The Press-Dispatch
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B-1 Wednesday, November 27, 2013 The Press-Dispatch Lady Chargers finish 2nd in season-opener By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Freshman Maya Frederick placed first in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke as the Pike Central High School girls' swimming team opened the 2013-14 season against visiting Evansville Bosse and Evansville Central on Monday, Nov. 25. Frederick won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:18.63, more than 17 seconds ahead of Evansville Central's Allie Johnson, who finished second with a time of 2:35.73. Frederick then won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:12.32, more than eight seconds ahead of Evansville Central's Tabitha Hester, who finished second with a time of 1:20.66. "I think she was about four seconds off the record in the 200 freestyle and a little over five seconds in the 100 back," Lady Chargers' head coach Jason McKinney said. "She puts in a lot of time and she works really hard. She is going to keep getting better." McKinney said that, once the boys' season begins, the girls team will have more time between events, which will help Frederick post even faster times. "With the times she put in last night while really being rushed and not having time to get her body calmed back down, she did a really good job." Another freshman, Sylvia Henson, was the only competitor in the one-meter diving event and placed first with a score of 162.90. "She did really well, I thought, for her first meet and being a high school freshman," McKinney said. "I want to see her against some competition because I think she's the type of kid that thrives on going up against other people. So I think her scores will be even better than that." Lady Chargers posting second-place finishes in individual events included senior Kendall Dudenhoeffer in the 200-yard individual medley, sophomore Ally Sutherland in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle, senior Lauren Luff in the 500-yard freestyle and senior Kylee Claridge in the 100-yard breaststroke. Posting third-place finishes individually were Luff in the 50-yard freestyle and junior Chloe Keepes in the 100-yard backstroke. Posting fourth-place finishes individually were junior Alivia Cummings in the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard breaststroke, sophomore Helen Dudenhoeffer in the 100-yard butterfly and freshman KaySee swim on B-2 Pike Central High School senior Kendall Dudenhoeffer competes in the 200-yard individual medley during a home swim meet on Monday, Nov. 25. Ed Cahill photo. Injuries, fouls leave Lady Chargers short-handed Pike Central High School sophomore Samantha Halbrader (5) prepares to go up for a shot while being defended from behind by Vincennes Lincoln sophomore Lauren Frederick during game action on Nov. 19. Ed Cahill photo. Shooting woes continue as Lady Chargers fall, 58-40 By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Pike Central High School senior Stephanie Richardson (32) and Wood Memorial freshman Chloe Bartley (23) go after a rebound during game action on Friday, Nov. 22. Ed Cahill photo. By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net In the movie Hoosiers, Hickory coach Norman Dale – having benched one Husker for insubordination – chooses to finish a game with only four players on the court after one fouls out, telling the referee, "My team's on the floor." When senior forward Kaylee Hadley committed her fifth foul with 5:59 left in the game at Wood Memorial on Friday, Nov. 22, Pike Central High School girls' basketball coach Randy Graham didn't have a choice. "We don't have anybody left!" Graham exclaimed. With freshman guard/forward Jolene Whitehead already sidelined with a sprained ankle, the Lady Chargers lost two players – junior forward Lindsey Catt and junior forward/center Lindsey Nixon – to injuries in the first half, then had three players – sophomore guard Alyx Abbott, sophomore forward/center Samantha Halbrader and Hadley – foul out early in the fourth period. With two junior varsity players – junior guard Kimberly McCammon and junior for- ward Alicia Hanselman – having already played in one quarter of the varsity contest, that left it to senior forward Emily Howes, senior guard Stephanie Richardson and two junior varsity players – sophomore guard/forward Cheyanna Padgett and freshman forward Peyton Ruppel – to finish up the game. "I had no timeouts either, and two of the four players, Stephanie and Emily, both had four fouls," Graham said afterward. "So our plea was not to leave the other two by themselves." Trailing 59-44 after Wood Memorial freshman Brenna Maikranz hit one of two free throws, the Pike Central quartet managed to pull to within nine points – at 64-55 – with 2:33 left before finally succumbing 69-57. Despite the loss, Graham said that he was "very pleased" with how his players handled themselves in a game during which 55 fouls – 28 against the Lady Trojans and 27 against the Lady Chargers – were called. "I couldn't be happier," said Graham, whose team slipped to 0-3. "It almost feels like we won tonight, with all we had to go through. But it was a little bit of a win, mentally, just to see how hard the kids fought. See Foul on B-3 A fter the Pike Central High School girls' basketball team shot a dismal 19.2 percent from the field in a 45-35 season-opening loss to South Knox, the Lady Chargers made their first two field goal attempts while taking an early 6-2 lead over visiting Vincennes Lincoln on Tuesday, Nov. 19. That success proved to be fleeting, however, as Pike Central hit just two of its next 12 field goal attempts, a 16.7 percent average, while the Lady Alices outscored the Lady Chargers 22-6 and cruised to a 58-40 victory. "We had a lot of good looks at the basket early," Pike Central head coach Randy Graham said. "We had bad angles on a lot of our shots, especially on the bunny shots, and we had some wide-open shots and we just didn't make them." "If we're able to make better decisions early with some of our turnovers and hit some shots, it might have been a different game," Graham added. "Strategy plays into things a lot differently then." Senior guard Hayley Carmean provided the spark for Vincennes Lincoln (2-1), scoring 10 points, all in the first quarter, and dishing out three assists before leaving the game early in the second quarter with an ankle injury. "I think she tweaked it a little bit," Graham said. "I'm not sure how bad it is, but she seemed to be walking See Fall on B-2 Chargers hold their own in scrimmage with Spartans By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net With more than two weeks before the start of the regular season, the Pike Central High School boys' basketball traveled to South Knox for a preseason scrimmage on Tuesday, Nov. 19. While the host Spartans outscored the Chargers' varsity in each of the four 12-minute quarters, head coach John Mokris found plenty to be pleased about. "Basically, it wasn't a bad scrimmage, to be honest with you," Mokris said afterward. "I thought it was good to see where we were at." The most unpleasant outcome of the scrimmage was when 6-foot-3 sophomore Tyler Toopes, one of only three returning players with significant varsity experience, went down with a knee injury in the third quarter. It was later determined that Toopes had strained a ligament in his right knee. At the time Toopes was injured, the Chargers were leading 7-6. The Spartans then scored eight consecutive points to win the quarter 14-7. South Knox also won the first two quarters by scores of 13-10 and 13-11. "So each quarter, we were in," said Mokris. "Once (Toopes) went out, it goes down a little bit. It could have bothered the kids a little bit, him going down." During the last quarter, Pike Central jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on a threepoint shot by junior Garrett Elliott. After South Knox scored six straight points, f reshman Gabe Elliott scored, pulling the Chargers to within 6-5. However, the Spartans answered by scoring 11 consecutive points to open up a 175 lead before Pike Central senior Dustin Schnarr hit a pair of free throws to end the scoring. "The last quarter, we didn't have at least two of the starters out there that we normally have," Mokris said. "I just wanted to see some of the younger kids play." Gabe Elliott led the Chargers with 12 points while freshman Colton White added 19 points. Toopes had five points. Garrett Elliott and senior Kegan Aldridge tossed in two points apiece. Pike Central will open the season at home against BarrReeve on Friday, Dec. 6, then travel to Princeton on Saturday, Dec. 7. Above: Pike Central High School freshman Gabe Elliott (7) fires up a shot over a pair of South Knox players during a preseason scrimmage on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Ed Cahill photo. Right: Pike Central High School junior Garrett Wojtowicz (4) goes up for a shot while a South Knox player tries to draw the offensive foul. Ed Cahill photo. Pike Central High School junior Garrett Elliott (10) puts up a shot over a South Knox defender. Ed Cahill photo. Pike Central High School senior Kegan Aldridge (1) drives past a South Knox defender during a preseason scrimmage on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Ed Cahill photo.