HS girls basketball: Washington back in top spot in rankings
It was a week for major accomplishments for both the Elkhart and New Prairie girls basketball programs.
It was also a week in which Washington moves back atop our area girls basketball power rankings, which saw some shuffling among teams.
Elkhart won 49-44 at Penn last Wednesday for a huge Northern Indiana Conference victory. An Elkhart girls basketball team had not defeated the Kingsmen since Elkhart Memorial posted a 60-47 win in overtime in 2009.
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Elkhart, under the direction of first-year coach Ken Hunt, hit eight treys and 9-of-10 free throws in the win to improve to 7-2 in the NIC. Senior star Samiyah Stout, making her first start of the season in just her second game since returning from an offseason knee injury, hit 4-of-4 free throws in the final 1:15 to seal the win for Elkhart. Penn used an 11-0 run in the third and fourth quarters to tie the game at 38-38.
Shaniyah Stout paced Elkhart with 12 points in the victory. Shaniyah Hughes and Samiyah Stout each added 10 points. The Lions will compete in the Class 4A Northridge Sectional next week, which also includes Penn.
New Prairie was impressive as the Cougars posted three wins in four days to claim the title of the Everwise Credit Union Bi-County Tournament for the first time since 2006. Coach Aimee Litka's team beat Glenn 41-21 in the title game Saturday night and earned its 18th win of the season, tying for the most in program history.
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New Prairie, which took an 18-4 mark in its regular season finale versus Mishawaka Tuesday night, was led by Morgan White. White, one of eight seniors, scored 18 points in the championship game and was named tournament MVP.
Senior Jayden Flagg of the Cougars earned the prestigious W.B. Hawkins Award on the girls side at the conclusion of the Bi-County Tournament.
The Cougars, under the direction of fourth-year coach and former Saint Joseph's star Litka, will host a Class 3A sectional next week. New Prairie's last sectional title came in 2000.
Washington claimed its third straight Northern Indiana Conference title with a dominating 66-32 league win at Jimtown Friday night. The Panthers, who are unbeaten in league play the past three years, jumped over Northridge back into the No. 1 spot in the rankings. Class 4A No. 12 Northridge lost at Class 4A No. 5 Fort Wayne Snider 50-44 Saturday.
Northridge checked in at No. 9 in the IBCA poll Sunday, which ranks teams statewide regardless of class. Washington was at No. 12 in the latest coaches poll. Both Michigan City Marquette and Warsaw, which leads the Northern Lakes Conference, received votes in the poll.
This is the final week of regular season play on the prep girls side of the hardwood. Sectional play begins next week with area hosts including Washington and Northridge in Class 4A, New Prairie, Rochester and West Noble in Class 3A, North Judson in Class 2A and Culver and Lakewood Park Christian in Class 1A.
The IHSAA held pairings for the state tournament series Sunday night. All the sectional pairings can be found at ihsaa.org.
Area Top 10
Washington (16-4, 11-0 NIC): The Panthers topped Fort Wayne Northrop 76-51 and then beat Jimtown 66-32 in NIC play Friday night to win its third straight conference championship. Junior star and Purdue commit Kira Reynolds led the way versus Northrop with 22 points.
Northridge (20-3, 5-1 NLC): The Raiders rolled to a Northern Lakes Conference win at Mishawaka 74-18. Northridge then lost to Class 4A No. 5 Fort Wayne Snider 50-44 Saturday. Rileyn Goodwin scored 12 points, while Sabrina Miller had nine and Gaby Gates and Morgan Cross eight each in the loss.
New Prairie (18-4, 9-2 NIC): The Cougars were impressive in posting three wins in four days to win the Bi-County Tournament title. Senior Morgan White was named the tourney MVP after scoring 18 points in a 41-21 win over Glenn in the tourney title game Saturday night. Jolie Johns had 24 points and Jayden Flagg 20 in a win over Bremen (66-61) and White had 20 points and Flagg 17 in a win over LaVille (60-24) earlier in the tournament.
Penn (14-6, 8-2 NIC): The Kingsmen lost 49-44 to Elkhart at home in NIC action. Jessa Troy led the way with 13 points. Anna McCullough and Lauren Walsh each scored nine points.
Fairfield (19-3, 9-0 NECC): The Falcons continued undefeated in league play with NECC wins over Central Noble (38-36 in overtime) and Westview (53-35). Kaylee Dillon had 16 points in the win over Central Noble.
Michigan City Marquette (18-2): The Class 1A No. 3 Blazers rolled past Bowman Academy 60-23 Saturday. Laniah Davis scored 22 points to pace the winners, while Natalie Robinson had 13 and Marissa Pleasant 12.
Elkhart (12-9, 8-2 NIC): The Lions beat Penn and then topped Saint Joseph 51-23 for a pair of league wins. Shaniyah Stout netted 14 points, Jaya Johnson nine and Christa Porter seven in the win over St. Joe.
Bethany Christian (15-5, 4-0 HPC): The Class 1A No. 9 Bruins had a tough week with losses to Concord (55-42) and Culver Academy (66-29). Zoe Willems led the way Saturday with 22 points in the loss to CGA.
NorthWood (17-5, 4-3 NLC): The Panthers topped league foe Goshen 55-40 Saturday night. Callie Johnson and Haylee Heflin each had 11 points for the Panthers in the NLC win.
Adams (12-9, 4-6 NIC): The Eagles beat Mishawaka 49-45 and then got past Logansport 59-53. Amya Henry had 17 points, Zariyah Wiley 16 and Lois Carr 10 in the win over Logansport.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: The Elkhart and New Prairie girls basketball teams notched big wins
