Indiana Girls Basketball Post Season Honors Announced by IndianaBball.Com

Indianabball.com has announced its 2003-2004 post-season honors for Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Coach of the Year and the IndianaBball.Com All State Girls Basketball Teams.

(PRWEB) February 11, 2004 --Indianabball.com has announced its 2003-2004 post-season honors for Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Coach of the Year and the IndianaBball.Com All State Girls Basketball Teams.

Janese Banks of Ben Davis High School, The Player of the Year, began the season as the pre-season selection for Player of the Year and only solidified that choice throughout the season with her brilliant defense and her unstoppable slashing and penetration. She was the only senior on a 4A squad that went 22-0 and captured the Marion County tournament.

TaShia Phillips of Brebeuf Jesuit Academy is the Freshman of the Year. She joined an already impressive squad and made them even better with her great post play and beautiful shooting touch. She doesnt let up and seems to have a better sense for her position than other girls in the post. Her Brebeuf Braves finished the season as the number one team in 3A.

Stan Benge of Ben Davis High School is this years Coach of the Year. His Giants started the year out of the polls and finished at the top with a perfect record. Benge is looking for his third state title in the last five years.

Sophomores are giving the seniors a run for their money, as reflected on the All State teams that include sixteen seniors, nine juniors, eight sophomores and three freshmen. Five of those sophomores are on the First Team. Equal to the number of seniors that are on the first team.

Seniors Jaclyn Leininger of Warsaw and Adrienne Squire of Indiana Creek were in close running for the Player of the Year, which went to Banks. The other two seniors on the first team, Ashley Cazee of Martinsville and Rebekah Parker of Tippecanoe Valley, should be locks for the All-Star team when it is announced later in the year.

Indiana Bball.Com All State 2004

First Team (In Alphabetical Order)

Janese Banks -- Ben Davis, Senior
Ashley Barlow -- Pike, Sophomore
Ashley Cazee -- Martinsville, Senior
DeeDee Jernigan -- East Chicago Central, Sophomore
Jaclyn Leininger -- Warsaw, Senior
Susan Lester -- Pendleton Heights, Sophomore
Fahkara Malone -- Evansville Memorial, Sophomore
Chelsea Miller -- Shenandoah, Junior
Maria Olsthoorn- Castle, Sophomore
Rebekah Parker- Tippecanoe Valley, Senior
TaShia Phillips -- Brebeuf, Freshman
Adrienne Squire -- Indiana Creek, Senior

Second Team

Dana Beaven -- Corydon Central, Junior
Courtney Felke -- Rochester, Senior
Cassie Freeman -- Heritage Christian, Senior
Chelsea Gugliotta -- North Knox, Senior
Gretchen Haehl -- Shelbyville, Senior
Amber Harris -- North Central, Sophomore
Crystal Jones -- Indianapolis Tech, Senior
Tara Miller -- North Harrison, Junior
Cassie Pruzin -- Crown Point, Junior
Courtney Swain -- Zionsville, Senior
Kimberly Roberson -- Cathedral, Junior
Corie West -- New Castle, Freshman

Third Team

Taryn Bridgewaters -- Bloomington North, Junior
Julie DeMuth -- Merrillville, Senior
Kristin Drabyn -- Avon, Senior
Candace Jones -- Indianapolis Tech, Junior
Rachel Kenney -- Mooresville, Senior
Cassie Kerns -- Valporaiso, Junior
Melissa Lechlitner -- SB St Joes, Sophomore
Michelle Oswalt -- West Lafayette, Freshman
Leah Phillips -- Castle, Senior
Kahla Roudebush -- Hamilton South Eastern, Junior
Amanda Stull -- Rushville, Sophomore
Lisa Thompson -- Kokomo, Senior

2004 Player of the Year
Janese Banks, Senior -- Ben Davis High School 25.5 ppg, 9.3 rbg

Janese Banks and her Ben Davis Giants began the season unranked and underrated. After finishing the season with a perfect 22-0 record versus the sixth-toughest schedule in the state, no one is overlooking Indiana Bball.Coms Pre-season and Post-season Player of the Year and her teammates that are more than a cast of role players.

Banks will be looking for her second state championship in her high school career and has plenty of help to get her there. Indiana Bball.Coms Coach of the Year, Stan Benge, Ben Davis coach since 1985 and winner of back-to-back titles in 2000 and 2001, has plenty of weapons in his arsenal to go along with Banks.

Those that have been lucky enough to see Banks in action have been treated to some very spectacular plays, intensity and leadership that puts her in a class of Indiana basketball greats that includes her former teammate, Shyra Ely and last years Miss Basketball, Katie Gearlds. Her ability to take over a game is unmatched and she should go down as one of the Indianas most exciting Miss Basketball winners.

Her leadership and experience is invaluable," said Benge. Her ability to take over a game comes from her ability. There are not many girls who can create their own shots and she is one that can.

Janese is the only senior and is the only player on the team to have won the State," he adds. I know she has made everyone around her better. Janese has won a State championship, two regionals and three sectionals.

Any player that has reached her level of ability has made a lot of sacrifices to get where she is."

Ben Davis has found themselves matched up against some of the best teams in the state, and often times, they were much shorter than their competition. Banks, who is listed at a generous 510, has not let taller players stop her from her slashing and driving. Her dribble penetration is amazing for a high school player and she can get to the free throw line at will.

Banks will play in the Big Ten for the University of Wisconsin, as part of a six-member recruiting class for Lisa Stone that is ranked in the top-20 in the nation.

2004 Freshman of the Year

TaShia Phillips -- Brebeuf Jesuit Academy 16.0 ppg, 9.9 rpg, .711 fg %, 2.5 blocks

Standing at 66, Brebeufs TaShia Phillips brings more to the game than just her height. She has natural ability and possesses a great deal of knowledge about the game for someone that is only a freshman. She has already mastered the post position and is a dominating force that has stormed onto the scene in an unprecedented manner.

Brebeuf was already going to be a top team this state with their six-member senior class, including Amanda Quattrocchi, Amber Jackson and Kyra Pappas but nobody realized what kind of impact Phillips was going to make. The Braves have been considered the top team in Indiana for most of the season and with Phillips around for three more years, graduation is not going to hurt them too much.

Phillips committed to Purdue University on February 8th along with 65 North Central Sophomore, Amber Harris, sending shockwaves through the college recruiting world as top programs such as Connecticut, Duke and Tennessee were already showing a lot of interest in the duo.

New Castles Corie West came in a close second for Freshman of the Year honors.

2004 Coach of the Year

Stan Benge, Ben Davis High School 22-0

Ben Davis Coach Stan Benge has won over 80 percent of his games in his 19 years of coaching including two state championships and many conference, county and sectional titles. This years team finished the regular season undefeated, at 22-0, with another MIC Championship and a County tourney championship.

They began the season unranked and stand at the top of the polls at the end of a spectacular season. The Giants have the states best player in Janese Banks and what appears to be a group of very talented and intense players that are more than just role players.

The team has shown considerable improvement throughout the season and they have survived many tough games against the sixth toughest schedule in the state, according to the Sagarin ratings, including seven wins against top 25 teams and fifteen wins against top 64 teams.

Lacey Workman, Monica Kirschner, Charrise Hicks, Tiersa Fernandes and Lauren Cheney helped Banks execute Benges game plan perfectly in every game this season and featured hard-nosed defense and crashing the boards for rebounds on every chance to get them their success.

The rather humble Benge is quick to deflect all of the praise to his players and assistants.

As far as coaching," he says, you are only as good as your players. I have been
blessed to have a lot of great people to work with. My assistants are very
good; Demetrius Dowler and Dave Cupp. Our players are good. We have girls
who do what is asked of them and understand the game. Players who deserve
recognition because of the little things they do dont get that attention
most of the time."

Ben Davis has the recent history of being a powerhouse in many sports, girls basketball being no exception. It is only natural that they too share the dream or goal of being crowned the state champion.

Benge keeps his business like approach towards the post season.

We have a very difficult road to the State Finals. There isn't a team we would play who cannot beat us on a given night. We will play as well as we can and see what happens."

Whether or not Benge gets that third title in only five years remains to be seen. But, what is already clear is that it will take a perfect game to knock them out of the tourney. Perfect plan and perfect execution.
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