Uhl’s girls eye semi-state

For the fourth time in the past six years, a girls basketball team from Harrison County is headed to a semi-state.
Corydon Central, which last won a regional championship in 2000, will square off against unranked Mt. Vernon (Fortville) at approximately 3 p.m. on Saturday at Southport Fieldhouse in the Class 3A Semi-state.
A win would propel the Lady Panthers to the state finals at Conseco Fieldhouse on March 5.
At 1 p.m., also at Southport, another team from the Mid-Southern Conference ‘ Charlestown ‘ will battle Shenandoah in the 2A Semi-state.
The Mid-Southern is the only conference in the state with two teams still alive in the tournament.
Corydon Central head coach Michael Uhl remained understandably tight-lipped about Mt. Vernon, offering up this tidbit that Lady Panthers fans could relate to: ‘They are like Scottsburg, without Rachel Hardin, but with another Bridgewater.’
In other words, the Marauders (19-6) are an outside-oriented squad, with just enough of an inside attack to keep teams honest.
Corydon’s players will undoubtedly have a constant eye on two opposing competitors.
Mt. Vernon’s big gun is 5-8 senior guard Lindsay Crawford, who averages 14 points a game. She’s shooting just better than 37 percent beyond the arc, having hit 39 of 104 tries.
Crawford (No. 33), who plays solid defense, also scores off the dribble and will gladly dish off after a drive to the hoop.
The other guard to watch out for is Gabby Johnson (No. 4), a 5-4 shooter who puts in 13.3 an outing. She’s also a threat from downtown, with a mark of nearly 35 percent (24 of 69). Johnson is among the Indianapolis area leaders in free throw shooting as well, with a mark of 76 percent on the season.
The third guard for Mt. Vernon is 5-8 sopohomore Brittany Nickerson (No. 25), who is described as a streak shooter.
The fourth starter is 5-8 sophomore Jenni Tamarri (No. 23), who has a nice touch in close range and rebounds hard.
Joining Tamarri on the block is the team’s tallest player, 5-9 senior Ashley Morales.
Morales (No. 35) is best known for camping out under the basket and scoring on put-backs.
The Marauders press some (mainly a 2-2-1) and love the match-up zone defense.
Before Lady Panther fans salivate at the thought of facing an unranked team with no true post player, it should be noted that Mt. Vernon defeated both No. 5 Pendleton Heights and No. 8 Brebeuf to reach the semi-state.
Brebeuf sports 6-6 sophomore power Ta’Shia Phillips.
— Tickets for the Southport Semi-state are on sale now in the Athletics Office at Corydon Central High School for $7, which includes both games. There are no ‘single-session’ tickets available. Tickets are on sale from 8:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the day and will be available Wednesday night from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Athletics Office.
The cutoff for pre-sale will be Friday at noon.
Fans heading to the Southport Fieldhouse should NOT park anywhere on side streets where the curb is marked with yellow paint.
You will be ticketed or towed.