Boone Grove captures PCC Tournament Championship, 51-23 over Washington Twp.

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
01-24-2007

Saturday, January 21, 2007 - Porter County Conference Championship at Boone Grove

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (23)  Amber Cavinder 2-0-4, Abby Walters 2-3-8, Hannah Werner 0-2-2, Lindsey Whitcomb 1-1-3, Julie Nault 1-0-2, Liz Leuck 1-0-2, Marie Wyckoff 1-0-2, Leah Ohman 0-0-0, Jena Wireman 0-0-0.   TOTALS:  8 (6-14) 23.

BOONE GROVE (51)  Jessica Dowdy 2-0-5, Jessica Fauser 4-0-10, Kristyn Kessler 4-1-19, Kelly Dobson 2-0-4, Cortney Flanigan 5-4-14, Emily Strilich 20-0-4, Brittney Roach 1-0-2, Dani Diaz 1-0-2, Amanda Spears 0-0-0.  TOTALS:  21 (5-9) 51.

FREE THROWS:  WASHINGTON (6-14, 42,8%) Walters 3-4  Werner 2-4, Ohman 0-2, Whitcomb 1-2 Cavinder 0-2;  BOONE (5-9, 55.5%) Kessler 1-5, Flanigan 4-4.

REBOUNDS: WASHINGTON (26) Cavinder 7, Walters 6, Whitcomb 5, Lueck 3, Wyckoff 3, Werner, Nault;  BOONE (26) Flanigan 7, Kessler 6, Dowdy 3, Fauser 3, Dobson 2, Diaz 2, Strilich 2, Roach.

ASSISTS:  WASHINGTON (3) Cavinder, Werner, Walter;  BOONE (11) Flanigan 7, Fauser 2, Strilich, Dowdy.

STEALS:  WASHINGTON (2) Cavinder, Nault;  BOONE (13) Flanigan 5, Fauser 4, Dowdy 2, Dobson, Spears

3-GOALS:  WASHINGTON (1) Abby Walters;  BOONE (3) Jessica Fauser 2, Jessica Dowdy.

PORTER TOWNSHIP (1-21-2007) - You don't always win with your best team.  Just ask the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, one of whom will win their league championship in two weeks with a badly flawed team.  Boone Grove may not have their best girls team they've ever had, but they probably have the most talented team.  And last week the Wolves finally showed they may be ready to play a few games in February.

Boone completed a three-game sweep through the Porter County Conference (PCC) tournament with a 51-23 rout of overmatched Washington Township late Saturday.  This was an eight-team tournament that could not have gone better for coach Candy Wilson's girls.  After beating Kouts by 16 and Hebron by 20, the Wolves overwhelmed a Washington Township team that was not experienced enough to deal with Boone's three veteran guards Jessica Fauser, Jessica Dowdy and all-stater Cortney Flanigan.

Flanigan also had a week that could not have gone better.  Not only did she play on her third consecutive PCC championship team and go out as a senior PCC champ, she also scored 15 points to pass Kim Sliwa (2002) as Boone's all-time leading girls scorer.

Flanigan, a 5-foot-6 lead guard, scored 15 points and posted seven assists, seven rebounds and five steals.  As the lead mounted to 20 points at 33-13 early in the third quarter, Flanigan had time to think about a lot of things.

"This is the last time I'll ever be in this position again," she said.  "This is my last PCC tourney.  It feels nice, but it is a little sad.  This tournament is tough, but it isn't that tough physically.  It might be for others but not for me.  I really feel I could go out and play another game now."

As Flanigan, who averages 20.3 points per game, accepted the championship trophy in front of the sellout crowd of 2,000 fans in the bright blue Boone gym, she really didn't think about the scoring record.

"Not so much," she said.  "It wasn't a goal.  As I've gotten closer to it, I said 'Hey, I think I can get there. Maybe I can beat it.'  But it wasn't my No. 1 priority.  It's definitely a plus, though."

"I hate this tournament," said Boone coach Candy Wilson, half kidding.  "There's so much stress.  Three games in a week and everybody knows you."

Wilson, who has now won the PCC championship five times in 10 years, disagreed with Flanigan on one point.  Cortney said she wished the championship game in front of the sellout crowd could have been against Kouts.

"I wanted to draw Kouts right away," said Wilson, thinking like a coach.  "We didn't want the girls looking ahead to Kouts.  Then we won and I was worried we'd overlook Hebron.  I'm always worried about something."

Worries faded quickly for the home team.  Boone (16-3) had too much quickness and skill on the perimeter for Washington.

"We could not penetrate their front line," said Washington's first year coach, the old Lake Central boss Tom Megyesi.  "We could not get past their front line.  They took away our inside game by putting pressure on the ball.  That's a credit to coach Candy and their team.  They were a really good team and they just took it to us."

Boone winning five PCC titles in six years with Karissa Walter (2002-2005) and Cortney Flanigan (2004-2007) at lead guard suggest comparisons, but what can Wilson say abut that?

"They're apples and oranges," she said.  "They're different kinds of players.  I'll take 'em both.  I can't say who is better.  That's like asking which one of your kids you like the best.  I've been very blessed for six years."

Prior to the championship game, Boone was expected to win the PCC girls tournament.

"There are high expectations, "Wilson said, "because of what we've done.  But that's a good thing."

Wilson worries that wining the PCC in late January makes it tough to get back up for the sectional three weeks later.  She'd be glad to hear what Flanigan said before she disappeared into the crowd before the boys game.

"Now we've just got to get ready for Wheeler."

PCC NOTES:  Boone's Cortney Flanigan wanted more drama in the PCC tournament, but the blind draw blew that up.

"I kinda wished we'd have played Kouts in the championship," Flanigan said.  "That would have been awesome.  After we beat them it was pretty much over."

Coach Tom Megyesi understandably wasn't happy after the girls title game, but he did have one very positive thing to say.  He was watching the PCC tournament for the first time.

"I love it," the 23-year LC coach said.  "It's great.  They had a great banquet.  Great fan support.  It's all first class.  I am very impressed with the PCC tournament and the people who run it.  It's been awesome."

Megyesi, who has 6-foot-2 sophomore Lindsey Whitcomb and 5-9 freshman Abby Walters coming back, plans to be at the PCC tournament coaching Washington Township in 2008.

"If they still want me at the end of the season," he said.  "We'll have some size next year.  We'll get better.  We've got a nice JV team too.  They're buying into what we're trying to do.  We'll be all right."

Boone coach Candy Wilson and JV coach Heather Moy came out of the locker room with military style T-shirts that said 'Cup Rescue Mission' a reference to the PCC 'Kup' the traveling trophy that Kouts took from Boone in December and Boone took back with the 70-54 win in the PCC quarterfinals last week.

Kouts reportedly took exception to the Boone T-shirts when the two teams met at the South County Tournament after Christmas.

"I'd do it again," said Wilson, who OK' d the printing of the shirts for her girls.  "It wasn't about them (Kouts).  There was nothing wrong with that."

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Revised: January 24, 2007 .