By GREG MENGELT

Sometimes a Team of the Week is chosen among a handful of strong options. Sometimes, like this week, the choice is a no-brainer.

North Harrison is the clear and obvious Hoosier Hills Hoops Team of the Week. The Cougars dominated defending Class 3A state champion Silver Creek (2-2) to the tune of 65-46 in Sellersburg.

If you thought that result was eyebrow-raising, how about this? The Cougars shot 64 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Dragons 32-14 in the win.

“We played a very strong offensive game throughout and also dominated the boards, which only allowed Silver Creek one chance on most of their offensive possessions,” coach of the fifth-ranked Cougars Lou Lefevre said. “Those two things put together usually are a good recipe for a victory on most nights.”

Senior Logan McIntire had 25 points and 10 rebounds, junior Sawyer Wetzel was 7 for 8 from the field and finished with 17 points. Junior point guard Kaleb Kellems and senior post Ethan Oakley had 8 rebounds apiece in the win.

The Cougars are 2-0 and on top of the Mid-Southern Conference with Brownstown Central. North Harrison is the league champions and the Cougars have already beaten two top threats in Silver Creek and Corydon Central (2-3). They still have games with Brownstown Central (4-0), Eastern (4-1) and Scottsburg (4-1), beginning Friday at Brownstown Central. The Braves are coming off a big MSC win over Scottsburg, 45-41 on Friday.

By GREG MENGELT

First, the Panthers went on the road and beat 2-8 Austin 58-37 on Wednesday. Then on Friday, Corydon knocked off perennial MSC power Salem (6-3) for a 48-44 victory.

It was a great week for our team,” Corydon’s second-year coach Josh Conrad said.

Corydon had several big performances during the week. Freshman point guard Josie Vaughn was a Player of the Week finalist after scoring 29 points on the week. Junior guard Bailey Orme had 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists against Austin and 11 points, 5 assists and 4 steals against Salem. Sophomore forward Jaiden Cantrell had 10 points and 9 boards against Austin and junior guard Ava Weber finished with 8 points and 5 steals in the win over Salem. Senior Chloe Cannon had 8 rebounds against Austin.

“We had balanced scoring in both games and had two very nice conference wins,” Conrad said. “Our defense was really good Friday night against Salem. I thought Josie (Vaughn) and Bailey (Orem) did incredible jobs on the ball handler. Hopefully, we can continue to build on this and work towards playing our best basketball in February.”

The Panthers, who are off until Dec. 21 when they go to Charlestown (8-2), are up to No. 14 in the latest Class 3A media poll.

By GREG MENGELT

The North Harrison senior played a big role in the Cougars’ big Mid-Southern Conference win over Silver Creek on Friday.

Logan McIntire scored a co-game-high 25 points — tied with Silver Creek star Branden Northern — and grabbed 10 rebounds in the 65-46 road victory.

McIntire and the 4-0 Cougars are up to No. 5 in the latest Class 3A AP poll.

WEEK’S TOP PERFORMANCES
• Jake Helton, Charlestown: Helton had a game-high 15 points following the Pirates’ 59-41 win over Clarksville on Friday.
• Dakota Capps, Clarksville: Capps scored 29 of the Generals’ 57 points in Saturday’s 27-point loss to Eastern.
• Gavin Gullion, Rock Creek: The Rock Creek senior made five 3-pointers and finished with a team-best 19 points off the off the bench as the Lions knocked off Christian Academy 66-54 on Friday.
• Casey Kaelin, Providence: The Providence junior had a game-high 21 points in the Pioneers’ 65-64 loss to Scottsburg on Saturday.
• Logan McIntire, North Harrison: The Evansville signee, went 10 for 15 and scored 25 points in the Cougars’ 65-46 win over Silver Creek on Friday. McIntire also had 10 rebounds as North Harrison beat the defending state champions for the second year in a row in the regular season.
• Branden Northern, Silver Creek: Northern finished with 25 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds in the loss to North Harrison on Friday.
• Kasym Nash, Borden: Nash finished with 28 points to help lead the Braves to an 80-60 Southern Athletic Conference victory over South Central on Friday. Nash knocked down six 3-pointers in the win.
• Sawyer Wetzel, North Harrison: The North Harrison junior went 7 for 8 from the field for 17 points in the Cougars’ win over Silver Creek.

By GREG MENGELT

Silver Creek senior Kynidi Mason-Striverson had a big night in Wednesday’s 47-34 home win over Floyd Central.

Mason-Striverson finished with a game-high 28 points and 9 rebounds and went over the career 1,000-point scoring mark as the Dragons improved to 10-0 on the season.

“Kynidi is that all around player that is a coaches dream – rather it is rebounding, setting up teammates or having to score – she is that type of player – honestly she is capable of a triple double every night out,” Silver Creek boss Scott Schoen said.

Mason-Striverson also had 19 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists in Saturday’s 66-49 win over Louisville Central for Silver Creek’s 11th win in 11 games.

Mason-Striverson and the Dragons put the state’s longest winning streak of 23 games on the line Tuesday when they host Scottsburg (7-4).

TOP SINGLE-GAME PERFORMANCES
• Diana Burgher, North Harrison: Burgher led all scorers with 20 points in the Lady Cats’ 38-25 win over Providence on Thursday.
• Abigail Ratts, Salem: Ratts scored 22 points and was perfect from the floor in the Lions’ 61-28 win over Brownstown Central last Tuesday.
• Ellie Richardson, Scottsburg: Richardson had a game-high 22 points in the Warriors’ 44-36 loss at Charlestown last Tuesday.
• Leah Stevens, Christian Academy: Stevens had 10 points in the Warriors’ 35-26 win over Clarksville on Tuesday. Stevens was 4 for 4 from the line in the victory. “Leah scored for us every time we needed a basket and she helped us handle the ball to allow us to pull away at the end of the game to secure the win,” CAI coach Carson Casey said.
• Lillie Weber, Providence: Weber had a career-high 20 points in Tuesday’s 66-25 win over South Central. Weber made six of the Pioneers’ 14 3-pointers in the win.

By GREG MENGELT

Like the Team of the Week, this week’s Win of the Week was an easy choice.

Floyd Central’s defense came to play and, on the back of a 30-3 run, the Highlanders cruised to a 57-26 victory over rival New Albany. It will also be a key win if Floyd Central (3-1, 1-0 HHC) contends for the Hoosier Hills Conference championship.

New Albany (2-3, 0-1) shot just 25 percent from the field (9 for 36), according to the News and Tribune’s Kenzie Winstead.

“They had one of those games — and we’ve all had them — even when you made a mistake and left someone wide open, they missed it, but we did defend pretty physically tonight,” Floyd coach Todd Sturgeon told Winstead.

Junior forward Caleb Washington had a team-high 12 points to lead a balance Floyd Central attack. Senior forward Nathaniel Hoffman had 9, senior wing Brady Moore finished with 8 and junior guard Tevi Ali and senior guard Cole Harritt contributed 7 apiece to the victory.

The Highlanders lost in overtime Saturday against Jeffersontown (Ky.). They go to Providence to face the 4-1 Pioneers on Friday.

By GREG MENGELT

Scottsburg overcame a 34-26 halftime deficit to beat New Albany 66-57 on Thursday evening for the Hoosier Hills Hoops Win of the Week.

The Warriorettes outscored the Bulldogs 23-7 in the third quarter to take control in the 66-57 victory at the Doghouse in New Albany.

Scottsburg (7-4) shot 51 percent from the field, 40 percent from the 3-point line and 79 percent from the foul line in the victory. The Warriorettes had a plus-10 rebounding margin (36-26) and outscored the 4-7 Bulldogs 30-14 in the paint.

“This was a very good win for us on the road,” Scottsburg coach Carrie Daniels said. “New Albany has been playing very well and with high confidence. We came out in the second half with good intensity and cut our deficit quickly. (We) had to make free throws down the stretch as New Albany tried to maximize possessions.”

Freshman Elle Richardson — the Hoosier Hills Hoops Player of the Week — had 23 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists in the victory. Taneisha Griffin, who’s role with the Warriorettes has increased lately, had 11 points and 5 rebounds and returned after suffering an ankle injury to score 7 points in 13 minutes.

The Warriors go to Silver Creek on Tuesday to face the second-ranked and 11-0 Dragons for a big Mid-Southern Conference showdown.