Nick’s Picks: The Rematch
We’ve been waiting a long time for this weekend. It’s finally the rematch between Tippecanoe Valley and Rochester in girls hoops. The two teams will go at it Saturday night and it should be a fantastic game. Get there. You need to be at this game, trust me. My pick for this game is all the way at the bottom, so start scrolling now if that’s all you’re here for.
I want to throw a huge, huge, huge congratulations to Princeton’s Jackie Young on becoming the all-time leading scorer in Indiana girls basketball history last night. Young, a Notre Dame commit, passed Wawasee’s Shanna Zolman with a free throw in the fourth quarter of a win over Wood Memorial to give herself 3,086 career points. I found it amusing that Zolman broke Stephanie White’s record in 2002 at Elkhart Memorial and Young then breaks Zolman’s record on the road at a “Memorial” school.
I grew up watching Zolman, going to the packed gyms and seeing her light up the scoreboard. It was awesome. There was an electricity surround the town and the games at the time, if I recognized that at the age of 12 then you know it was something unique. I was lucky enough to watch Young at the IHSAA State Finals last year and I’ll just tell you this, she is better than advertised. I feel beyond blessed to have been able to grow up watching Zolman and to be able to have covered Young, if only for one game.
Young already has a state title and now the girls scoring record. She has one thing left to accomplish and she’s going to get that, too. Jackie Young is going to beat Damon Bailey’s scoring record and it is going to be epic.
Young is already at 3,086. Bailey’s seemingly immortal number is 3,134. Young’s team is No. 1 in 3A, has little competition in its way in the tournament and she averages 38 PPG and, oh, she still has five games left in the regular season. She will get the record and everybody in the state should be head over heels about it.
If you’re one of those old timers that thinks Bailey record should not be broken, or at least not by a girl, then please show yourself out. Basketball is Indiana’s game and every player should be celebrated for his or her accomplishments in a sport that is practically ritualistic inside our borders. I can’t wait for Young to make that mark and set a new record for some young boy or girl to aim for down the road.
Alright, it’s a big week for local hoops so let’s get to it!
Last Week: 6-1
Overall: 80-42
High School Boys Basketball 1/15
Elkhart Memorial (2-10, 0-2)) at Wawasee (1-9, 0-2), 7:30 p.m.
The Scoop: Something has to give in Syracuse tonight.
The Chargers enter on a five-game conference skid and the losers of nine straight overall. Wawasee comes in with 30-straight conference losses and is the loser of the last six contests this season. Both teams are relying heavily on young talent to carry them through this rebuilding period but only one can leave feeling good after tonight’s game.
Both squads surrender around 62 points per game and both struggle offensively. This really is a game where anything can, and probably will, happen.
I like the improvements I’ve seen from Wawasee in recent weeks, but the team has yet to learn how to win. Memorial is clearly in the same boat. I’ll factor in the home court advantage for Wawasee and the long bus ride for Memorial to go out on a limb for the Warriors here.
Nick’s Pick: Wawasee 58, Memorial 54.
Triton (7-4, 2-1) at No. 10 Culver (9-1, 4-1), 7:30 p.m.
The Scoop: Big night in HNAC action as the Trojans make the trip to Cavalier Country. Culver boasts a 9-1 record and an offense scoring 63 points per contest. Triton comes in with some pride on defense, surrendering just 44 points per game. I’ll just come right out and say it, Culver’s record is misleading. Like, it’s incredibly misleading. Way more bark than bite.
The Cavs have beaten nine teams with a combined record of 24-75, and nine of those wins come from Morgan Township. When looking at common opponents Culver’s results pale in comparison to Triton’s. This is somewhat of an easy pick when looking at all the numbers. I like the Trojans by 10+ tonight.
Nick’s Pick: Triton 58, Culver 43.
Goshen (3-6, 2-0) at No. 11 Warsaw (10-0, 2-0), 7:45 p.m.
The Scoop: The Orange and Black are finally receiving some love in the polls, though after seeing the Paper Tigers of Culver ranked No. 10 I’m not sure how much stock I put into these polls anymore. Either way, Warsaw is back in the Tiger Den tonight and is ready to continue its undefeated season.
Goshen enters with a 2-0 conference record and averages right around 46 points per game on offense, about the same it surrenders on defense. I think defense will be the difference in this game here tonight. Warsaw gives up 39 points per game and really just needs to worry about shutting down Brady Bechtel. If Bechtel is off then the Tigers should have an easy night, if he starts hitting then we’ll have a game.
I think Warsaw wins regardless of Bechtel’s performance. The Tigers are too tough and I’ll be in the Tiger Den for the first time this season to watch the boys, so you know that will factor in to coach Doug Ogle’s pregame speech.
Nick’s Pick: Warsaw 56, Goshen 39
Whitko (6-5, 2-1) at Southwood (8-2, 3-0), 7:45 p.m.
The Scoop: Southwood is putting together a nice season down in Wabash. The Knights are crushing teams in conference play currently and is currently 5-1 in home games, winning five in a row.
Whitko comes in after picking up an 82-62 win over Rochester and should be feeling pretty good because that was the team’s sixth win of the season and the Wildcats won just six games total last year.
If this turns into an offensive game then I like Whitko’s chances. Southwood seems legitimate to me and I think the Knights get the win tonight.
Nick’s Pick: Southwood 59, Whitko 50.
Rochester (1-9, 1-2) at Tippecanoe Valley (4-7, 2-1), 7:45 p.m.
The Scoop: I’m picking Valley.
These two teams met just 15 days ago in a holiday tournament and Valley waxed the Zebras 74-46.
I have zero reason to believe that the Vikings won’t win big again. Gavin Bussard is going for 20+ points tonight as the Vikings move to 3-1 in TRC play and turn around for a game with Winamac tomorrow. Boom, that’s all you need to know.
Nick’s Pick: Valley 68, Rochester 48.
Girls High School Basketball 1/16
Wawasee (5-11, 0-4) at Elkhart Memorial (9-9, 2-2), 2:30 p.m.
The Scoop: Wawasee is searching for its first conference win coming off of a great performance at Columbia City Thursday night. Memorial has had a decent season so far but enters this game after getting beat by 19 at Warsaw Wednesday evening.
The key to this game will be Wawasee’s offense. The Lady Warriors have struggled at times, too many times, this season with offensive production. Kylee Rostochak had a solid night at City with 17 points and received support from Aubrey Schmeltz and Hannah-Marie Lamle. I like Rostochak to have a nice day again and as long somebody else steps up on that team offensively then Wawasee will pick up its first NLC win.
Nick’s Pick: Wawasee 44, Memorial 36.
Warsaw (6-13, 2-1) at Goshen (14-3, 3-1), 7:30 p.m.
The Scoop: It’s hard to know just how good Goshen really is. The Redhawks are an impressive 14-3 but have struggled mightily when playing good teams. Warsaw has a poor record but has played most of its good opponents to tight games. So, I guess, it’s hard to know good either of these teams truly are. I started my article thinking to pick Goshen, then I started writing this paragraph thinking to pick Warsaw. Now I’m writing this sentence debating whether or not to make a sandwich or go out to dinner before covering the Warsaw boys game tonight. Decisions, decisions.
Since becoming the Redhawks on Jan. 1 Goshen is 4-0, so maybe that’s a sign. Maybe the Goshen Redhawks are not meant to lose just yet. I’m really split on this game so I’ll lean in favor of the home team and that’s really the only reason I’m picking Goshen. It should be a great game and one I wouldn’t mind being at if I didn’t already have bigger plans.
Nick’s Pick: Goshen 56, Warsaw 46.
No. 5 Tippecanoe Valley (15-1, 5-0) at No. 1 Rochester (16-0, 5-0), 7:45 p.m.
The Scoop: These are my bigger plans. I’ve saved the best for last. It’s the showdown, the rematch. Whatever you want to call it, that’s what it is. The last meeting between these two teams, of course, was at the Tiger Den in the 2015 3A semi-state championship which Valley won.
Valley is ranked No. 5 in 3A currently while Rochester sits atop the polls in 2A. The last time The Zebras lost a conference game was in 2015 at Valley. The last TRC loss the Lady Vikes had was at Rochester in 2014. Something has to give and it just might be my heart due to all the excitement surrounding this contest.
Valley has five solid starters, as does Rochester.
The Zebras are small, but fast and they can shoot the lights out. Alexa Holland (14.3 PPG) leads this team of sharp-shooters that includes Ali Larkin and Morgan Ruff. Oh, ad we can’t forget about Becky Malchow who exploded for a career-high 24 points at Whitko last Saturday. The Zebras are dangerous and you can’t fall behind to a team that can shoot this well.
Valley is not quite as fast but its starting five is just as talented and the bench is much deeper. The Vikings are led by Anne Secrest (17.8 PPG) who will be guarded by Kennedy Musselman inside. Musselman has a motor and will make Secrest work for every point, but the Valley junior still has the advantage.
Valley also brings in shooters of its own in Meredith Brouyette and Addy Miller. Both of these girls can go off on any given night and watching the two of them go blow for blow with Holland and Malchow should be awesome.
The key to this game will be depth and Rochester has very little. This game should be tight and any kind of break will be huge for these players, Valley can go two or three deep on its bench and still feel comfortable with its lineup on the floor, I’m not sure if Rochester has that capability. But Rochester is 16-0 for a reason and does have the advantage of playing at home in what should be an excellent atmosphere.
So what will be the difference? The perimeter shooting? The student sections? The points in the paint? No, see, I think the difference will about one girl and that is Hannah Dunn. The junior is quietly one of the most effective players in the area. She will play a big role in this game because Valley will need her to score if and when Secrest is not an option. This is a high-stakes game so the cream will rise to the top. If Rochester tries to take away Secrest, than I just don’t see a way that the Zerbas can also contain Dunn. If that inside game gets completely taken away then that leaves Brouyette and Miller open on the outside.
This is not an easy pick, both team are exceptional and both should be making deep tournament runs. This Valley team might be better than last year’s, as crazy as that sounds. I’ve already looked foolish by picking against the Lady Vikes once this year and I will not make that mistake again.
Nick’s Pick: Valley 56, Rochester 48.