Memorial and Mater Dei Ready For Regionals

I had a very enjoyable afternoon/early evening covering Memorial and Mater Dei’s girls’ basketball practices.  Both teams are very respectful and grateful for the coverage, which means a lot to me. 

The Tigers and Wildcats looked very sharp in winning sectional crowns.  Memorial knocked off a very good Gibson Southern squad who had defeated them the past two seasons.  The Tigers won the section for the first time since their state championship run in 2006.

The Tigers work hard in practice.  Junior standout Mallory Ladd told me, “I love being in the gym!”  It has paid off for Memorial.  Bruce Dockery’s team has won 15 straight games and are 21-3 overall.  They will play in the Jasper Regional on Saturday.

Mater Dei is a bit of a surprise.  When the Wildcats knocked off Jasper back on January 19th in double overtime on the road, the season turned around for MD.  Head Coach Steve Goans tells me the team’s strength is defense.  Mater Dei allowing only 49 points a game. 

The Cats have won six in a row and are 17-7 overall.  Their biggest sectional win came against North Posey.  The Vikings had owned Mater Dei…including a 15 point win in the regular season back in December.    MD turned the tables on the Vikes in the sectionals with a 65-54 win in the semifinal.

Mater Dei will play 20-3 Tri-West in the 2A Regional at Forest Park.

In class 4A, Harrison will be at the Bedford regional.  The Warriors are 14-9 and have won two straight 4A sectional crowns.  Harrison is a high scoring team averaging nearly 63 points a game.  They are led by standout Khristian Hart.  Hart will play college basketball for the University of Evansville.

Good Luck to all three Evansville teams in regionals.