Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 109, Number 36, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 29 January 1986 — Page 9

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Third in row... ~~- Tourney crown to Panthers

by The Old Timer The North Wood girls’ basketball club won their third straight Panther Invitational, defeating Tippecanoe Valley’s Vikings in the championship game, 33-28, Saturday afternoon, at the Panther Pit. North Wood claimed a berth in the championship game by topping the South Bend Riley Wildcats, 37-18 in the 9a.m. opener. Valley defeated Mishawaka Marion to earn their title shot. In the consolation game, Mishawaka Marian topped South Bend Riley, 31-29. Diana McCall led Marian with eight points, and Dawn Harbaugh was tops for Riley with nine. North Wood had a super week, going 4-0, to improve the overall mark to 12-4. The improvement of this fine team is due to a strong defense, an even offense, and a good rebounding game. The Panthers were anticipating the sectional draw this week, to see If they draw the opposite bracket from Bremen’s tough LionsNorth Wood and Bremen are heavy favorites in the North Wood Sectional, which begins Wednesday, February 5. The top scorer for the day was JoAnn Miller, who led the Panther attack with 21. Missy Beck followed with 16. Missy Beck was named most valuable player in the tournament, with her 16 point total, nine rebounds and nine steals. The Panthers missed the play of Christy Wesolek, who was ill. OPENER: JoAnn Miller, 5-0-2-10; Missy Beck, 1-2-2-4; Deena Jones, 1- Lisa Hahn, 2-0-2-4; Tracy Eby, 1-3-0-5; Tonya Wiggins, 2-0-3-4; Cindy Harter, 0-1-1-1; Terri Klotz, 2- Melodie Graber, 0-0-0-0; Kristi Dyck, 0-1-0-1. The Panthers were 14-40 from the

field, and 9-17 from the free throw line, North Wood outrebounded Riley, 33-24, with Jones grabbing seven, and Hahn and Wiggins, each five. Wiggins had three assists, as did Eby and Miller, and Beck added four steals and Miller, three, to the Panther totals. Beck, a 5’7” senior forward, was the top scorer in the championship game with 12 points. She was 4-11 from the field, and added 4-8 from the line. Miller, a 5’7” freshman guard, had 11, hitting 4-12 and 3-5. North Wood outrebounded Valley, 32-21, led by Terri Klotz with 10. Terri pulled most of her rebounds from the offensive boards. Lisa Hahn and Missy Beck each had six, and Deena Jones, a 5’11” freshman guard, had five. Jones had 12 for the day, and Hahn, 11. The only Viking in double figures was Jody Yochum, with 10. Leslie - Miller added eight for Tippy Valley. The Panthers were cold from the field, netting just 10-52 for 19 percent, but won it at the charity stripe, by sinking 13-23 for 56 percent. Tippy Valley went 12-39 for 31 percent from the floor, and added 4-8 from the line, for 50 percent. Shelli Warren recorded the game’s first three points and Miller countered with three unanswered points, causing the first of three ties at 3. The Panthers, after a 5-5 tie, scored unanswered points, to open the first of three, five-point leads, at 10-5. Valley worked a patient offense, running the clock to 46 seconds and trailing 10-7 after one. Miller led with five points. Valley had its best quarter, shooting 43 percent, on 3-7. The second quarter could have put the fans to sleep, as -each team scored just six points. North Wood hit *lO percent, connecting on just 2-20 shots. Valley, in the opening 2:30, scored

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North Wood’s girls’ varsity Panthers are shown during first and second-round action of Saturday’s Panther Invitational, held at the Panther Pit. North Wood won the title for the third consecutive year, and is preparing for next week’s sectional tourna-

six unanswered points, their six for the stanza, to open a lead of 3,13-10. North Wood followed with six points in the final 5:27 of the half, leading by three, 16-13, at intermission. Miller and Beck led the Panthers at halftime, with seven and five points respectively. North Wood shot 15 percent from the field, on 5-24. The Panthers added 6-12 from the stripe. Valley was led at the half by Yochum and Lori Gray, with four each, as the Vikes shot 33 percent on 5-15. They added 3-6 from the line. Miller opened the third quarter with a field goal, putting the Panthers up by five, 18-13, at 6:57. In the following 2:18, Valley scored eight unanswered points, led by Leslie Miller’s four, to open their second of three, at 21-18. North Wood scored tour in the final 3:15, to lead after three stanzas, 22-21. Miller and Miller led their respective teams, with four each. North Wood’s Miller had a super assist to Hahn and Beck had one to Tonya Wiggins, sandwiching a Valley bucket to stay up by three, 26-23, in the opening two minutes. Valley continued a patient offense, staying close until the final 50 seconds of the quarter. Tracy Eby was good on the front of a 1-1 to put the Panthers up 28-26. Beck rebounded the missed shot and three seconds later, went to the line for a possible three-pointer. She missed the free throw, but North Wood was up by four, 30-26. With 23 seconds remaining. Yochum sank a 15-footer to pull Valley to within two, 30-28, after which they called for a time out. Beck was knocked to the floor with a body block with 15 seconds remaining, and went to the line to shoot a 1-1. She sank both shots, to put the Panthers up by four, 32-28 A Valley turnover with 12 seconds left gave the Panthers complete control, and

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ment action, also to be played at the Pit. The Panthers won their opening game, topping South Bend Riley, 37-18, and followed with a win over Tippecanoe Valley, 33-28 for the tourney crown. (AN photos by Ron Reiser)

the 1986 title. The game’s final point was made by Hahn, who hit the front of a 1-1 with nine seconds left, for the final 33-28 score. North Wood’s final game of the regular season will be Thursday, when the Panthers host Concord. This will be a Northern Lakes Conference game, and parents' night. North Wood’s sectional opens next Wednesday night, February 5, with the championship game to be played on Saturday night. CHAMPIONSHIP: Missy Beck, 4-4-2-12; Lisa Hahn, 1-3-1-5; Deena Jones, 0-2-2-2; Tonya Wiggins, 1-0-1-2; JoAnn Miller, 4-3-3-11; Terri Klotz, 0-0-1-0; Tracy Eby, 0-1-0-1; Cindy Harter, 0-0-0-0; totals, 10-13-10-33.

Basketball sectionaL. The North Wood High School girls’ basketball team will host a sectional basketball tournament, February 5, 6 and 8, in the Panther Pit. Sectional pairings were drawn earlier this week, and appear In this week’s “AdvanceNews.” Wrestling sectional... North Wood High School will host an I.H.S.A.A. Wrestling Sectional, Saturday, February 1, at the Panther Pit. The field will include Bremen, Fairfield, Goshen and the Panthers. The first round will begin at •:30a.m., with finals and consolation matches to begin at II :30a.m., on two mats. Tickets are priced at 32.50 per single session, or $4 for a season ticket . Jim Andrews is serving as the tournament director.

Nappanee Advance News Wednesday, January 29,1986 i

y^Miwii SPORTS

Chargers fall in 'Pit 1

Four members of the JMorthWood varsity basketball team finished in double figures Saturday night, as the Panthers trimmed Elkhart Memorial’s Chargers, 63-56, to improve their season record to 3-10. Memorial slipped to 1-12 on the season. North Wood trailed by two, 14-12, after the first quarter, but had jumped out front, 31-22 at the half, and went on to lead after three, 42-31, enroute to the victory. The Panthers played without the services of center, Scott Crist, who has an injured ankle, and was forced to become a member of the basketball audience. Mickey Marks started the game in Crist’s place. Heading the North Wood scoring column were Robin Wenger with 16; Bill Holdeman, 12; Marks, 10 and Troy Schwartz, 11, all coming from the free throw line. The Panthers hit 10-12 free throws in the final minutes of the fourth

Paoli to welcome special athletes

The third largest State Special Olympics Winter Games in the world will be held January 19-21 at the Paoli Peaks Ski Area in Paoli, Indiana. Over 400 mentally handicapped children and adults from throughout Indiana will be competing in the Games, which feature competition in Alpine and Nordic Skiing events. In addition to the events, there will be a variety of other activities available to the athletes and their coaches who will be staying at the French Lick Springs Resort in French Lick, Indiana. “The people at Paoli Peaks and French Lick have really helped to make these games a huge success,’’ said Dan Te Grotenhuis, Indiana Special Olympics Director of Programming. This is the sixth year the Games have been held at the Paoli Peaks Ski Area, however, up until last year the Games for the northern half of the state were held at the Pines Ski Area in Valparaiso, while the Games for the southern half of the state

Miller lone champ in conference meet

The North Wood wrestlers placed fourth in the Northern Lakes Conference meet, held Saturday, January 25, at Wawasee. Team scores: Wawasee, 242-1 2; Goshen, 1751*; Rochester, 135; North Wood, 123; Concord, 120; Plymouth, 119 1 *; Warsaw, 65, and Bremen, 59. North Wood had one champion in the lt7-lb. class-junior Ryan Miller. Steve Cutchin, a senior, was runnerup in the 132-lb. class. Ryan dominated the field of 177pounders. He began his day with a fall over Steve Schaller, of Plymouth, in 2:53. Ryan easily outmaneuvered Harold Schmucker, Goshen, in the second round, with an 18-4 major decision, and, in the

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Tops in NLC Ryan Miller was the lone conference champion in Saturday’s Northern Lakes Conference wrestling meet held at Wawasee. The Panthers finished fourth, with host Wawaaee earning the NLC title. Ryan displays his winning form In Saturday’s competition. (Photo by Louis Bonacorsi)

quarter, stopping an almost singlehanded drive by Elkhart’s outstanding junior, Rodney Gates, who went 6- He finished with a game-high 23 points, aided by teammate Ross Hales with 14. Coach Phil Lechlitner reported, "We were real consistent offensively, and 1 feel that was the key part of the game. It enabled us to go up by almost 10 points at halftime, and that was pretty much the buffer for the rest of the game. ’ ’ North Wood travels to Plymouth this Friday night, for an NLC battle against the always-tough Pilgrims. The Panthers will return home on Saturday, to host the LaVille Lancers. FOR NORTHWOOD: Bill Holdeman, 5-2-3-12; Robin Wenger, 7- Mickey Marks, 4-2-5-10; Troy Schwartz, 0-11-1-11; Rex Hochstedler, 2-4-2-8; Todd Cleveland, 1-2-2-4; Gary Berkey, 1-0-1-2; Daric Gessinger, 0-0-0-0; Dustin Miller, 0-0-0-0.

were held at Paoli. “We combined the Winter Games to make it more competitive,’ Olympic-style event,” said Te Grotenhuis. Te Grotenhuis notes that the Games are the third largest Special Olympics Winter Games in the world. Colorado and Michigan hold the top spots. While the skiing is the main attraction to these Games, the activities don’t stop at the slopes. During the athlete’s two days and two nights stay at the French Lick Springs Resort, they will be treated to a semi-formal dinner-dance, a new wave dance and a variety of other activities such as bowling, swimming, tennis and hayrides. “It’s really a total experience for the athletes,” said Te Grotenhuis. “Many of them have never been away from home and they leave the Games with a more positive selfimage.” Indiana Special Olympics sponsors year-round sports training and competition to over 21,000 mentally handicapped children and adults in Indiana.

finals, he convincingly handed Don Kauffman, Wawasee, a 12-4 decision. Cutchin pinned Baxter, of Rochester, in the opening round. He then pulled out an exciting match with Tim Roahrig, of Plymouth. Cutchin was defeated by Jeff Welbom in the final match. Other place winners for the Panthers were Jim Hess, 98 lbs., third; Gary Urednick, 167 lbs., third; Keith Eby, 185 lbs., third; Kent Frenger, 105 lbs., fourth; Todd Crowder, 155 lbs., fifth; Brandon Hoffer, 126 lbs., and Rusty Elliott, heavyweight, sixth. North Wood will host the 1986 sectional meet this Saturday, February 1, at the Panther Pit. Wrestling will begin at9:3oa.m.

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