National Highlight Reel: Carmela Roeschlein scores 52 points

It may be early in the season, but girls basketball scoring across the nation is already off the charts.

For example, 5-foot-6 senior guard Carmela Roeschlein exploded for a school-record 52 points as Clay City (Ind.) defeated White River Valley (Switz City, Ind.), 86-53. She was extremely accurate, making 18 of 24 shots from the field (4-8 on 3-pointers) and all 12 of her free throw attempts.

Six times she scored, was fouled and converted a three-point play the old fashioned way.

"We weren't expecting that," coach Chris Ames told MaxPreps. "She got to the foul line early and hit her first four or five shots. In the moment you don't think much about it. We believe it's the 11th-highest in Indiana history."

A four-year starter, Roeschlein averaged 12.5 points as a freshman, 14 as a sophomore and 21 as a junior. She is going out in style this year with averages of 25 points, six assists, six steals and three assists.

Ames pointed out, "She's a good athlete. She set the school record in the 200 meters as a freshman, the only year she ran track. She ran a 5:45 mile and bench presses 160 pounds. She's a great defender and had 12 steals (in a recent game). She handles the ball quite a bit and doesn't turn it over much. She is real quick and fearless - a true Indiana kid."

The Eels' head coach could find only one minor flaw in his star, who carries a 4.0 GPA.

"I just wish she was about four inches taller," he said.

However, Roeschlein wasn't even the top scorer that we ran across last week.

That honor went to Dominque Houzer, who poured in 56 points as Jackson-Olin (Birmingham, Ala.) routed Holy Family (Birmingham, Ala.), 116-14.

* Marie Gaedke amassed 54 points (including the winning basket with 1.2 seconds left), 15 rebounds and 12 steals as Edsel Ford (Dearborn, Mich.) nipped Stevenson (Livonia, Mich.), 89-87, in triple overtime. The winners survived the final 1:30 with just four players.

* Hayden Hamby poured in 52 points as West Morgan (Trinity, Ala.) defeated Priceville (Ala.), 62-53.

* Braham (Minn.) defeated Maranatha Christian Academy (Brooklyn Park, Minn.), 77-70, behind 47 points by junior Rebekah Dahlman.

* Sophomore guard Taryn Griffey, daughter of baseball great Ken Griffey, Jr., had 20 points, seven steals, six rebounds and five assists as Dr. Phillips (Orlando, Fla.) routed previously unbeaten Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), 77-47.

* Warren Fuller has retired as girls coach at Wyandanch (N.Y.) as the state's No. 2 winner with a 579-172 record in 33 years.

* Milestone coaching victories: Ann Fritz of Blue Valley North (Overland Park, Kan.) posted No. 400, while Mike Callan of New Hartford (N.Y.) won his 200th game. 

JOEL BERRY SCORES 49 POINTS FOR LAKE HIGHLAND PREP

Joel Berry, a 6-1 sophomore guard, scored 49 points - including the winning basket with 4 seconds left - to give Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.) an 85-83 victory over West Orange (Winter Garden, Fla.) in the championship game of the Rotary Tip-Off Classic.

Berry scored his team's final 12 points to send West Orange to its first defeat. He drilled 16 of 19 shots from the field (4-6 on 3-pointers) and 13 of 15 from the free throw line.

Coach Jeff Turner, a former NBA player, told the Orlando Sentinel, "He's a great kid and an incredible competitor for someone so young."

* Kori Babineuax, a 6-4 senior from Lake Forest Academy (Lake Forest, Ill.), scored a school-record 48 points during a 75-67 loss to North Chicago (Ill.). North Chicago also defeated Grant (Fox Lake, Ill.),100-80, as Aaron Simpson scored 44 points.

* The present was matched against the future as Lawrence Central (Indianapolis) edged Arsenal Tech (Indianapolis), 69-64. Jeremy Hollowell, a 6-8 senior, led the winners with 26 points and nine rebounds while 6-9 sophomore Trey Lyles led the losers with 19 points and 19 rebounds. Both have made commitments to Indiana University.

* Another big matchup was staged in Wichita, Kan., where Heights (Wichita, Kan.) defeated North (Wichita, Kan.), 71-54, behind blue-chip senior Perry Ellis, who had 21 points and eight rebounds. North junior guard Conner Frankamp took game honors with 27 points. Ellis has signed with the University of Kansas and Frankamp has made a commitment to the same school. More than 1,600 fans witnessed the game and an estimated 300 others had to be turned away, according to the Wichita Eagle.

* Trey Hendrix dished out 19 assists while pacing Lebanon (Ind.) to a 104-93 victory over Western (Russiaville, Ind.) in triple overtime.

* Pleasure Ridge Park (Louisville, Ky.) set a gym scoring record while outlasting Fern Creek (Louisville, Ky.), 121-93, during the Hoosier Cat Fight Classic in Loogootee, Ind.

* Ryan Gabbard, a 6-5 senior, pulled down 23 rebounds as Crothersville (Ind.) defeated Rock Creek Academy (Sellersburg, Ind.), 63-48.

* Six-foot-1 senior point guard Nick Bollenbacher collected 41 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and six steals to spark Hanover Central (Cedar Lake, Ind.) to a 94-58 victory over Calumet (Gary, Ind.).

* Coaching milestone victories: Kenny Almond of East Ascension (Gonzales, La.) posted his 800th victory, while Gary Duhe of St. Amant (La.) won No. 700. Both came during the Ralph Sellers Gold Dome Classic. In Florida, Melvin Randall of Ely (Pompano Beach, Fla.) won his 400th game.

* Austin Hatch will sit out his junior basketball season at Fort Wayne Canterbury (Ind.) as he continues to recover from a summer plane crash. The 6-6 standout, who has committed to the University of Michigan, will attend games but not play this year, according to his family. He also survived a plane crash in 2003.

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