MISHAWAKA - The basketball game was a game where girls shot first and asked questions later, a game where pull-up three-pointers during 3-on-2 fastbreaks were allowed, a game where the times the referees blew their whistles were few and far between.

It was a game where Culver Military Academy's Tiffany Kyser could try a behind-the-back maneuver on a break-away layup, lose the ball and laugh about it.

The 13th South Bend Tribune All-Star Girls Basketball Game took place at Bethel College Thursday, and the All-Area team beat the All-Metro team 80-72. The All-Area team improved its record to 11-2 in those 13 years. NorthWood coach Steve Neff coached the All-Area team for the fourth time and upped his record to 3-1.

"Hey, it's supposed to be fun, right?" Neff said. "It's for the fans."

That the All-Area team won did not surprise Penn's Dominic Ball, who coached the All-Metro team.

"I would venture to say if you had taken a poll of all the people who walked in the door, they would have said the Metro team is gonna get a spankin'," he said.

"Shoot, you take a look at some of the girls they have. Jeannette Gray's going to Valpo. (Natalie) Will's going to Northwestern. (Amy) Zercher's going to Ball State. (Erin) Cox is going to play for a school out East. The girl from CMA (Kyser), I know she has to be playing someplace. Katie Elliott's going to John Brown University."

Ball paused, nodded his head, and laughed. "Look at us," he said. "Uh, let's see. Chakiea Jackson's going to Kankakee Valley."

Gray, a forward from Valparaiso, earned MVP honors for the All-Area team with 16 points and nine rebounds. Jackson, a guard from Elkhart Memorial who led all scorers with 22 points, was named MVP for the All-Metro team. You name a way to score, she did it. She scored by taking the ball to the basket. She scored by hitting three-pointers.

"I told the girls what (Jackson) was like, but I think a couple of them didn't believe me," Neff said. "We didn't guard her too well."

Four local players played for the All-Area team. Elliott, Warsaw's 6-foot-2 center, scored 12 and had three rebounds and three assists. Tippecanoe Valley guard Rhonda Doud delivered nine points and seven rebounds. NorthWood's Zercher had five points and five assists. Will, Zercher's NorthWood teammate, chipped in eight points, six assists and five rebounds despite playing only 11 minutes.

The two teams finished the first half tied 42-42, but the All-Area team took over with a 21-10 run over the first 10 minutes of the second half to go up 63-52.

Ball credited the surge to matchup problems.

"At the start of the second half, they had a lineup where they had (5-foot-10) Gray and Elliott in at the same time. That's when they got their run.

"We take it to the hole, they have Elliott and Gray there. It's like, 'Whoa.'"

The only times Neff left the bench were for timeouts and halftime. That is, until the 3:58 mark of the second half - this game featured 20-minute halves - when the All-Metro pulled within two at 69-67.

Neff stood up and offered instructions.

Doud, who hit two big baskets, responded with her first. Her three-pointer pushed the All-Area lead to 72-67.

"Well, I got up, set up a play, and we scored a three," Neff cracked. "You gotta do what you gotta do."

With the All-Area team holding a 76-72 lead, Doud's open layup with 56 seconds extended the lead to 78-72 and locked up the win.

The game, which in previous years had been held at Notre Dame's Joyce ACC, was held in a much smaller arena, but both coaches gave the move a thumbs-up.

"I told someone that at the ACC, you might have 2,000 people there, but it looks like a construction crew on a coffee break," Ball said.

ALL-AREA 80, ALL-METRO 72

All-Area 42 38 - 80

All-Metro 42 30 - 72

All-Area FG FT A S R Pts.

Will (F) 3-6 2-2 6 2 5 8

Gray (F) 7-8 2-4 2 0 9 16

Elliott (C) 4-5 3-4 3 0 3 12

Zercher (G) 2-6 0-2 5 0 3 5

Duncan (G) 2-9 0-0 0 1 2 5

Kyser 3-12 0-0 2 3 14 6

Sturgell 2-5 0-0 3 2 4 5

Cox 4-10 1-1 2 2 4 10

Doud 2-5 4-6 2 1 7 9

Belzowski 2-9 0-0 0 1 8 4

Totals 31-75 12-19 25 12 62 80

All-Metro FG FT A S R Pts.

Kaniewski (F) 2-4 0-0 1 1 2 4

Cressy (F) 2-17 1-2 7 3 9 6

Szabo (C) 4-10 1-1 1 1 6 9

Jackson (G) 8-23 1-2 2 2 4 22

Miller (G) 4-12 1-2 0 1 12 9

Saal (G) 6-14 1-1 0 3 7 14

Handschu 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Zornig 0-3 4-6 0 0 6 4

Hensley 1-4 0-0 0 2 2 2

Wolfe 0-6 2-4 0 2 4 2

Totals 27-93 11-18 11 15 57 72

Three-point goals -ÊAll-Metro 7-26 (Jackson 5-15, Cressy 1-6, Saaql 1-2, Wolfe 0-3), All-Area 6-16 (Elliott 1-2, Zercher 1-3, Duncan 1-3, Sturgell 1-2, Cox 1-3, Doud 1-2, Kyser 0-1). Turnovers -ÊAll-Area 24, All-Metro 18. Fouled out - None. Total fouls - All-Area 13, All-Metro 13.

Officials -ÊAlan Bell, Joe Spinsky. [[In-content Ad]]