Class 3A top-ranked Washington girls primed to claim NIC crown Friday night vs. Jimtown
The Washington girls basketball team entered this season with a number of lofty goals.
The Panthers are primed to earn one of those on their lengthy list come Friday night.
Washington, the state's top ranked team in Class 3A and ranked No.18 nationally by ESPN, can cap off an unbeaten conference season and the program's first outright league championship since 2009.
Area's top teams: South Bend area power rankings for high school girls basketball
The Panthers, barring an upset of David versus Goliath proportions, will claim the Northern Indiana Conference crown at Jimtown. Washington is 19-2 overall and 10-0 in NIC play, while the Jimmies are 3-16 and 2-8.
Washington, the state runner-up last season, is eager to claim a league crown before setting its sights on the postseason.
"Winning an NIC championship is one of our five core goals this year, so it will feel great to have accomplished that," said Washington coach Steve Reynolds this past weekend. "We had our really important NIC games (St. Joe, Penn, Marian) at home this year so that definitely helped. I'm glad we could get one for our seniors."
Washington finished 8-2 in the NIC a year ago with early-season league losses to Penn and Marian. The Panthers beat Penn 49-36 to snap the Kingsmen's 48 game NIC winning streak and topped the Knights 65-53 this season.
The Panthers have just three remaining regular-season games left after going 2-0 at the Classic in the Country Challenge in Ohio this past weekend. Washington beat host Hiland (Ohio) 40-25 Saturday night and then edged Mason (Ohio) 38-37 Monday on a game-winning shot by senior Shamarah Allen.
Washington has tested its mettle by beefing up its schedule big time this season. The Panthers beat nationally ranked Detroit Edison Academy 79-77 and then also won two games to claim the Hall of Fame Classic despite missing senior star Mila Reynolds due to a knee injury. Washington will host defending Class 4A state champion Crown Point Jan. 25.
"I always have an eye on the present and the future," remarked coach Reynolds. "Our schedule bears that out. We have Division 1 athletes on our team so at the next level, they have to be ready to play night in and night out. We focus on competing and the only way to reinforce that is to have stiff competition and not be worried about our record or rankings or anything like that."
The Panthers are also finally getting to full strength. Standout junior point guard and Maryland recruit Amiyah Reynolds missed the first five games due to a hamstring injury. Allen missed several games due to an ankle injury and Mila Reynolds missed two games with a knee injury.
"We are finally getting healthy," Reynolds said. "Shamarah and Mila are back. We had nine kids (our full team) at practice Friday for the first time since November 18, so we are grateful for that."
Senior star Mila Reynolds continues to pace the Panthers. The 6-2 Maryland recruit and Miss Basketball candidate is averaging 23.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She now has 1,938 career points and 920 career rebounds.
The Panthers also continue to get big production from junior guard and Purdue commit Rashunda Jones, ever-improving freshman Kira Reynolds and Amiyah Reynolds.
Knights tested
Marian is another area team that has been tested late in the season.
The Knights, who are ranked No. 8 in Class 3A, lost 73-38 at Carmel Saturday. Marian also dropped a 63-55 final at Class 4A No. 1 Homestead last week.
Marian, which will compete in the Washington Sectional, sits at 15-5 overall and 8-1 in the NIC.
"Prior to Saturday's game at Carmel, I felt like we were playing some of our best basketball of the season," noted Marian coach Steve Scott. "Saturday, everybody was out of sync, and Carmel played great. We are just going to flush that game and move on. Overall, I feel like our defense has improved and we are doing a great job of making the extra pass and sharing the ball."
"The reason we scheduled these games was to test ourselves and see how we stack up with the best teams in the state. We were down three to Homestead and had a chance to tie late in the game, so we feel good about how we played and gave ourselves a chance to win."
Marian continues to be led by junior stars MaKaya Porter and Nevaeh Foster. Porter is averaging 20.9 points and 10.1 rebounds with Foster at 20.1 ppg.
"Foster and Porter have played well as we come down the final stretch of our season," Scott said. "Obviously, they get every teams best shot defensively and see many double teams, gimmicks and teams shading their defensive coverages towards them. This has opened up opportunities for Kenndall Bethel, Payton Rangel and Shayla Alexander to contribute more on the offensive end."
Senior Rangel, who gives the Knights a hard-nosed competitor and key 3-point threat, recently committed to play at Glen Oaks next season.
Scott was looking to win his 100th game as Marian coach at home versus NorthWood Tuesday night. He entered play 99-25 in his fifth season at Marian with three sectional titles. Overall, Scott was 273-168 in his 19th season overall, including stints at Clay and Elkhart Memorial, going into action Tuesday night.
My dear Watson
De'Mour Watson has quietly put together one of the top prep careers in the area.
The Elkhart senior forward scored her 1,000th career point last week in a 67-55 win over NIC foe Bremen.
Watson, an athletic guard/forward, now has 1,012 points to go with 1,048 career rebounds. Watson played her first two high school seasons for Elkhart Memorial before playing for coach Will Coatie at Elkhart High School the past two seasons.
"De'Mour has done a great job over the years in displaying that there isn't any doubt that she has lots of athletic ability," noted coach Coatie. "She has worked hard over the summers working on her basketball game to improve her skill set."
Watson was averaging 12.8 points and 8.1 rebounds through the first 17 games. She has helped the Lions go 11-8 overall and 6-3 in the NIC.
Watson, who has not chosen a college yet, averaged 14 points and 14 rebounds per game her junior season.
"We're honored and thankful to have De'Mour Watson as part of the Elkhart Lady Lions basketball program and are looking forward to seeing what the future holds for her as she plays at the next level," added Coatie.
Tigers top NLC
Warsaw is back to an old familiar spot, atop the Northern Lakes Conference.
The Tigers claimed at least a share of the NLC title for the first time since 2013 with a 52-21 league win at Goshen Saturday night.
Warsaw, now 14-5 overall and 6-0 in the NLC, can win the league crown outright with a win over Concord at home Saturday night.
Northern Indiana Conference standings
(Through Monday games)
Washington 19-2 (10-0), Marian 15-5 (8-1), Penn 14-6 (7-2), Glenn 12-7 (7-3), Elkhart 11-8 (6-3), Saint Joseph 14-8 (6-4), Bremen 10-8 (4-6), New Prairie 9-9 (4-6), Adams 8-7 (3-5), Jimtown 3-16 (2-8), Clay 2-15 (0-9), Riley 2-15 (0-10).
Northern Lakes Conference standings
(Through Monday games)
Warsaw 14-5 (6-0), Northridge 17-4 (4-1), Plymouth 11-7 (4-1), Mishawaka 9-8 (2-3), Goshen 7-11 (2-3), Wawasee 9-10 (2-4), Concord 7-12 (1-5), NorthWood 2-20 (1-5).
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Girls high school basketball: Washington nears NIC conference crown
