MECCA —
Sara Dickey and Paige Yando were freshman starters in June 2010 when Riverton Parke captured the IHSAA Class A state championship in softball.
And they were junior starters on the Panthers’ girls basketball team that advanced to the Class A semistate last season.
Now seniors, along with teammates and longtime friends Kenzie Pollard and Kori Wood, they want to go out with a bang in 2013.
Judging by the way the current girls basketball season has gone so far, Parke County residents should prepare to cover their ears.
Ranked No. 6 in the state in Class A this week, Riverton Parke carries an 11-1 record after defeating South Vermillion 56-21 Friday for its school-record 11th straight victory.
Attaching their names to school records seems to be the norm for this group of Panthers. Here’s a partial list from this season:
n Dickey, a 5-foot-11 guard signed to play basketball for the University of Evansville next season, seized the RP career marks for points (1,401), rebounds (539), assists (237) and steals (310).
Riverton Parke graduates Traci Ball (points and steals) and Amy Wheeler (rebounds and assists) were the previous owners of these records, although fifth-year coach Josh Douglass indicated Yando may pass Dickey on the all-time rebounds list before the season ends.
Incidentally, Dickey is averaging 23.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game this season.
n In an 84-33 triumph at Rockville on Nov. 16, the Panthers established a school record for most points in one game. The previous mark was 77, originally set in 1987 and tied in 2003.
n In a 53-18 win at Turkey Run last week — even though Dickey twisted her ankle and missed most of the contest — the 5-9 Yando stepped up and sank seven 3-point goals, most in one game in RP history. On that same night, the 5-8 Pollard set the single-game mark for blocked shots with eight.
“It’s nice to set records,” Yando told the Tribune-Star later in the week. “But we can’t stop there. We have to keep pushing.”
Yes, regardless of how many school records they end up breaking, these Panthers won’t be completely satisfied unless they win the state championship March 2 in Terre Haute’s Hulman Center.
Douglass, a relatively young head coach at 31, thinks his squad’s stingy defense could lead to that result.
“We run a lot of half-court traps with Sara on the front,” he explained. “She’s got very good hand-eye coordination and causes a lot of deflections.”
Dickey and Yando, who tallies 16.7 ppg, also are believers.
“We can go all the way,” emphasized Dickey, who also plays volleyball and runs track for the school located near Mecca. “We just have to play hard every single day and stay healthy … We’ve grown up. We’re figuring things out. We’re just playing really well together right now.”
“We have matured as a group,” added Yando, a volleyball, basketball and softball standout who is undecided on a college choice. “We got a taste of [basketball success] last season and now we’ve got to make it happen … We have to remember to stay focused every game and make every possession count. We need to execute.”
Told that her comments sound like the kind a coach would make, Yando quickly replied: “I learned from the best,” referring to Douglass while he was within earshot.
On a more serious note, Douglass expects Dickey to be recovered from her ankle injury when Riverton Parke returns to action Dec. 27-28 in the Toby Yoho Tournament at Eastern Greene. The Panthers most likely will need her healthy when they face tougher competition down the road.
“Sara involves all of her teammates in the game,” Douglass pointed out. “She’s always trying to set them up to do good things on the court. She’s also a good shooter. That comes from her showing up at the gym at 5 a.m. to do a shooting regimen on her own. So she’s put in the time.”
Douglass also praised Yando, a former inside specialist who has been moved to the perimeter this season.
“She’s really worked hard on her outside shooting,” the Panthers’ coach said. “She has more confidence now.”
Douglass described the 5-5 Wood as someone who’s able to bring “a defensive intangible.”
“She can just shut down a player,” he noted.
The Panthers’ only loss came in the season opener — a 48-45 decision to Sullivan way back on Nov. 6. That won’t happen again because the Golden Arrows are not on Riverton Parke’s schedule for a rematch and they compete in the Class 2A state tournament.
Although a few other bigger schools appear on the Panthers’ regular-season slate, one more crack at the Class A state tournament is what they’re looking forward to the most.
“If we stay healthy,” Douglass assessed, “I really, truly believe we can go all the way.”
And if that actually happens, how would a 31-year-old coach react?
“Words wouldn’t be able to describe it,” he admitted.
High School
Related Photos
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Open shot: Riverton Parke's Kori Wood finds an open shot in the corner of the court during team practice Dec. 13 at the Parke County school. (Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza)
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Team effort: Riverton Parke girls basketball coach Josh Douglass talks to his team after practice Dec.13 at the Parke County school.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Won and lost at the free-throw line: Riverton Parke's Paige Yando practices her free-throw skills during team practice Friday at the Parke County school.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Down but not out: Riverton Parke's Sara Dickey watches as a teammate practices her freethrows during team practice Dec. 13 at the school.
Discussion
Riverton Parke girls continuing on outstanding season behind seniors
- High School
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Goatee, Bertoli ran away with Spring Athlete of the Year
When honoring athletes after a season of excellence, the phrase “what might have been” doesn’t usually come up.
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Post 346 opens tournament with two victories
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All of that helped Wayne Newton Post 346 down Lafayette Post 11 by a 7-2 score in the opener of the Terre Haute Inviatational tournament for American Legion baseball Thursday afternoon at Terre Haute North High School. -
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Baker wasn’t happy with the 85 he shot in Tuesday’s first round of the IHSAA boys golf state finals.
“He was frustrated,” Nasser said.
Problem solved. Baker bounced back with a 2-over 74 Wednesday, helping the Patriots improve their team score by seven strokes.
The Patriots shot 304 as a team Wednesday, giving them a two-day score of 615, good for 13th place in the 15-team field. -
Big hill to climb for North golf
Terre Haute North boys golf is 21 strokes behind leaders at IHSAA boys golf tourney.
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Top of her game
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Camp, Howe win, then lose in state tennis tourney
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Terre Haute North heading back to state finals in boys golf
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North, South, Sullivan to compete at golf regional
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Terre Haute North falls 6-1 to Brownsburg in opening game of Class 4A Regional
Terre Haute North coach Shawn Turner told the Patriots to raise their heads. He wanted to see their eyes at the close of their 24-7 high school baseball season.
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Terre Haute North girls shine on dreary day at track state finals
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Valley teams will have to wait until Monday for baseball regionals
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Rockville's season ends at Lafayette Central Catholic
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IHSAA boys state track finals: Standing alone
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Terre Haute North, West Vigo return to baseball regionals
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Patriots girls take aim at state track title
Terre Haute North’s girls have several potential state champions today at Indiana University.
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South, North track athletes looking for big performances at state finals
Terre Haute South’s distance trio of Jackson Bertoli, Logan Hambrock and Riley Stohler appear to be the favorites to crack all-state status among Wabash Valley competitors today in the IHSAA boys track and field state finals at Indiana University.
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Internet site keeps area prep teams on airwaves
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South Vermillion softball can't overcome errors, Tri-West
Uncharacteristic errors led to eight unearned runs and hard-luck hitting made that impossible to overcome for South Vermillion, which fell 8-0 to Tri-West in Class 3A regional play.
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Clay City softball comes up short against Lutheran
Clay City closed its high school softball season Tuesday night with the best record ever for the program at 21-9.
The Eels wanted to add another win, the school’s first regional title, but they came up short.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Rockville wins baseball sectional
Rockville won its own Class A sectional in high school baseball Tuesday, defeating Covington 10-4 in the rain-delayed championship game.
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Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional:The wait is over
Three minutes into an interview with various media members, Terre Haute North baseball coach Shawn Turner couldn’t react fast enough to avoid a bucket of ice water being dumped over his head from behind by his giddy players. The soaking-wet Turner could shake it off with a smile, however, because his Patriots had just won the IHSAA Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional championship with a 13-3 six-inning triumph over Plainfield on Monday evening.
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Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional: TH North, Plainfield win squeakers
The high school baseball teams of Terre Haute North and Plainfield proved Monday that what a batter does early in the game is not necessarily indicative of what he will do in the late innings.
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Class 2A Linton Sectional: Eastern rains on Sullivan parade
Mother Nature put Sullivan’s quest for a high school baseball sectional championship on hold Monday night at Linton-Stockton High School. Sullivan (14-15) and Eastern Greene (16-7) will resume play in the Class 2A Sectional 47 championship game at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Linton’s Roy Herndon Field.
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Opening Day: Terre Haute Rex host Quincy
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Class A Shakamak Sectional: Stout pitching leads Union, Shakamak to final
Trey Bedwell and Patrick Green made sure their respective high school baseball teams would meet for the championship of the Class A Shakamak Sectional by pitching shutouts in semifinal contests Monday afternoon.
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Class A Rockville Sectional: Covington, Rockville title game postponed
Rockville and Covington won semifinal high school baseball games Monday to advance to the championship game of the Rockville Class A Sectional. Due to rain, the championship game was postponed. A decision was expected this morning whether the game will be played today or Wednesday.
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South Vermillion, Linton, Clay City look to stay alive in softball
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West Vigo back on top of Class 3A baseball sectional
West Vigo won its sectional with a 6-4 victory over South Vermillion on a rainy night at Dick Ballinger Field.
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South runs into ‘buzzsaw’ at girls tennis semistate
Postmatch interviews don’t often begin with a coach and a reporter ready to blurt out the same word, but that was the case for Bill Blankenbaker and his interviewer Saturday morning after the Center Grove Semistate for girls high school tennis.
Unfortunately for Blankenbaker’s Terre Haute South team, that word was “buzzsaw.”
Greenwood’s Kawamoto twins made quick work of the top of the Braves’ singles lineup, so despite stellar efforts by both South doubles teams the Woodmen’s 3-2 victory didn’t seem all that close.
Greenwood moves on to Fishers, where it plays Floyd Central or Jasper on Friday in the state quarterfinals.
Also playing Friday, but at Park Tudor, will be South’s Miranda Camp and Nicole Howe, who reached the individual doubles finals for the second straight season by virtue of their 6-4, 6-2 win over the Greenwood team of Taylor Hudnall and Brittany Toney.
“It’s really exciting,” said Howe of the prospect of a second straight finals trip, “but I wish our team could’ve gone with us.”
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