRE HAUTE NORTH SECTIONAL: Mooresville tops South for fourth straight title
For Terre Haute South High School girls basketball fans, it might sound good that the Braves did not miss a shot in the first four minutes of their Class 4A Terre Haute North Sectional championship game Saturday.
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BLOOMFIELD SECTIONAL: Sullivan rebounds from tough start for title
It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
Sullivan struggled mightily in the first half, eerily reminiscent of its eventual elimination in the final seconds of overtime by Edgewood in last year’s Class 3A girls basketball sectional. -
CLAY CITY SECTIONAL: Eels take third straight sectional crown
Clay City stood up to the pressure and to the Shakamak Lakers on Saturday night to win a third straight Class A sectional championship in the Eel Dome.
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NORTH VERMILLION SECTIONAL: Twenty years in the waiting
The Super Bowl came to a new city. A presidential election was ongoing. And Riverton Parke won a girls basketball sectional.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Rox clinch WRC
Class A No. 8-ranked Rockville knocked off Attica 50-35 in boys high school basketball Saturday afternoon, clinching the Wabash River Conference championship in the process.
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THN SECTIONAL: Braves to play Mooresville for sectional title tonight
Terre Haute South continued to show what’s new and Terre Haute North unfortunately reverted back to what’s old in Class 4A high school girls basketball sectional action Friday night at North.
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OWEN VALLEY SECTIONAL: Eagles bring Vikes down to earth
Baby steps. A baby takes that first step and grins, then attempts the second step and tumbles. The West Vigo High School girls took their first step with a victory Tuesday night in the Class 3A basketball sectional at Owen Valley.
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BLOOMFIELD SECTIONAL: Sullivan jumps to early lead in sectional victory
Sullivan jumped out to a 9-0 lead and were never threatened in a dominant 48-25 win over Eastern Greene in a semifinal game of the Class 2A Bloomfield girls basketball sectional inside Glover Gymnasium on Friday.
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North Vermillion Sectional: Panthers, Falcons to meet for NV title
Outstanding defense and quality passing landed Riverton Parke in the championship game of the Class A North Vermillion Sectional. The Panthers will have to get through the host school tonight in order to secure the program’s first sectional crown since 1992.
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South swimmers don’t advance at Finals
Terre Haute South’s trip to the IHSAA girls swimming state finals at the Indiana University Natatorium was a short one Friday night.
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South runs into talented North Central team
Terre Haute South players and coaches knew when they got off the bus Saturday afternoon that they couldn’t run with the Class 4A No. 3-ranked Indianapolis North Central Panthers.
But they tried anyway. -
BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Duncan’s OT free throws help Marshall down H-P
Jacob Duncan hit four free throws in overtime Friday night as visiting Marshall defeated Hutsonville-Palestine 51-49 in Little Illini Conference action.
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O'Leary pours in career-high 34 for Terre Haute North
Matt O’Leary poured in a career-high 34 points, 17 in each half, to lead Terre Haute North to a dominant 69-46 home victory over Center Grove in Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference boys high school basketball Saturday afternoon.
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Davis hits layup in double overtime to lift Terre Haute North at Bloomington North
Playing without their two leading scorers against a team that — most of the time — seemed more determined to win than they did, Terre Haute North's Patriots got a driving layup from Steven Davis with 2.8 seconds left in the second overtime to escape Bloomington North with a 54-52 win in high school basketball Thursday night.
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Sullivan stays on top of WIC for third straight year
Western Indiana Conference boys basketball teams have been trying to storm the Sullivan castle for three years now. The Golden Arrows have endured nearly every kind of strategy in the effort to breech their wall. West Vigo tried a few more on Thursday in a showdown for the WIC championship.
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South girls looking for solid performances at swimming state finals
One individual and one relay team, which includes that same individual, will represent Terre Haute South in the IHSAA girls swimming state finals today and possibly Saturday at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Cesinger, Jones each score 24 in Clay City win
Blake Cesinger and Brylan Jones poured in 24 points apiece to lead visiting Clay City over North Central 67-53 in SouthWestern Indiana Athletic Conference boys high school basketball Thursday night.
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Teutopolis knocks off record-setting Marshall girls in regional championship
Marshall jumped ahead 4-0 only to watch Teutopolis score the next 11 points Thursday in the championship game of the Class 2A Teutopolis Regional.
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Sullivan wins battle in low post
Sullivan dominated the low block at both ends of the court Wednesday to defeat South Knox 43-30.
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State wrestling berths won't come easily
If high school wrestlers thought regional competition was tough last weekend, they can expect the competition, as Keegan Michael Key used to say on MADtv, taken to “a whole notha level” on Saturday.
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South pulls upset
Plainfield’s 16-5 record made the Quakers the team to beat in the Class 4A Terre Haute North Sectional.
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Vikings break long sectional drought
You’ll have to forgive West Vigo for celebrating just a wee bit prior to the postgame handshake with South Vermillion, but its first victory in a sectional game in 11 years was worthy of celebrating.
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PREP ROUNDUP: RP rolls past Attica
Riverton Parke jumped to a 20-point halftime lead and easily defeated Attica 59-34 in the Class A North Vermillion girls basketball sectional on Tuesday.
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They’re the pride of Marshall
With a 24-1 record, coach Kathy Miller’s Marshall team earned the top seed in the Class 2A Teutopolis Regional.
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Union season more fun with Talpas around
The Union boys basketball team has had its share of fun moments in the past, arguably the most fun being its Class A state runner-up in 2000.
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Injury bug follows girls into postseason
Who’s healthy is the question at least three of the four teams will be asking tonight when Class 4A girls high school basketball sectional play begins at Terre Haute North.
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Rockville needs late run to stop West Vigo
It was a game of fits and starts, but host Rockville finally overcame a stiff challenge from visiting West Vigo in a 53-46 victory in boys high basketball action on Saturday.
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Northview holds off Plainfield
Northview got its sixth victory in boys high school basketball action Saturday night, defeating Plainfield 59-56.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Cloverdale helps Rady to career win No. 714
Brandon Dorman and Joe Fidler combined for 37 points and six 3-pointers Saturday night as visiting Cloverdale defeated Turkey Run 63-45 in boys high school basketball.
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