PLYMOUTH — If Saturday’s girls basketball semistate had been played under the old NBA rules, the game between Pendleton Heights and South Bend Washington might have turned out differently.
The Arabians were defeated soundly by the Panthers in an attempt to advance to the Class 4A state finals. But it certainly didn’t start out that way.
South Bend opened the game in a man-to-man defense, but it was ill-equipped to execute that against PH.
“We carved that up, didn’t we,” said Pendleton coach Shari Doud, who still found a way to smile after the 77-45 defeat. “If they would have stayed in that defense, there might have been a different team cutting down the nets.”
The Panthers’ Rakeesha Lane was not able to guard anyone on the PH starting five. In the beginning, it was Amanda Gaskin who blew past Lane.
“We got their attention,” said PH assistant coach Ed Clark. “We got them to try something they didn’t want to do.” Unfortunately, the Panthers were good at everything they tried.
That’s where the old NBA rules prohibiting zones would have come in handy.
“They went to that spread 2-3 zone,” Doud said. “Give them credit. They adjusted. We played with a sound defensive approach until the last four minutes of the first half. Then our defensive approach wasn’t so sound.”
The spread defense caused a pair of problems.
The first of these was finding a passing lane around the bull-rush traps that South Bend launched out of that spread zone.
“Even our guards that are long had trouble seeing through those traps,” Doud said. “We had a hard time attacking that.”
The second thing was with the Arabians also spread out, long passes became necessary and quite dangerous given the quickness of the Panthers defenders.
With the Panthers building a lead and dictating the pace, the race was on, and it was one the Arabians were destined to lose.
“We can play that style,” Doud said. “But we can’t play that style against that team.”
Washington also had a huge advantage in that it had been to this level four straight times.
“They’ve played here four times, and this was our first time,” said PH sophomore Hannah Douglas. “I think that gave them a big advantage.”
Certainly the Panthers’ biggest advantage was senior Skylar Diggins. It was my second viewing of this slender 5-foot-10 guard. Both times it was unpleasant. The first time was a couple of years back in this same gym, when she helped the Panthers take apart Anderson.
Diggins most surprising quality is her strength. Several times, her drives to the basket drew contact from the Arabians, and it seemed like nearly every time she finished the drive with a basket and a free throw.
That strength will be needed next Saturday when South Bend faces a very tough Ben Davis team for the 4A state title at Lucas Oil Stadium. It will be a game worth watching. For me, I’ll have to DVR it as I will be at a boys basketball sectional championship game.
But this is certainly not a time to close out the local girls basketball scene without giving a huge sendoff to the Arabians. Pendleton Heights’ defense was better than any I’ve seen in many years of covering girls basketball.
Had I not been there is person Saturday, I would not have believed the PH team would give up 77 points in a single game, not even to the unbeaten Panthers.
Yet the strongest and longest-lasting memories will be of the consistently hard-nosed effort given by the Arabians and the classy manner in which they handled themselves in victory and in Saturday’s defeat.
Local Sports
Rick Teverbaugh: PH lives, dies by defense
- Local Sports
-
-
Girls teams eye possible sectional titles
Many of this year’s girls basketball teams featured many young players on their rosters.
As a result, there was uncertainty about how many teams would contend for sectional titles. -
Boilers honor Lewis at halftime against IU
Purdue basketball fans took time out Saturday in the middle of a heated rivalry game with Indiana to honor Anderson High School graduate Troy Lewis, whose No. 23 jersey hangs from the rafters at Mackey Arena.
-
Todd, Blanton grab regional crowns
Pendleton Heights’ Mason Todd and Alexandria’s Luke Blanton won championships in their respective weight classes at Saturday’s Pendleton Heights Wrestling Regional as 15 local competitors survived to wrestle another week.
-
PH tops 3A No. 1 Muncie Central
Brian Hahn is so confident that Kellen Dunham will make his free throws that he never puts his players on the lane, and after 17 straight makes on Friday night why would anyone argue with his logic?
Dunham poured in a game-high 36 points at the Walnut Street Fieldhouse as Class 4A No. 5 Pendleton Heights defeated Class 3A No. 1 Muncie Central 68-64 in overtime. -
Jenkins steps up as Frankton bucks Broncos
It was going to take an epic performance from Daleville and an equally epic letdown from Frankton if the Broncos were to have any chance of getting a win. Neither happened as the Eagles dominated their opponent in a 72-39 victory Saturday.
-
Bulldogs humble sixth-ranked Eagles
The Lapel Bulldogs won their eighth straight boys basketball game with a 60-42 decision at Guerin Catholic on Saturday afternoon.
-
Elwood wins CIC thriller
Korbin Buster and Joel Moser each reached double figures, and Elwood rallied for a 51-49 Central Indiana Conference victory against Eastbrook on Saturday.
-
Swimmers meet team goals
In sports, as often as in life, achievement is often measured by one’s own goals for success.
That was certainly the case for many Anderson and Pendleton Heights swimmers Saturday at the girls’ sectional final round in Fishers. -
Ravens down Bluffton, pick up win No. 100 for Slyder
The Anderson University men’s basketball team nearly blew a 15-point second-half lead, but hung on to defeat Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Bluffton University 70-67 on Saturday at Founders Hall in Bluffton, Ohio.
-
Arabians finish 4th, Indians 6th at Fishers sectional
Photos from the swimming and diving sectional finals at Fishers on Saturday.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
