By GREG MENGELT
It’s been an amazing season for the Floyd Central High School girls’ basketball team.
The Highlanders are 17-0 and on top of the Hoosier Hills Conference with a 5-0 mark, including a 58-57 win over conference-favorite Jeffersonville.
They are ranked No. 2 in Indiana, and last week Floyd entered the national rankings at No. 23 by USA Today pollster Jim Halley. Additionally, Halley has the Highlanders ranked No. 6 in the Midwest.
“I know that if you’re one of the top teams in Indiana, you’re going to be ranked in the country,” Highlander coach Joe Voelker said. “It’s one of those things that comes with the accolades of where we’re ranked in the state. It’s nice for the program. It’s nice to achieve that and get that recognition.”
Voelker said he was informed of the ranking by his players.
“They were excited,” he said. “Very, very excited. It shows that we’re playing some good basketball and people recognize it.”
The Highlanders have four regular-season games left before Class 4A Sectional 15 play begins.
Floyd will host 3-15 Jennings County tonight with a chance to clinch a share of its first HHC title since 1984, and just its third overall. With a win tonight, the Highlanders would only need a win at Columbus East — a place the Highlanders haven’t won under Voelker in four tries — on Feb. 2 to clinch the title outright for the first time in school history.
Not everyone is impressed with the Highlanders’ latest accomplishment. When Voelker told his 10-year-old son, Justin, the news, he said, “No. 23 isn’t very good at all.”
“He wasn’t very impressed,” Voelker said.
Floyd girls roll past Meade County
The Floyd Central girls’ basketball team bolted out to a 40-18 halftime lead and cruised to a 74-45 home victory over Meade County (Ky.) on Monday night.
Junior center Jennifer Smith led the Class 4A No. 2 Highlanders (17-0) with a double-double, scoring a game-high 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Floyd junior Morgan Rookstool tallied 11 points, while teammates Camry Hinton and Mercades Bierman each registered 10. Smith’s older sister, Erica, grabbed 10 boards and Highlander point guard Brigid Morrissey made five steals.
“Our press worked real well,” Floyd assistant coach Kirk Hamsley said. “We felt like our pressure really hurt them.”
The Highlanders will host Jennings County tonight.
— Staff writer Kevin Harris
