It was fun while it lasted.
Inkster was just a name at the start of the season, and the Vikings were on the fringes of the national rankings. There was a bit of a buzz, though, and when Peggy Carr's team beat Whitney Young of Illinois, which was ranked at the time, the buzz got loud enough to put Michigan's top-rated team into the Xcellent 25 in early January.
Central Catholic, another top Michigan team, fell to Inkster on Jan. 21, solidifying the Vikings' spot in the top 15, and then so did previously unbeaten Goodrich. All this set the table for the matchup with Detroit Country Day and Carr's former high school coach – and the result was a 58-55 loss to the 23rd best team in the country.
That was bearable, but then another interstate opponent rudely pushed Inkster out of the top 25. Start of Ohio, which began the season in the rankings and was also a victim of Detroit Country Day, outlasted the Vikings 78-74, and that pretty much ends Inkster's Xcellent 25 run.
Detroit Country Day is a Class B team in Michigan, while Inkster is Class A, so there's no chance to avenge that defeat, and Start has a loss to DuPont Manual of Kentucky, so it's unlikely the Spartans will return either – thus dooming Inkster to what-might-have-been status.
But it was fun while it lasted.
* * * * *
Speaking of lasting, and outlasting, how about that 122-118 double overtime marathon between
Gladbrook-Reinbeck (Iowa) and
West Marshall (State Center, Iowa) in Iowa? Records fell like melting icicles in a Feb. 7 game that was tied 98-98 in regulation – which was actually a bit of a letdown for Gladbrook-Reinbeck, which had broken 100 points in its previous three games.
The Rebels run an up-tempo, 3-point shooting system that, when it's clicking, is almost impossible to stop – and when someone, like West Marshall, is willing to run too, the scoreboard changes in a hurry. In this game, a shot was taken every 14.8 seconds, and the teams combined for 123 points in the second and third quarters. They put up a mere 44 in the two four-minute overtimes, probably because their arms were tired.
Hailee Halverson of West Marshall was the top scorer with 36 points – but that left 82 points for the rest of the team.
And here's the kicker: The teams met five days later in the first round of the Iowa playoffs, and again, 110 points were scored. This time, though, that was the combined total for both teams as Gladbrook-Reinbeck won 57-53.
Sure, a win's a win, but some are more fun than others.
* * * * *
Big game in Minnesota this Friday:
Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) and
Eden Prairie (Minn.) will go at it for the third time, this one at Hopkins. The teams have split the first two games, each winning by six, but Hopkins has yet to get the Eagles in its home gym (Hopkins won at a neutral site Dec. 30).
If the Royals hold serve at home, that will most likely push them back into the Xcellent 25, as a tiebreaking win in the series essentially erases the loss to Eden Prairie. But if the Eagles win, then
Hill-Murray (Maplewood, Minn.), an unbeaten AAA school which beat AAAA Eden Prairie earlier in the year, could lay claim to a spot.
And now that state playoffs are starting to kick into gear, expect more upsets each week – and thus a chance for new teams to get some national attention.
MaxPreps' national girls basketball playoff brackets* * * * *
1. (1)
Brea Olinda (Calif.) 25-0
2. (2)
Long Beach Poly (Calif.) 23-2
3. (3)
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 24-1
4. (4)
Bolingbrook (Ill.) 22-2
5. (5)
Spring Valley (Columbia, S.C.) 24-0
6. (6)
Lake Taylor (Norfolk, Va.) 22-0
7. (7)
Potter's House Christian (Jacksonville, Fla.) 29-1
8. (8)
Ben Davis (Indianapolis) 22-0
9. (9)
Shabazz (Newark, N.J.) 21-0
10. (12)
Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) 26-0
11. (11)
Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.) 21-1
12. (13)
Heights (Wichita, Kan.) 16-0
13. (14)
Midwest City (Okla.) 19-0
14. (15)
Twinsburg (Ohio) 19-0
15. (16)
North Little Rock (Ark.) 23-0
16. (17)
Neptune (N.J.) 17-1
17. (18)
St. John's (Washington, D.C.) 21-1
18. (19)
Archbishop Spalding (Severn, Md.) 24-2
19. (21)
Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 23-4
20. (22)
Butler (Matthews, N.C.) 24-0
21. (nr)
Webb City (Mo.) 20-2
22. (23)
Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.) 15-0
23. (nr)
Westbury Christian (Houston) 35-1
24. (24)
Canyon (Texas) 31-0
25. (25)
Konawaena (Kealakekua, Hawaii) 31-1*
*Season complete
Dropped out: No. 14 Inkster, No. 20 Our Lady of Good Counsel
