Warsaw Girls Fall To Top-Ranked St. Joe

With her ability to cut and slash to the basket, South Bend St.Joe senior Aimee Litka was a dagger in the heart of the Warsaw varsity girls basketball team Tuesday evening. In the championship game of the 27th annual Lady Tiger Tournament, a contest that was postponed Dec.23 because of inclement weather, Litka drove to the basket time after time against the Tiger defense, scoring a game-high 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Her performance led the Class 3A No.1 Indians to a 69-57 win over Warsaw and earned her Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. "I'm not happy," said first-year Warsaw coach John Snyder, whose Tigers' win streak came to an end at six games."Our defense was not good.In several segments of the game, our defense was not good." The 69 points scored by the top-ranked Indians was the most the Tigers have given up in a game this season.Warsaw entered Tuesday's contest giving up an average of 46 points per game.

Lesser Of Evils And The Devil We Know

There's this guy who does polling.His name is John Zogby. It's interesting because most people probably have not heard about him before - unless they're immersed in media and politics. But as it turns out, he routinely turns out some pretty accurate polling data.He usually comes up with results more closely related to the outcomes than other polling outfits like CNN/USA Today/Gallup, L.A.Times or New York Times. I think that's probably because of the way Zogby's company, Zogby International, conducts polling - the way they ask questions. Some notable Zogby accomplishments: • In 1994 Zogby alone predicted that George Pataki would unseat then New York Gov.Mario Cuomo. • In 1996 Zogby accurately and solely predicted the ultimate margin of victory for Bill Clinton over Bob Dole in that year's presidential election.

Lady Lancers Lose Conference Opener

MISHAWAKA - With just eight players available for head coach Lori Wynn, the Grace College women's basketball team has had to find creative ways to win basketball games. In the Lady Lancers' last four games, the team has won three times, playing nothing but zone defense. That zone defense has frustrated opponents during the streak.IPFW launched 48 three-pointers in a late December game with Grace.Indiana Tech was held to 19 first-half points and 19 percent shooting in the first half in a loss to the Lancers Monday night. However, Bethel College found a way to crack the zone Wednesday night in a 69-60 victory over the Lady Lancers in the Mid-Central Conference opener for both teams.The Pilots are receiving votes in the NAIA Division II poll and have a legitimate shot at second place in the conference, behind NAIA No.1 St.Francis.

Survey: Getting Good Grades Top Teen Pressure

An opinion survey was just released by Shell Oil Co.that sheds some light on how teens look at the world these days. The poll was conducted for Shell by Peter D.Hart Research Associates. Ninth- through 12th-graders were asked their perceptions of safety of their schools; influence of parents, school officials and peers; outlook on the future; and the most prevalent pressures they endure. The questions were formulated in cooperation with the U.S.Department of Education. While some "grownups" tend to think of today's youth as lost and irresponsible, I think the survey generally was pretty positive. Surprisingly, the top pressure reported by most teens had nothing to do with sex or drugs.Teen were asked to choose from a list of sources of pressure.

Vikings Remain Unbeaten In TRC

AKRON -ÊThe Tippecaoe Valley Vikings boys basketball team was looking to stay unbeaten in the Three Rivers Conference heading into a tough TRC match-up with a very talented Rochester ballclub. Rochester, which came in with a 5-5 record and 1-2 mark in TRC play, was looking to knock off the conference's only unbeaten team. After four hard quarters of basketball between these rivals, the Vikings came out on top with a huge 70-62 win over the Zebras.With the win, the Vikings move to 10-3 and 5-0 in the TRC. "This was a very big game for us,' Tippecanoe Valley coach Bill Patrick said."We knew Rochester was a very good team and we had to play solid basketball to win.' In front of a packed house, the Vikings gave their fans something to cheer about right away.The Vikings came out very aggressive and before you knew it, the Vikings jumped out to an 8-0 lead, and the Zebras didn't know what hit them.

Wawasee's Prather Sees Another Successful Gymnastics Season

SYRACUSE - When talking with Wawasee gymnastics coach Nika Prather, it doesn't take her long to point out the fact that she doesn't like to lose. And her record backs it up. In the 12 years Prather has been with the Warriors - she's now in her sixth year as head coach -ÊWawasee owns a 137-22 record. In the previous five years that Prather has headed the program, the Warriors have won three sectional championships and have sent one individual, Prather's daughter Tierny, to the state finals. And when Prather is talking of the sectional, this is when she says she doesn't like to lose. Three times during the regular season a year ago the Warriors topped county rival Warsaw.But for two consecutive years, the Tigers have won the sectional championship.

Tippecanoe Valley Vikings Hold Off Pesky Comets

AKRON - Tippecanoe Valley coach Bill Patrick picked up his 500th career win Friday with a win over Northfield.The win brought a lot of pressure to his team as well as a lot of hoopla. Knowing Patrick needed only one win, his basketball team put a lot of pressure on themselves to win Friday night's game.With that pressure, the Vikings also use a lot of energy Friday. Heading into Saturday night's matchup against non-conference foe Caston, you could almost sense that the Vikings would be a little tired and slugginsh.Sluggish they were to open this game. "Last night there was a lot of pressure on our kids to win," said Patrick, referring to his 500th win."It is really hard to handle for 16-17-year-old kids, it took a lot out of them." Even with the sluggish start, the Vikings still found a way to win, as good teams usually do.The Vikings edged the Comets (5-5) 53-44 to raise their record to 9-3.

Tigers Split At Own Tourney

It might not have been any prettier, but it was certainly better for Warsaw. After suffering an ugly 48-27 loss to Perry Meridian in the first round of the Tiger Tourney Saturday, Warsaw bounced back with a 49-45 win over Mt.Vernon in the consolation game. The Tigers turned the ball over against the Perry Meridian press 35 times and against Mt.Vernon didn't fare much better with 30 miscues.But the Tiger defense stepped up in the consolation game and held Mt.Vernon to 18 of 60 (30 percent) from the field and held off Mt.Vernon in the fourth quarter. The win snapped a two-year winless streak in their own tourney for the Tigers.

Warrior Boys Down Rival Warsaw

SYRACUSE - An ace on the golf course, Wawasee senior Stephen Conrad certainly found his stroke at the right time Friday night, lifting the Warrior boys basketball team to a win over rival Warsaw. A game that was nip and tuck for four quarters, with a six-point Warsaw lead being the biggest advantage of the game, 6-foot-2 Conrad broke a 43-all tie with a wide-open three-pointer from the left corner with 1:47 remaining. Wawasee then iced the game with free throws, halting a 10-game losing streak to rival Warsaw with a 51-46 victory. The Warriors, now 7-2 overall and 1-0 in Northern Lakes Conference play, last defeated the Tigers in the 1995 sectional.Warsaw, which owns a 44-11 all-time record against Wawasee, falls to 5-4 and 0-1.

Moe's Marion Giants Topple Manchester

NORTH MANCHESTER - This boy in Manchester High School's student section, he remembered. All you had to do was read the back of his red T-shirt."Moe-Mania," it read.He broke out the T-shirt from four years ago, when head coach Moe Smedley's Manchester Squires basketball team went 20-0 during the regular season For one night and one night only, Moe-Mania returned to Manchester High School this weekend.Except this time Moe was the enemy, the villain, the coach of those big-school, tradition-rich, always-winning, fourth-ranked in Class 4A Marion Giants.And the students, they didn't let him forget that.Whenever Smedley complained to the refs, Manchester's student section rode him with derisive Moe...Moe...Moe chants. Try as they might, neither Manchester's basketball team nor its fans could stop Marion when they needed to.Marion had Moe-Mania - not to mention loads of talent - on its side, and the Giants charged late to win 62-55 on Saturday.

Changes In 'D' Lead To Warsaw 'W'

The line to buy tickets for Thursday's Warsaw/Wawasee girls basketball game stretched 10, 20, 25 feet long and longer, and the drawing card was not Wawasee's girls basketball team, nor was it Warsaw's girls basketball team. One player - a 16-year-old sophomore named Shanna Zolman - drew approximately 2,000 people to this girls game, as many people who have attended any Warsaw boys basketball home game this season. Zolman, the Wawasee forward who leads the state in scoring with 34.2 points per game, was the featured attraction.But on the court, Warsaw had the better team. The Tigers beat Wawasee 63-50.Warsaw improved to 6-5 overall and 3-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference, while Wawasee dropped to 8-5 overall and 1-2 in the NLC.

On The Court Basketball Previews

TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT CASTON Tip-off 7:30 p.m.Saturday in Caston Coaches Bill Patrick (Valley), Doug Hicks (Caston) Records Valley 6-3, Caston 4-2 Last game Tippecanoe Valley 61, Argos 59; Triton 44, Caston 38 Last year Caston 69, Valley 58 Matchup: Valley's Brandon Eaton is one of the area's leaders in scoring, averaging 15.1 points per game ...Valley teammate Jarvis Shepherd averages 3.8 assists per game ...Eric Prater and Eaton lead the Vikings in rebounding with 6.1 and 5.8 per game, respectively ...Valley will try to make up for the loss of another leading rebounder, Dax Snyder, who will be out until Tuesday after surgery for a broken nose ...Bill Hook leads Caston with 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game ...Brent Thomas chips in 14.0 points per game for the Comets, while Josh Craig adds 6.3 rebound per game ...Jacob Lane pitches in 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game for Caston.

NorthWood Knocks Warsaw Off In OT

NAPPANEE - For the first time since the 1987-88 season, the NorthWood Panthers did something that hasn't happened often. NorthWood defeated Warsaw on Friday night 60-57 in overtime and, in the process, all but eliminated the Tigers from a Northern Lakes Conference championship. Unless Warsaw gets a lot of help, the Tigers will not win at least a share of the conference title for the first time in four years after their second NLC loss this season. How did NorthWood do it? They weathered the storm. Warsaw is often the type of team that just waits until its opponent makes a few fatal flaws and then goes for the kill with a 10-or 12-point run.That stretch came in the first quarter for NorthWood. The Panthers made just 2 of 13 shots in the opening period and looked tentative. However, Warsaw struggled to find the scoring touch and came out with just an 8-6 lead.After that point, NorthWood was close to perfect for the rest of the game.

'Little Things' Leave Manchester With Loss

CONVERSE - When Manchester basketball coach Gary Goshert wants to get his players' attention on the floor, he lets out a shrill whistle, like Chicago coach Phil Jackson does. Everyone in the gym, fans included, hears it.It's a wonderful tool.When players hear it, heads snap over and look in his direction.Goshert has a message, and his players get it. Now, if he could only find a way that easy to get his players to play the kind of defense he's looking for. Oak Hill shot 63 percent from the field (25 of 40) and led the Squires from start to finish in a 67-62 win Friday night. Sixty-three percent won't cut it, and Goshert knows that.Most coaches want to keep the other team in the low 40s or even lower. "We had trouble getting to them and stopping them," Goshert said."We didn't have very many defensive stops.

Old-School Coach Succeeds In New Era

Bill Patrick's car has 187,000 miles and his truck 165,000 miles because Patrick is old-school and believes in getting the most for your dollar. Patrick is 61 years old, but age is something he does not like to talk about.He says he's been 39 for several years.As a basketball coach, he has the reputation of being a no-nonsense whipcracker who prohibits long hair; a kinder, gentler Bobby Knight minus the cussing and theatrics. He's also an old softy. Fans knew Friday night was special.If Patrick's Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball team beat Northfield, the coach would win No.500 in his 31st season of coaching.No upsets would be pulled on this night as a Valley team that entered with a 7-3 record beat a Northfield team that entered with a 3-5 record 55-39.Patrick got his 500th win.

Last-Second Shot Lifts Bethany Christian

BOURBON - Triton basketball coach Kevin O'Rourke, still stinging from a 57-55 last-second Friday loss to Bethany Christian, kicked open the gray metal door to his office. Then O'Rourke did what he always does after gut-wrenching losses at home.He grabbed his remote control, sat down in his chair, turned on the TV and VCR and watched the game tape. With five seconds left, Triton point guard Austin Unterbrink delivered two clutch free throws to knot the game at 55-55.Big, yes, but bigger than normal: Unterbrink is just a sophomore, and the sophomore hit both even after Bethany coach Jim Buller tried to shake him by calling a full time-out. But O'Rourke watched what happened in the five seconds after the free throws.The Bruins got the ball down the length of the court to point guard Marcos Garber - a wide-open Garber.He caught the ball behind the three-point line with three seconds to go, drove toward the basket and hit a running shot several feet away to win the game.

Republicans Aren't The Only Corrupt Ones

Republicans are the party of corruption, right? Isn't that the rhetoric that we were assailed with by Democrats for months leading up to the election? Isn't that what helped propel Democrats to the majority in the U.S.House and Senate? Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat from California, is poised to make history in January.She will be the first female U.S.Speaker of the House of Representatives, the highest level of elective office ever achieved by a woman in the U.S. She already made history when, a few years back, she became the first woman to lead a party caucus. She's a smart lady. She said Democrats "intend to lead the most honest, the most open and the most ethical Congress in history." So the first thing she does is nominate John Murtha for majority leader. You may remember Murtha, of Pennsylvania, as the unindicted co-conspirator in Abscam - short for Arab Scam - an FBI sting operation in 1980.

Goshert, Squires Get Win Over Wawasee

NORTH MANCHESTER - Though class sports took the David vs.Goliath matchup out of the state tournament, chalk up a win for the little guy in Saturday's regular season boys basketball clash between Manchester and Wawasee. Behind 11 fourth-quarter points from senior Joe Egner and a boost off the bench from freshman Dan Bourne, host Manchester, a school of less than 600 students, upended Class 3A No.9 Wawasee, a school nearly twice in size, 54-46. For ninth-year Manchester coach Gary Goshert, not only was the 275th of his career, but also a win that put an extra-wide smile on his face, given the fact that his Squires not only beat the school he coached at for a decade, but that they beat them while the Warriors are as talented as they are.

On The Court Basketball Previews

Vikings Kick Game Away With Foul Shooting On Free Throws

AKRON -ÊSteve McClure emerged from the locker room, a can of Sprite in his right hand and a small brown bag of food in his left. While Southwood's boys basketball coach brown-bagged it, his team delivered a blue-collar, lunch-pail, hard-hat effort in erasing a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit in Saturday's game at Tippecanoe Valley. His players got the game into overtime, and once they did, they stepped on Valley's throat, something the Vikings never did to Southwood in the fourth. Southwood missed no shots and scored 20 points in the four-minute overtime to beat Valley 76-67 on Saturday. The loss dealt Valley's hopes of winning the Three Rivers Conference title outright a serious blow.Valley entered 9-3 overall and at 3-0, the only team without a TRC loss.Now Valley falls into a four-way first-place tie with Southwood, Manchester and Oak Hill, each 3-1.Southwood moves to 8-2 overall.