It’s been a great girls’ basketball season in Southern Indiana.
Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, Austin and South Central all had spectacular seasons, won conference championships and put up 73 victories between them.
As memorable as it has been for the foursome, greatness is reserved for the postseason.
See how staff writers Kevin Harris and Greg Mengelt voted in this week's Associated Press boys' basketball polls
Jeffersonville got 20 points apiece from Anthony Adams and Evan Maschmeyer in a 72-54 road win over Evansville Harrison on Saturday.
The victory capped a double-victory weekend in Evansville for Jeff, which improved to 13-4 with the triumph. The Devils beat 72-60 over Evansville Reitz on Friday.
FLOYDS KNOBS — Floyd Central’s offense caught up with its stifling defense Saturday night, as the hosts drilled South Central 90-48 for its 11th win of the season.
JEFFERSONVILLE — The Jeffersonville wrestling team emerged from the individual wrestling regional Saturday at Johnson Arena with a school-record six wins and 10 athletes heading to next weekend’s semistate in Evansville.
In the high-impact, high-commitment sport of wrestling, that success is something his kids should be proud of, Jeffersonville coach Danny Struck said.
NEW ALBANY — In the fastest Floyd Central girls’ swimming sectional in history on Saturday, the host Highlanders won their third straight crown by 37 points over runner-up New Albany.
For 2 1/2 quarters, the Providence Pioneers played David to powerful New Albany’s Goliath, battling the Class 4A No. 4 Bulldogs toe-to-toe on Friday night at the Larkin Center.
The night didn’t start well for Jeffersonville’s boys’ basketball team.
Not only is practice used to hone a team’s skills, but it is utilized to prepare for the upcoming opponent as well.
Steven Hnat has become one of the big men on campus at the University of Louisville.
The host Jeffersonville Lady Red Devils did what was expected last night, rolling past visiting Providence and winning their 20th of 21 games on senior night, 66-33.
Kayton Cole, Tanner Marcum and Samantha Pitts each scored four points in the second overtime period as New Albany topped New Washington, 76-71 on Thursday.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
• Mitchell Meyer (Hanover men’s basketball, New Albany graduate, Jr.) — weekly stats: 17.5 points per game, 14-20 FG, 0-1 3-pt., 7-9 FT, 19 rebounds, six assists; top performance: game-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting, game-high 13 rebounds and two assists in the Panthers’ 74-59 victory on Wednesday at Mount St. Joseph; notes: Meyer is 11 points away from the 1,000-point plateau in his collegiate career. When he reaches that mark, he will be the 33rd player to accomplish that milestone at Hanover, which started playing basketball in 1905; team records: 11-9 overall, 8-4 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
After not winning the ARCA Series title the past two seasons, people might be wondering if nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel still has the fire in the belly to win another championship.
IU Southeast men’s basketball coach Wiley Brown always feels like his team is going to wind up putting up points in bunches.
Twelve-time Indiana state wrestling champion Evansville Mater Dei ended Jeffersonville’s team season with a 40-14 defeat of the Red Devils.
Jeffersonville’s boys’ swim team won its first Hoosier Hills Conference title since 2005 on Tuesday, sharing the crown with Bedford North Lawrence, which earned its fifth straight HHC championship.
The Floyd Central girls’ swimming sectional begins tonight at the New Albany High School Natatorium, and it concludes on Saturday with what should be a tight championship race.
After 13 years of memories at Covered Bridge Golf Club, Fuzzy Zoeller announced on Thursday he will move the annual Magnolia Health Systems Wolf Challenge to Indianapolis.
CHARLESTOWN — It was billed as the last girls’ basketball game at the Bill Dunn Sports Arena. And the Charlestown Lady Pirates made it one to remember — almost.
COLUMBUS — After 19 wins, Floyd Central’s girls’ basketball team suffered its first loss this season, 78-62 at Columbus East on Tuesday.
There is a completely different feel to Super Bowl XLIV than the last time the Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl three years ago.
SELLERSBURG — The Rock Creek Christian Academy boys’ basketball squad squandered an eight-point lead with less than three minutes left in regulation and fell to upset-minded Christian Academy of Indiana Tuesday night in overtime, 53-50.
A solid floor game by sophomore Erin Mikel enabled the Borden girls’ basketball team to defeat host Clarksville on Tuesday night, 54-41.
Evansville Mater Dei might not be as dominant of a high school wrestling powerhouse as it once was when it won 11 state championships from 1995-2007 and 12 overall.
If an anticipated rematch between top-10 girls’ basketball powers becomes reality, Jeffersonville and Floyd Central would matchup in the semifinals of the Class 4A Floyd Central Sectional on Friday, Feb. 12.
“The Dish” comes back after taking a one-week hiatus. I hope you managed without my weekly collage of bad basketball picks, awful one-liners and regurgitated tales of how Doc Nash was once a better basketball player than me.
Host South Central drained six 3-pointers in the opening quarter, opening an early advantage as the Rebels beat Borden on Monday, 67-51.
Tom Horn likes the things that he sees from the Jeffersonville boys’ basketball team this season.
The Jeffersonville wrestling team’s history-making season continued on Saturday at Johnson Arena.
Donnie Hale had his usual spot in the starting lineup on Saturday as New Albany played host to Jasper at the Doghouse.
Due to the winter weather, Saturday’s boys’ Hoosier Hills Conference swim meet has been postponed.
Jeffersonville had six players score at least eight points and knocked off Class 2A, No. 2 Austin on the road, 65-53 on Saturday.
Memories of Floyd Central’s 1989 Indiana Mr. Basketball Pat Graham were awoken Friday night in Floyds Knobs.
Kegan Clark’s 3-pointer at the buzzer sent Jeffersonville into overtime, where V.J. Billups and Evan Maschmeyer had four points apiece to help the Red Devils to a 64-60 Hoosier Hills Conference win over Bedford North Lawrence.
The New Albany boys’ basketball squad had all its weapons on display Friday night at the Doghouse, as they whipped visiting Evansville North 87-51 to improve to 10-2 on the season heading into tonight’s home matchup against Jasper.
What excitement that may have been in the air at the Bill Dunn Sports Arena on Friday as Class 2A No. 1 Brownstown CENTRAL came to town didn’t stay around long. The Braves put the Pirates on the ropes early, cruised for a bit and then threw a knockout punch in the third quarter in turning back the Pirates, 58-38.
Entering Friday’s Class A matchup, the Borden boys’ basketball team had Orleans’ number with a three-game win streak in the series.
The Silver Creek boys’ basketball team took a few weeks worth of frustration out on visiting Madison on Friday, thumping the Cubs 70-44 and snapping a four-game losing streak.
After two years of hard work and being patient, Janelle Nassim finally accomplished something she had not done since her days as a Floyd Central swimming standout.
Floyd Central clinched at least a share of their first Hoosier Hills Conference championship since 1984 on Tuesday as it defeated Jennings County 59-44.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
• Nicole Hess (Bellarmine women’s track, Silver Creek graduate, So.) — top performance: first in the pole vault last Saturday at the Wabash Little Giant Invitational, 10 feet.
In just a few short days, Bob Redman has created a buzz around Jeffersonville football that hasn’t been seen in a long, long time.
The Clarksville Generals turned out what coaches from both sides agreed was their best effort of the season, defeating the New Washington Mustangs, 76-51.
Madison girls’ basketball team outscored New Albany 21-10 in the fourth quarter on Wednesday to earn a 67-54 Hoosier Hills Conference win.
Jeffersonville and Floyd Central are the two teams with the best shot at knocking off four-time defending Hoosier Hills Conference boys’ swimming champion Bedford North Lawrence at Madison on Saturday.
New Albany’s girls swim team got revenge over Floyd Central with a 97-86 victory over the Highlanders on Saturday.
JEFFERSONVILLE — In the 25 minutes Tom Crean spoke at the Jeffersonville Rotary Club’s Service Above Self Dinner on Tuesday night at Kye’s, he addressed a number of topics.
Prior to his speech at the Jeffersonville Rotary Club Service Above Self Dinner on Tuesday night at Kye’s, The Evening News was granted an exclusive five-minute interview with Indiana University head men’s basketball coach Tom Crean.
The following is our five minutes with the head Hoosier:
With Super Bowl XLIV two weeks away, I thought I would wait to preview it next week.
For this week, I offer these random Colts’ thoughts:
JEFFERSONVILLE - When a basketball program has compiled as many wins as the Jeffersonville girls’ basketball squad has over the last several years, they’re bound to come in all kinds.
CLARKSVILLE — In a game that featured teams that appear to be heading in opposite directions, Providence won its third straight game over Silver Creek at Robert I. Larkin Center on Tuesday, 53-45.
Abby Taylor converted on 8-of-14 attempts from the field en route to a game-high 26 points, helping host Henryville top Clarksville on Tuesday, 60-38.
Nearly two weeks ago, the Jeffersonville wrestling team made history by repeating as Hoosier Hills Conference champions for the first time ever.
It’s been an amazing season for the Floyd Central High School girls’ basketball team.
The Highlanders are 17-0 and on top of the Hoosier Hills Conference with a 5-0 mark, including a 58-57 win over conference-favorite Jeffersonville.
Indiana University men’s basketball coach Tom Crean enjoyed speaking at the Jeffersonville Rotary Club’s Service Above Self Dinner so much last year that he has jumped at the chance to do it again in 2010.
The New Albany boys’ basketball squad has played a schedule that resembles an NBA team’s, having played five games in nine nights.
Sometimes, one is all it takes.
Borden’s Brandon Beam hit one of his three free throw attempts with 2.5 seconds left Saturday to give the Braves a 53-52 come-from-behind Southern Athletic Conference road win at Henryville.
The New Washington boys’ basketball team fell behind 18-2 after one quarter at South Central on Saturday and could never dig itself out of the hole in a crucial 62-44 Southern Athletic Conference loss.
After an hour-and-a-half delay due to a power outage in Evansville, the Jeffersonville boys’ basketball team defeated Evansville North for a 60-56 road win on Saturday.
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New Albany’s 1-2 punch — as Bulldog coach Jim Shannon describes Donnie Hale and Chris Whitehead — had its way with Silver Creek in a 96-48 win on Friday.
Floyd Central used more of its smothering defense to blowout winless Jennings County, 55-33 Friday.
One day after he shockingly announced his resignation as Louisville Male High School head football coach, Bob Redman made some more surprising news.
Call it a good week for coach Chad Gilbert and the No. 5-ranked Jeffersonville Red Devils.
Coming off the heels of a tough loss to New Albany, Jeffersonville rebounded with a physical full-court defensive effort to defeat Columbus East at Johnson Arena, 65-49 on Friday.
Balanced scoring and a dominant second quarter helped the Charlestown boys’ basketball team down archrival New Washington on Friday night at Bill Dunn Sports Arena, 65-47.
With four sectional championships and an average of 19 wins per season even before this season, it would have been hard to argue that Chad Gilbert wasn’t already Jeffersonville’s all-time greatest girls’ basketball coach.
The Borden girls’ basketball team downed West Clark rival Henryville at home on Thursday night, 54-48. It was the first time all season that the Braves (4-10, 2-2 Southern Athletic Conference) have won back-to-back games.
Two weeks ago, the Indiana University Southeast men’s basketball team reached its highest ranking in its school history at No. 5 in the NAIA Division II poll.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
• Jeremy Kendle (Bellarmine men’s basketball, Jeffersonville graduate, Jr.) — weekly stats: 20 points per game, 26-47 FG, 4-12 3-pt., 4-8 FT, 23 rebounds, 14 assists; top performance: game highs in points (24), rebounds (eight) and assists (five) in the Knights’ 71-48 victory at Missouri-St. Louis on Monday; notes: Kendle was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Week on Monday; team records: 12-6 overall, 5-4 GLVC.
According to several news reports Thursday, longtime Louisville-area high school football coach Bob Redman is one of four leading candidates to become the new head football coach at Jeffersonville High School.
Behind Kendall Phipp’s 50-yard freestyle championship, Charlestown’s girls’ swim team finished third in the Mid-Southern Conference meet on Thursday.
Pekin Eastern scored 51 second-half points and made nine 3-pointers in beating Silver Creek, 84-72 on Wednesday in a Mid-Southern Conference matchup.
Make no mistake about it, Donnie Hale is the focus of the New Albany offense.
Three streaks continued for the New Albany boys’ basketball team on Tuesday night at The Doghouse.
Jeffersonville erased an 18-point second-quarter New Albany lead and had two shots to tie the game late in Tuesday’s 53-50 loss to the Bulldogs.
WRESTLERS OF THE WEEK
Floyd Central’s Aaron Witt and Ben Moberly & Jeffersonville’s Curtis Smith
Host Charlestown outscored New Albany 19-7 over the final eight minutes of the game as it scored a 45-37 win over the Bulldogs at Dunn Arena on Thursday night.
I have been a pessimist when it comes to the 2009 Indianapolis Colts. No longer.
The Jeffersonville girls’ basketball team withstood a 3-point barrage by visiting Seymour last night and captured a 71-61 Hoosier Hills Conference win over the Owls.
Not a lot of words have to be said to the players involved in the Jeffersonville-New Albany boys’ basketball series.
Just ask the coaches preparing the Red Devils and Bulldogs for tonight’s renewal of the historic rivalry at 7:30 at The Doghouse. The game is a make-up contest after it was postponed Jan. 8 due to snow.
Staff writers Greg Mengelt and Kevin Harris will share their respective Associated Press boys’ hoops ballots each week. Contact Mengelt at greg.mengelt@newsandtribune.com or Harris at kevin.harris@newsandtribune.com.
You’ll never believe me when I say this, but sports editor is a challenging position.
I know, whine whine. I get paid to watch sports from the best seats in the house. I can set a fantasy football lineup from my computer and call it research and my daily work regimen consists of daily interaction with both Kevin Harris and Gregory Mengelt — on the surface I’ll agree it appears to be a dream come true.
Indianapolis will be one of the 18 cities included as part of the USA’s bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, it has just been announced.
For the second consecutive night, Jeffersonville coach Tim LaGrange couldn’t feel great about his team’s late-game performance.
Floyd Central’s Joe Perkins said this week that he believed that Saturday’s Hoosier Hills Conference meet would likely come down to the final event.
New Albany scored the first 17 points of the game and rolled over Scottsburg, 88-50 Saturday at the Doghouse.
The Floyd Central girls’ basketball team took a giant step toward the school’s first outright conference championship in school history on Saturday.
Twelve different Highlanders scored as Floyd Central pounded North Harrison at New Salisbury Saturday, 73-47.
The Jeffersonville Red Devils needed one last dagger to the heart to avoid an upset Friday at Floyd Central.
For 31 minutes and 18 seconds, Silver Creek was better than No. 1.
When a team does not play a game in 13 days, it is going to be rusty.
Borden coach Doc Nash wanted his boys’ basketball squad to play hard-nosed defense and be patient on every offensive possession in their matchup against highly-regarded Austin on Saturday.
Getting off to a great start and refusing to let the momentum shift in the late going, New Washington brought Henryville’s six-game winning streak to a screeching halt Friday, as the Mustangs defeated the Hornets 61-54 at James Matthews Gymnasium.
“Our kids really stepped up tonight,” New Washington coach Jonathan May said. “Between my coaches and I, we had watched them play five or six games, and they don’t make a lot of mistakes. They’ve got a good group of seniors, and they don’t get rattled.”
As they hit the ground running and came out firing, New Washington built a 10-3 early lead. Kyle Robertson pulled the Hornets to within 15-10 late in the period with a 3-pointer, but back-to-back 3s by Devin Freels and Drake Krohn put the Mustangs on top 21-10 at the end of the quarter.
“We’ve had quite a few games this season where we’ve came out and knocked down shots, or just looked relaxed,” May said.
One could understand the “deer in the headlights” look of the Hornets, as the Mustangs hit 8-of-10 shots in that first quarter, including 5-of-7 threes.
But Henryville continued to fight back, pulling to within 28-22 at halftime. But as the visitors continued to chip away at the lead, the Mustangs still were showing no signs of a letdown. Steven Mayfield gave Henryville their first lead of the night at 40-39 with a 3-pointer with 1:05 left in the period. Freels then missed the front end of the bonus, but fed Jesse Wiggam for a basket on their next possession for a 1-point lead. Taylor Stone then hit a three shortly before the buzzer to give the Hornets a 43-41 advantage.
The game was tied at 47, then at 50 as Krohn and Henryville’s D.J. Carlson traded 3-pointers.
Then the Hornets struggled to hit shots, and the Mustangs kept going to the line, where they eventually won the game, hitting 11 of 18 for the quarter.
The Hornets had one last gasp as Mayfield scored to pull the Hornets to within 56-54 with 28 seconds left. Following a timeout, Krohn hit 2-of-2 at the line to build the lead back to four. After Henryville then turned the ball over, Dustin Bowman hit 1-of-2 at the stripe for the final margin.
Both teams sport senior dominated lineups, but for the Mustangs it was two juniors that led the way, with Krohn and Freels getting 22 and 21 points, respectively.
“We try to puy the ball in their hands, and they’re comftorable,” May said. “For Drake, I think this was his best game.”
Bowman added 10 points for the Mustangs.
“Give New Washington all of the credit,” Henryville coach Perry Hunter saud. “We were outplayed in all aspects of the game, and I was out coached.
“This was an all around thorough butt-kicking. We won six games in a row, and my team thought it was due to their superior basketball ability. They didn’t realize we had won those games because we were competitive. They thought all they had to do was show up. I’ve seen that in the last couple of games from them. We showed some hustle in the late going, but it was too late.”
Robertson led Henryville with 12 points. Carlson added 11 points.
New Washington won’t have long to enjoy the victory as they travel to Madison Shawe tonight. Henryville travels to Providence next Friday for its next contest.
“I’m not worried about a letdown,” May said. “This is a great group of seniors — on and off the court. They know their roles and have adapted to them. They’re willing to make great sacrifices for the team.”
“Some coaches say that a loss during a winning streak can be a good thing,” Hunter said. “I don’t believe that. But, I think that I have their attention now.”
HENRYVILLE 10 12 21 11—54
NEW WASHINGTON 21 7 13 20—61
Henryville (8-5, 1-1 SAC) — Wolf 6, Mayfield 9, Robertson 12, Weeks 4, Stone 7, Carleson 11, Gardner 5.
New Washington (5-5, 2-0 SAC) — Bowman 10, Radford 4, Wiggam 3, Krohn 22, Freels 21, Bower 1.
3-point field goals — Henryville 5 (Robertson 2, Carlson, Mayfield, Stone); New Washington 8 (Bowman 3, Krohn 2, Freels).
Rebounds — Henryville 32 (Gardner 8); New Washington 28 (Krohn 7).
Turnovers—Henryville 17, New Washington 13.
Junior Varsity—Henryville 54, New Washington 26.
Charlestown’s Alicia Zollman scored a game-high 21 points and also grabbed seven rebounds to help lift Charlestown to a 48-37 win over Providence at Bill Dunn Arena.
With balance, hot shooting and rebounding, New Albany toppled rival New Albany on Thursday 93-47 in a Coaches vs. Cancer contest.
In past seasons, Jeffersonville’s annual contest against Iroquois pitted a pair of Indiana and Kentucky’s best girls’ basketball programs in an annual border war of top-five teams.
