HS girls basketball: Northridge still leads area power poll
The winter weather onslaught of snow and brutally cold conditions slowed down the entire area high school athletic schedule, including the girls basketball portion, the past several days
Northridge, despite not playing last week, holds on to the top spot this week in our area rankings as the high school girls basketball season hits the stretch drive.
The Raiders returned to the court Monday night after a nine-day layoff with a dominating performance. Northridge blew out NorthWood 72-36 in a key Northern Lakes Conference contest in Middlebury. The game was postponed Saturday night due to the weather.
Northridge, which had lost at NLC foe Warsaw 65-52 back on Jan. 6, led 18-4 after the opening period and 34-12 at halftime Monday night. Sophomore Camryn Conley led four players in double figures with a game-high 15 points for the Raiders, now 19-2 overall and 4-1 in the NLC.
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Warsaw leads the NLC standings at 5-0. The Tigers still have to play Concord (Jan. 20) and at Goshen (Jan. 23) in league contests. Northridge is 4-1 and NorthWood 3-3 in the NLC. The Raiders have NLC games left at Mishawaka (Jan. 19) and at home versus Plymouth (Jan. 25). NorthWood hosts Goshen in its league finale Jan. 20.
Washington is still at No. 2 after the Panthers beat Adams last week to claim at least a share of its third straight Northern Indiana Conference title. Washington is 10-0 in the NIC this season and has now won 40 straight in conference play. The Panthers can finish out the NIC season undefeated for the third straight year with a win at Jimtown Friday night.
Washington had a pair of home games, versus LaLumiere and North Central, postponed last week.
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Northridge checked in at No. 10 and Washington at No. 11 in the latest IBCA poll. Washington was at No. 10 and the Raiders at No. 12 in the ICGSA Class 4A poll this week. Northridge plays at NLC foe Mishawaka Friday night and then at Fort Wayne Snider (16-2) on Saturday. Washington is slated to play at Fort Wayne Northrop (12-4) Wednesday evening and then at NIC foe Jimtown Friday night.
The girls season has just this and next week left in regular season play. Pairings for the state tournament are set for Sunday at 5 p.m. by the IHSAA. Sectional play begins the week of Jan. 29 with sectional title games set for Feb. 3. Regionals are scheduled for Feb. 10, semistates Feb. 17 and the four state championship games Feb. 24 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The arctic conditions also forced the start of the annual Bi-County Tournament to be pushed back this week. The four first round girls games in the Everwise Credit Union event were moved from Tuesday night to Wednesday night. The first round slate includes Oregon-Davis at Triton, Argos at Glenn, Bremen at New Prairie and Culver at LaVille. The semifinals are slated for Thursday night at LaVille at 6:30 and 8 p.m. with the title game Saturday night, also at LaVille at 6:30 p.m.
Fairfield saw its bid for an NECC Tournament title come up short Monday night. The Falcons fell 53-24 to Class 2A No. 7 Eastside in the weather delayed championship contest at Lakeland. Fairfield trailed just 16-12 after the opening period before Eastside used a 9-0 run in the second period to take control. Eastside, which had lost at Fairfield 50-47 in NECC play Jan. 5, improved to 18-3. The Falcons dropped to 17-3.
Bethany Christian, ranked No. 9 in the ICGSA Class 1A poll, got another incredible game from Zoe Willems last week. The senior guard had quadruple double, with 25 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 steals in a 70-19 win over South Bend Career Academy.
Elkhart beat Bremen in NIC play last week as star senior Samiyah Stout returned. Stout, who had been out all season due to an offseason knee injury, scored nine points in her season debut for the Lions.
Elkhart hit a program record 12 treys in the 72-50 win over Bremen. Jaya Johnson and Jordyn Johnson each had four triples, while Samiyah Stout added three in the record-setting performance.
Area Top 10
Northridge (19-2, 4-1 NLC): The Raiders were idle last week before blowing out Northridge in conference play Monday night. Freshman Lily Scholl had 14 points, junior Ella Mohamed 10 and senior Gaby Gates 10 in the big home win for the Raiders.
Washington (14-4, 10-0 NIC): The Panthers beat Adams 69-27 to earn at least a share of the NIC title as Ryiah Wilson scored 20 points and Kira Reynolds 17. Washington has won the league crown three years in a row and has won 40 straight conference contests.
Penn (14-5, 8-1 NIC): The Kingsmen beat NIC foe Jimtown 50-31 on Senior Night for coach Kristi Ulrich's squad. Jessa Troy had 11 points, while Anna McCullough totaled 10 and Lauren Walsh nine.
New Prairie (15-4, 9-2 NIC): The Cougars collected an NIC win over Riley 56-24. Senior Jolie Johns had 24 points and classmate Jayden Flagg 19 to lead the winners.
Bethany Christian (15-3, 4-0 HPC): The Bruins bested South Bend Career Academy 70-19 as Zoe Willems put together an outstanding performance with her quadruple-double.
Fairfield (17-3, 7-0 NECC): The Falcons notched wins over Churubusco, Fremont and Lakeland in the NECC tournament to advance to the title game. Faifield, which saw its six-game winning streak snapped with a loss to Eastside in the tourney title tilt, still leads the NECC standings at 7-0.
Michigan City Marquette (17-2): The Class 1A No. 3 Blazers continued to roll with dominating wins over DeMotte Christian 55-18 and South Bend Trinity 47-8.
NorthWood (16-5, 3-3 NLC): The Panthers were idle last week. NorthWood lost at Northridge 72-36 in NLC action Monday night. The trio of Addie Davis, Callie Johnson and Claire Payne each had seven points to pace the Panthers.
Adams (10-9, 4-6 NIC): The Eagles lost to Washington 69-27 in NIC action last week. Lois Carr led Adams with 11 points.
Elkhart (10-9, 6-2 NIC): The Lions topped NIC foe Bremen 72-50. Shaniyah Stout led the way with 15 points. Jaya Johnson scored 14 points and Jordyn Johnson 12.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Northridge is still our top area girls basketball squad
