Opening week brings promise

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It was definitely an interesting opening week of high school girls basketball. With the hoops season upon us, here is a rundown of the county teams after one week of play.

Greenfield-Central

Not a bad start for the Cougars. First, a big night from sophomore Kate Real (seven 3-pointers) on Thursday and a Miss Basketball-like performance from senior Madison Wise on Saturday (42 points). Real tied a school record, while Wise broke one and each set the tone for what should be a highly-entertaining season for No. 7 Greenfield-Central, which moved up a spot in the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association poll.The 6-foot-1 Wise had a handful of college coaches in attendance on Saturday, including Illinois and Iowa State. They must have left impressed. Most impressive about her performance against Whiteland, though, was her efficiency at the end of the game after scoring just eight points in the first half. Saturday certainly had a tournament feel in the air, and Wise was at the top of her game — stuff you would normally see toward the end of the season. She missed just one shot in the fourth quarter.

Cougars head coach Doug Laker said senior guard Katie Helgason has been working on the stationary bike “like crazy” in practice and is certainly hoping for a return this season. She suffered an ACL tear at the beginning of soccer season.

Also, Greenfield-Central’s young guards, freshman Hannah Ferrell and Kyrstin Bond, both played fearless and could be in for fine rookie campaigns. Bond was exceptionally explosive with her dribble and Ferrell is long and lanky (5-foot-9) with a nice looking jump shot.

The Cougars travel to No. 6 North Central on Saturday in a big early-season test.

Eastern Hancock

Eastern Hancock lost 52-45 at home to Beech Grove on Saturday in head coach Andy Meneely’s first game at the school. The Royals outscored the Hornets 26-20 in the second half but battled a rocky second quarter, scoring just nine points.

The second-half comeback is promising for Eastern Hancock, as Meneely was just hired at the end of October. The Royals will look to gel quickly with a core senior group leading the way.

Eastern Hancock looks to bounce back at Elwood on Wednesday.

New Palestine

The Dragons scored a win against Connersville on the road to begin their season and had a big night from senior guard Raegan McMurray with 17 points.

McMurray’s performance wasn’t surprising, but the production from the team’s talented sophomores was promising for the season. Guard Haley Harrison and forward Leah Seib both finished in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Two other classmates, Katie Herron and Megan Jolly, added five points.

Those are solid contributions, across the board, much like last year’s team (16-7). The Dragons host Greenwood tonight, which lost to Greenfield-Central 59-25 on Nov. 3.

Mt. Vernon

The Marauders opened their season with losses to Franklin Community and Warren Central, but played much better in the second half against the Grizzly Cubs on Thursday in the season opener.

Losing Hancock County’s all-time leading scorer (Sydney Shelton) has impacted the team’s production. Although there may be some growing pains for Mt. Vernon in the first part of the season, the Marauders play hard, have talent and are well coached with Steve Doud at the helm, which is a scary combination come tournament time.

Junior Sophie Williams has provided solid play in the post and with shooters, Hanna Johnson, Mary Fleming and Kaitlin Dunlavy, Mt. Vernon will progress. Williams had seven points and 10 rebounds against Franklin.

The Marauders host Connersville on Friday.