MERRILLVILLE, Ind. – For the Illinois Full Package 17 squad coached by Matthew Truding, Mother’s Day was Get Over the Hump Day.
Full Package erased a first-half double-digit deficit to rally past the Mac Irvin Fire Godfather 48-46 Sunday to capture Pools A-D at USJN’s 12th annual Mid America Challenge.
“We’ve lost in the championship game in one tournament, and we came in third in the state, and just to get over the hump against a high-level team …” Truding said, not really needing to finish the statement to get his thought across. “We’ve beaten a lot of good teams, but we’ve grinded every game out.”
Full Package’s Haley Greer sank two free throws with 1.2 seconds left to win it.
“We did a really good job of staying in it,” Greer said. “We kept playing hard, and we stuck together.
“Pretty big win, but we still want to work hard so we can play better in July.”
It didn’t start out so well. The Fire’s pressure kept the Full Package offense under wraps.
“Once we got some ball movement, it opened things up and took away their help so we could go inside and outside,” Truding said. “Defensively, we started to pack the middle. (Fire guard) Kiara Lewis is phenomenal. To be able to contain her, and make her give the ball up, was good. And that’s the best we’ve rebounded all year.”
Greer, a 5-foot-7 2016 guard from Deerfield, teamed with point guard Taylor Will (5-10, 2015 from Prospect High School) to provide perimeter scoring while feeding the ball to 6-3 post Jeannie Boehm (2016, New Trier High School). The latter was able to effectively battle inside against a program known for its aggressiveness near the rim and ability to dominate the paint.
“She is probably one of the most unselfish bigs we have,” Truding said of Boehm. “She recognizes when she doesn’t have something and she’ll kick it out. She attacks the basket well, rebounds well, defends well. We revolve around how well she plays. She’s special. She’s a competitor.”
The Fire played shorthanded through the weekend, with five players in street clothes. But they did have Lewis, the dynamic 2016 guard who bedevils opponents with her slashing ability. The 5-8 Chicago Whitney Young standout continued her ascent in the spotlight with another strong tournament, almost willing her team to the title.
Wimby shines in Lady Legit’s title
Deja Wimby, a 2015 commitment for Western Michigan, entered Sunday’s title game for Pools E-H as perhaps the lesser-known guard in the showdown of backcourt performers against Indiana’s The Family 17.
The Family’s Jordan Hankins is ranked 40th by Blue Star in the class of 2015, but Wimby showed she can raise her game when called upon, helping the Lady Legit to a 69-60 victory.
The standout duo spent much of the game matched up. They are similar players, the 5-9 Hankins listed 1 inch taller. Each possesses an aggressive streak and penetration skills that create opportunities on the offensive end for themselves and teammates.
Wimby said she took the challenge personally.
“This weekend I really didn’t have anybody who was (at a high level) that I had to guard, so I really felt like I had to show her what I could do, while she showed me what she could do,” Wimby said. “She’s a really great athlete so I hope to play her again sometime.”
Said Legit coach Kiwanna Wimby: “We’ve been playing against her since Deja was in the fourth grade. She’s a pure jumpshooter; she shoots at the top of her jump. But I told her you’ve just got to contain her, keep her from going to the basket.”
While the guards drew the spotlight, the difference was determined near the rim. The Lady Legit’s frontline players, headed by 2015s Greta Winkeljohn, Dejah McCain and Grace German, were more effective, whether clearing misses or scoring off of the chances created by penetration.
“Greta Winkeljohn is new to the team this year she really stepped up, bodied up inside and made a difference inside,” Kiwanna Wimby said. “And Dejah McCain is really long, has a nice wingspan under the basket.”
Persistence pays off for Indiana Flight
The Indiana Flight 14 Gold squad won Pools V-Y in the 14/13U bracket with a come-from-behind 35-33 victory against the Illinois Defenders 14 Grey.
Sidney Crowe did the damage late, her steal and layup with 27 seconds remaining giving the Flight a 34-33 lead. After the Defenders missed a three-pointer, Crowe rebounded with 12 seconds left. When she was fouled with 6.4 to play, Crowe sank a free throw for the final margin.
“I was just talking before the game to them, saying the only thing we’re going to do is play 32 minutes,” Flight coach Doyle Crowe said. “We aren’t going to play 30, 31 and a half. We’re going to play the full 32. Sure enough, we take the lead with 27 seconds left. Might have been our first lead of the game.”
In addition to Sidney Crowe, a 5-9 guard from Whiteland High School, the Flight’s 2017 standouts over the weekend included Emma Dehart (5-8, Southport) and Katrina Hopkins (5-9, Avon).
“They’ve been that way all year,” Doyle Crowe said.
Illinois Elite 13 survives test
The Illinois Elite 13 squad is deep and talented, frequently finishing off opponents by lopsided margins.
But the Elite needed to show some gumption Sunday, holding off the Illinois Rockets 13 Hotwagner team 51-48 to capture Pools Z-DD in the 14/13U bracket.
“That’s what I said to them: You’ve won almost every game by 24 points or more, and this means more than when you blow people out,” Elite coach Tom Hohenadel said. “We’re going to nationals, and they’re going to get games like this. And if you’ve never been in one before, you don’t know how to handle it. At the end, their ability to be composed and move the ball before the traps got there, was fun to watch. And they’re 13. Isn’t that amazing?”
Guard Daliyah Brown (5-9, Trinity), point guard Myia Clark (5-8, St. Viator), forward Tsimba Malonga (5-8, Joliet Catholic) and forward Skylar Blackstock (5-10, Stevenson) had solid weekend showings for the Elite.
Sunday notes
Other bracket champions: Illinois Predators 16 Crum (Pools I-L), Mac Irvin Fire 15 Black (Pools M-P), Indiana Hoosier Elite 14 Huffman (Pools Q-S) and Indiana Always 100 14 Elite (Pools T-U).
The Fire’s 15 Black squad featured an emerging talent in Destiny Harden, a 5-11 guard/forward from the 2017 class at Christ the King in Chicago. Harden can aggressively defend the perimeter while using her leaping ability to play effectively under the glass. She is a solid scorer inside 15 feet.
