By GREG MENGELT

ELIZABETH — After a tough loss against North Harrison to start the season, South Central showed why there are renewed and increased expectations for the Rebels in 2021-22 with a 57-48 win at Crawford County on Saturday.

The Rebels had lost to Crawford County 18 straight times. Their last win over the Wolfpack came on Nov. 30, 2002. Their last win at Marengo came on Jan. 19, 1998. The victory was the Hoosier Hills Hoops Win of the Week.

Christian Kiper led four Rebels in double figures with 21 points. Cole Thomas finished with 18 and Jack Schmelz 13 as the Rebels improved to 1-1 on the season. The Rebels are now one win shy of last year’s total when they went 2-18.

By GREG MENGELT

A year after going 8-15 in the program’s first year under veteran coach Carrie Daniels, Scottsburg improved to 5-2 with a pair of Mid-Southern Conference wins last week.

The Warriorettes blasted county-rival Austin 53-32 on the road then defeated Brownstown Central 60-53 to earn the Hoosier Hills Hoops Team of the Week honor.

In the win over Austin, freshman Ellie Richardson had 14 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals and senior Allison McGlothlin finished with 11 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals. The Warriorettes went 8 for 8 from the foul line and scored 1.09 points per possession in the win. They also had a 34-18 rebounding advantage and outscored the Eagles 28-12 in the paint.

Against Brownstown, junior Hannah Stutsman led the way with 18 points, including going 5 of 9 from behind the 3-point arc, and McGlothlin had 12 points, 5 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. The Warriorettes shot 47 percent from 3, held a 37-29 rebounding edge and scored 1.21 points per possession.

Scottsburg has a tough road ahead. On Thursday, they host 8-1 Corydon before visiting unbeaten Trinity Lutheran, which is ranked third in Class A. The Trinity Lutheran contest is the first of five straight on the road for the Warriorettes.

“I was very proud of our team’s effort last week,” said Daniels, the former head coach at Austin Peay. “We had a few different players step up, but overall I felt we had pretty good balance between the two games. Hoping that the momentum will carry over into our upcoming games and tough stretch.”

By GREG MENGELT

NEW ALBANY — After an 0-5 start, Christian Academy won for the second time in three games Saturday to improve to 2-6 and equal last season’s win total when the Warriors went 2-21.

The Warriors took down Bloomington Lighthouse 43-11 Saturday with balance and defense. Ashlin Owen led CAI with 10 points, Brooklyn Shields had nine, Leah Stevens scored eight and Audrey Brieschke and Lilly Yates contributed six apiece to the Hoosier Hills Hoops Win of the Week.

“Our girls played very well defensively which turned into offense for us,” Christian Academy third-year coach Carson Casey said. “We were able to get steals and fastbreak points, which allowed us to settle into the game and get comfortable offensively. … We had a balance scoring attack, which I love to see. Each girl embraced their role and took their shots when it was their time. It was a great team effort.”

CAI is an overtime win from having won three straight games. It dropped a 48-43 overtime loss to Rock Creek last Monday. The Warriors host 0-5 Providence on Tuesday.

“We have looked to build each game this year and improve and I have been pleased with our growth so far,” Casey said. “This game was a culmination of that growth. We handled things defensively and offensively and I was proud of not only their play but also their effort.”

By GREG MENGELT

TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo had no problem winning its fourth straight game Monday when the Rockets defeated Division II Northwestern Ohio 106-36 at Savage Arena.

Former Silver Creek star Kooper Jacobi went 3 for 7 from the floor and finished with 7 points, 6 rebounds and an assist for the Rockets. After trailing 7-5 early, Toledo held a 17-13 lead when Jacobi converted a 3-point play to put his team up 7. The Rockets went on a 40-8 run to lead 51-19 at the half.

Jacobi’s jumper with 14:24 left the contest put Toledo ahead 69-21. His final basket put the Rockets up 87-32 with 6:37 to play.

All five Rocket starters scored in double-figures, as did junior Keshaun Saunders in 9 minutes off the bench. Junior Setric Millner Jr. led the way with 17 points. Northwestern Ohio’s starters managed just 18 points.

Things get a little tougher next for Toledo. The 6-1 Rockets go to East Lansing, Mich., to battle 22nd-ranked Michigan State (5-2) at 5 p.m. Saturday. That contest will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

By GREG MENGELT

Jeffersonville didn’t play last week, but the Red Devils were leapfrogged by a Brebeuf (2-0) and fell out of the top 10 to No. 11 in the latest single-class Indiana Basketball Coaches Association poll, released Sunday evening.

The defending sectional champion Red Devils open their season Friday at the University of Southern Indiana against Evansville North (1-0), which is coming off a 61-40 win at Princeton.

Cathedral stayed at No. 1, ahead of No. 2 Zionsville (2-0) and No. 3 Carmel (1-1), which lost 45-42 to Zionsville to open its season as defending 4A champions. Lawrence North came in at No. 4 and received the only first-place vote that Cathedral didn’t. Homeadstead rounds out the top 5.

Locally, Silver Creek (1-0) and Floyd Central (0-0) received votes from coaches. The defending Class 3A champion Dragons opened their season with a 69-57 win over Columbus East (0-2) and hosts Charlestown (1-0) on Tuesday. Floyd Central begins its season Tuesday when it hosts Meade County (Ky.), which will also be playing its first game of the season.

Bloomington North is No. 13 and Bloomington South is No. 14, while Evansville North (0-1), Evansville Reitz (0-0), Evansville Memorial (0-0), Linton-Stockton (2-0) and Mt. Vernon (Posey) all received votes.

INDIANA BASKETBALL COACHES POLL
Rank, School (1st place votes) Record

1. Cathedral (19) 2-0, 2. Zionsville 2-0, 3. Carmel 1-1, 4. Lawrence North (1) 2-0, 5. Homestead 1-1, 6. Westfield 0-0, 7. Indianapolis Tech 1-0, 8. Fishers 1-0, 9. Crispus Attucks 1-0, 10. Brebeuf 2-0, 11. Jeffersonville 0-0, 12. Warren Central 0-1, 13. Bloomington North 1-0, 14. Bloomington South 2-0, 15. North Central 1-0, 16. Misahawaka Marian 0-0, 17. Ben Davis 0-2, 18. Lawrence Central 0-0, 19. Mt. Vernon (Fortville) 0-0, 20. Valparaiso 1-0.

Others receiving votes: Brownsburg 2-1, Central Noble 1-0, Chesterton 0-0, Connersville 2-0, Decatur Central 1-0, Evansville Bosse 0-0, Evansville Reitz 0-0, Evansville Memorial 0-0, Floyd Central 0-0, Fort Wayne Blackhawk 0-0, Fort Wayne North 0-1, Fort Wayne Snider 0-0, Franklin Central 1-0, Gary West 1-1, Lafayette Harrison 1-0, Lafayette Jefferson 1-0, Leo 2-0, Linton-Stockton 2-0, Mt. Vernon (Posey) 0-0, Munster 2-0, New Castle 2-0, Noblesville 1-1, NorthWood 2-0, Penn 1-0, Pike 1-0, Plainfield 2-0, Silver Creek 1-0, South Bend St. Joseph 0-0, Sullivan 1-0, Gary 21st Century 1-0.

NOTE: Records as of Sunday.

By GREG MENGELT

There was a lot of movement in this week’s Indiana Basketball Coaches Association single-class poll, but it didn’t affect Silver Creek.

After wins over Mid-Southern Conference rivals Corydon Central (8-1), which entered the game 7-0, and North Harrison (5-3), the Dragons stayed at No. 12 in the poll. Salem, which had been in the poll since the beginning of the season, fell out of the top 20 but did receive votes. The Lions dropped a 56-50 decision to reigning 4A semistate champion Brownsburg (4-5).

Bedford North Lawrence (6-1) moved up to No. 4 this week after beating previous No. 4 North Central. The Stars were one of four teams to garner first-place votes. No. 1 Crown Point (6-1) got 12, No. 2 Noblesville (7-0) got 6 and No. 3 South Bend Washington (7-1) and the Stars each got one top vote.

Also out of the Hoosier Hills Conference, Columbus East (7-1) is ranked 13th and Jennings County (7-0) received votes.

INDIANA BASKETBALL COACHES POLL
Rank, School (1st place votes) Record

1. Crown Point (12) 6-1, 2. Noblesville (6) 7-0, 3. South Bend Washington (1) 7-1, 4. Bedford North Lawrence (1) 6-1, 5. Franklin 8-0, 6. Homestead 5-1, 7. North Central 6-2, 8. Fishers 6-1, 9. Mishawaka Marian 5-1, 10t. Zionsville 6-2, 10t. Penn 6-2, 12. Silver Creek 7-0, 13. Columbus East 7-1, 14. Lake Central 6-1, 15. Westfield 5-2, 16. East Central 3-1, 17. Benton Central 7-0, 18. Carmel 2-3, 19. Valparaiso 7-0, 20. Hamilton Southeastern 5-3.

Others receiving votes: Columbia City 7-0, Evansville Memorial 3-0, Fairfield 7-0, Fort Wayne Snider 4-2, Garrett 6-1, Jac-Cen-Del 6-0, Jennings County 7-0, Lafayette Central Catholic 5-1, Lawrence Central 5-3, Lawrence North 5-4, Northridge 4-2, Norwell 7-1, Pioneer 4-1, Salem 4-2, South Central (Union Mills) 6-0, Triton Central 6-0, Twin Lakes 7-1, Vincennes Rivet 5-0, Waldon 7-0, Warsaw 5-2, Winchester 5-0.

NOTE: Records as of Sunday.