Saturday’s Class 4A girls basketball north semi-state game is setting up to be a clash between the young and the old.
No, high school seniors are not old by any means. But the senior group at Hamilton Southeastern is definitely experienced, as its members have been playing varsity since freshmen. The No. 1-ranked Royals will take on No. 4 Crown Point in the second game of the La Porte semi-state, which is scheduled to tip off at 4 p.m.
Crown Point comes into the semi-state with a perfect 28-0 record. After sailing through a regular season where only four teams came within double digits of them, the Bulldogs took care of business in the Lowell sectional, beating Lowell 77-28, East Chicago Central 62-32 and Highland 58-31. It was Crown Point’s first sectional title in 18 years.
That sent the Bulldogs into the La Porte regional, where they defeated Kankakee Valley 65-49 in the semi-finals, then had its toughest challenge yet, holding off No. 2 Penn in overtime 54-47. Thus Crown Point won its eight regional championship and its first since 1997.
The Bulldogs are a young team. Their leading scorer is a freshman, Jessica Carothers, who is averaging 22.1 points per game. Carrothers has broken the 30-point mark four times this season, including a 34-point performance in CP’s win over Cathedral on Dec. 28. Carrothers also pulls 5.6 rebounds per game and leads the Bulldogs in steals with 4.8 per game.
There are some seniors on Crown Point’s team, such as Ellie Vandeel, who averages 12.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest. Another freshman, Lilly Stoddard, is the top rebounder at 6.1 per game. Junior Abby Stoddard chips in 9.3 points per game.
Southeastern is 25-1 and is coming off a win at the Kokomo regional, its first regional championship since 2006. The Royals beat Fort Wayne Carroll 59-34 in the semi-finals, then pulled away from No. 5 Homestead 57-47 in the championship.
Junior Sydney Parrish leads the Royals in all categories, with 21.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Senior Amaya Hamilton averages 11.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, with senior Malea Jackson adding 9.8 points.
UNIVERSITY-VINCENNES RIVET
University will travel to Jasper on Saturday for the Class 1A south semi-state game. The No. 3 Trailblazers will also get an undefeated team, the 28-0 and No. 2-ranked Vincennes Rivet Patriots.
Rivet has blown through the post-season unchallenged. The Patriots won the Loogootee sectional over Washington Catholic 80-13, Barr-Reeve 62-34 and No. 5 Loogootee 37-20, then claimed the Springs Valley regional over Lanesville 70-33 and No. 8 Tecumseh 52-41. Rivet is the defending semi-state champion; it won a 1A state title back in 2011.
University is 24-2 and playing in its first semi-state since 2009. The ‘Blazers easily won the Bethesda Christian sectional, beating International 82-17, Bethesda Christian 59-40 and Indiana School for the Deaf 60-39. That sent University to the Southwestern Shelby regional, where it took care of No. 6 Jac-Cen-Del 56-40 in the semi-finals and Greenwood Christian 55-29 in the final.
Junior Lindsey Syrek has been a force for the Trailblazers, averaging a double-double of 17.6 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. Syrek also is averaging 4.8 blocks.
Seniors Jenna Blakley (12.7 points) and Jhordan McGuire (10.4 points) are also scoring in double figures for the season. McGuire is pulling 7.5 rebounds per game. Junior Maddi Sears is handing out 3.4 assists, while senior Lucy Snyder is averaging 3.9 steals.
