Game Review: Mishawaka Marian 58, South Bend St. Joe 46
Friday night, Mishawaka Marian and South Bend Saint Joseph matched up in the second Sectional #19 Semi-Final game at John Glenn High School. In their head-to-head meeting back on January 7, it was St. Joe escaping with a 66-63 overtime…
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Continue ReadingFriday night, Mishawaka Marian and South Bend Saint Joseph matched up in the second Sectional #19 Semi-Final game at John Glenn High School. In their head-to-head meeting back on January 7, it was St. Joe escaping with a 66-63 overtime victory, but this time the tables would turn. While the final score was a 58-46 margin, it wasn’t really that close throughout.
Marian came out burying shot after shot like a machine, while St. Joe couldn’t get anything to fall. Marian scored at the 1:11 mark in the first quarter to make it 18-0, and it wasn’t until Keegan Sullivan‘s (2020) basket with 38 seconds left in the period that St. Joe was finally on the scoreboard. Once the first quarter came to an end, the score read 18-2, and St. Joe was just 1-16 from the field after missing their first 14 shot attempts. Christina Himelick (2020) was huge for Marian in the first, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers and scoring eight points in the period.
The middle quarters weren’t much more exciting, as Marian outscored the Indians 12-8 in the second to lead 30-10 at halftime. St. Joe was a paltry 0-16 from 3-point range and 0-2 from the free throw line in the first half. The third quarter was also somewhat uneventful, and it ended in a 9-9 tie with the Knights leading 39-19 heading into the final period.
In the fourth quarter, St. Joseph finally got something going, and they began chipping into the lead. It would get down to 14 then back up to 18…down to 12 then up to 16…until finally Sullivan and Kelly Ratigan (2022) took turns knocking down 3-pointers for the Indians, capped off by Sullivan’s shot with 52.1 seconds left, trimming the lead to single-digits at 55-46. However, Marian finished the game down the stretch with three made free throws to provide the final score, 58-46, and advance to tonight’s Sectional Final against South Bend’s Washington High School. Below is a quick look at several prospects who stood out in last night’s game.
Christina Himelick, 2020, 6-1 C, Mishawaka Marian H.S.
Not that she hasn’t had better games, but this was the best I’ve ever seen Christina play. She is always active and plays with a great motor, but she looks more athletic, more assertive, and she knocked down three 3-pointers and looked very smooth doing so. I was really impressed with her comfort level in the Marian offense, and she is proving this season that she’s more than just a defender/rebounder type of traditional post. She doesn’t do much with her back to the basket, but she is big enough and strong enough to develop that part of her game. To the best of my knowledge, she remains uncommitted. Christina finished with 20 points.
McKenzie Hudgen, 2021, 5-8 G, Mishawaka Marian H.S.
McKenzie is a very good high school player, and the type of kid you want leading your team. She plays with a tremendous motor, she’s quietly tough, she’s physical, and she just does all of the little things without fanfare and doesn’t need to be in the spotlight. She can shoot/score it when necessary, but she has a true lead guard mentality. Last night, she scored just 11 points, but if you watched the game you could tell she was in complete control and was one of the best players out there. She handled St. Joe’s pressure well and got the ball to the hot hands when necessary, plus she was really good defensively. She’s the type of player you win games with.
Nevaeh Foster, 2023, 5-8 G, Mishawaka Marian H.S.
Nevaeh is one of the state’s best young scorers, and she has already broken the Marian single-season record that currently stands at 517 points. She plays with great pace and has a beautiful hesitation dribble that gets defenders off-balance. In fact, I was more impressed with her handle and ability to take care of the ball during crunch-time last night, than I was with her ability to shoot/score it, and she buried some tough shots with range. When she attacks, she lowers her shoulder level and draws contact most of the time too, earning repeated charity stripe trips. She is just so efficient and versatile in how she can score the ball.
Keegan Sullivan, 2020, 5-11 W, South Bend Saint Joseph H.S.
Marian did a really nice job on Keegan early in the game, collapsing on her driving lanes, forcing her to either give it up or take tough, contested jumpers. She struggled to shoot it early, but she got it going late in the game, though a little too late to pull out the win. Still, though, you could see her ball skill, her ability to pass it, plus her jumper has improved tremendously over the years. She is just so strong attacking the basket, especially when she’s determined, that she’ll be tough to defend at the next level as well. She has signed with Division-II Rockhurst University, where she’ll get to play with her older sister, Daly (2017).
Anne Goralczyk, 2020, 6-0 F, South Bend Saint Joseph H.S.
It seems like Anne has struggled with injuries at times, but after she transferred from Penn High School to St. Joseph last season, she gave the Indians a much needed boost to their frontline. Anne is a long, wiry, fairly fluid face-up ‘4’. She can shoot it a little facing the basket, and she even knocked down a couple of baseline jumpers last night without hesitation. She has always played hard, a little more physical than she looks, and as she continues gaining strength, I think she’ll be a really nice system kid at the next level. She has signed with Division-III Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana.
Sarah Hiestand, 2021, 5-9 W, South Bend Saint Joseph H.S.
This was my first time seeing Sarah play, and I think she has a nice basketball future, though I’ve heard she’s a standout on the soccer pitch. She is long, wiry strong, and fluidly athletic. She spent time defending both of Marian’s guards (Hudgen & Foster), and she showed solid offensive skill as well. She has a decent handle, solid shot mechanics, and she was athletic when she decided to attack the basket. With many of St. Joseph’s better players being Seniors this year, she’ll have the opportunity to step into a much more prominent role as a scorer next season, and honestly, they’ll need her to do so.