Hardwood rivals now teammates

In the past, North Harrison’s Tara Miller and Corydon Central’s Dana Beaven were rivals on the Harrison County hardwood.
Now, they are teammates.
Two of the top players in the history of Harrison County girls basketball were selected Sunday to The Indianapolis Star Indiana All-star Team.
Miller is North Harrison’s third Indiana All-star selection (Kim McMillin was on the team in 2003 and Julie Swarens in 1992). Beaven is Corydon Central’s second Indiana All-star, following Lynne Johnson in 2000.
Beaven led Corydon Central to a runner-up finish in the Class 3A state final while Miller went down with a severe knee injury in the second game of the season and didn’t see action again until the April 17 Pacesetter’s North-South All-star Classic.
Miller got the call that she was on the team on Thursday after school.
‘It was (game director) Pat Aikman from the Indy Star, and he told me I was on the team and he needed me to go to Indianapolis to get pictures,’ Miller said Monday. ‘I was shocked. I went up the next day.’
The reason for her surprise, Miller said, was that she missed almost the entire year.
‘I was really nervous about it because so many people told me that there was no way I was going to make it (after the knee injury),’ Miller said.
She described the four months she was unable to participate in basketball as ‘the worst time of my life.’
Miller did as much as her body would let her over the course of her rehabilitation, sneaking in a few jumpers from time to time and working extra hard to get her knee back into shape.
It paid off as she came back a full month earlier than expected, scoring 11 points with two rebounds, three assists and three steals in just over 19 minutes of play.
She says she’s about 80 percent physically, but she anticipates being full strength by the time the games against Kentucky roll around this summer.
‘The only thing I’ve noticed is that I’m a little slower in going side
to side,’ Miller said. ‘I can’t wait. Dana and I played together before, and now we get to show them how we in the South really are.
‘Miss Basketball was No. 1 thing, and I think I had a shot at it before I got hurt.
‘I mean, basketball is my life. Since I didn’t get that, I’m still happy with being an Indiana All-star. It’s a dream come true.
‘Some kids get left off, and my brother got left off last year and I didn’t want to be just thrown to the side. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I have always wanted to have my picture up on the wall (in the North Harrison gymnasium).’
North Harrison coach Missy Voyles was happy for her star.
‘I know she has worked really hard for this honor throughout her career,’ Voyles said. ‘She worked extremely hard to come back from this injury to have the opportunity to play for the Indiana All-stars.’
Beaven, who is headed to Bellarmine University on a basketball scholarship, is 6-0, and Miller, who will play at Indiana University, is 5-10.
‘(It’s a) great honor for a super young lady. She has worked very hard and dedicated herself to our program, school and community,’ Corydon coach Michael Uhl said of Beaven, his only senior. ‘It is very well deserved.’
Beaven was the leading scorer on a club that finished the year 24-3. She pumped in just over 17 points and seven rebounds a game for the Lady Panthers last season before leading the team to the state championship game. She won the Patricia L. Roy Mental Attitude Award for Class 3A after her team’s setback to South Bend St. Joseph’s.
The players report June 12 in Greencastle to begin preparing for the first game in the annual series against Kentucky, scheduled for June 18 at Diddle Arena on the campus of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky.
The teams will meet again June 25 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
During the stretch, the team will also battle the Junior All-stars on June 15 at the Hatchet House in Washington, June 21 at a site to be determined, and June 23 at Richmond High School.
Corydon’s Stannye Wolfe, a junior all-star, will take part in the June 15 game at Washington.
The June 21 date was originally slated to be at Carmel High School, but the site was changed when Duke-signee Josh McRoberts pulled his name out of consideration for the Indiana All-star team.
The remainder of the girls’ roster is as follows: Miss Basketball Jodi Howell (Alexandria), Kahla Roudebush (Hamilton Southeastern), Cassie Kerns (Valparaiso), Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington North), Jerri Taylor (South Bend Washington), Cassie Pruzin (Crown Point), Aimee Litka (South Bend St. Joseph’s), Tanika Mays (Marion) and Mara Freshour (Brown County).
The boys roster for the Indiana All-Stars will be announced today in The Indianapolis Star and online at www.indystar.com
Ticket information for the games is not yet available and will appear in a later edition of The Corydon Democrat.