THE TEAM TO BEAT
BLACKHAWK CHRISTIAN (16-6)
The defending Sectional champions are one of the many teams in this Sectional searching for consistency. There is a lot of excitement in setting a program record for regular season wins with 16 but they have only won three of their last seven. Wins over West Noble, Eastside, Adams Central and Woodlan are among the best wins for any team in this Sectional. This is a team, when consistent on a given night let alone in a strand of games, is very difficult to power by.
Hailee Kline is an electric scorer, especially for a Class 1A level and she along can get the Braves through many games. The good thing to say this year versus last season is that more players are developed in more ways around her. Lily Helmuth and Aubree VanderDussen can both provide stellar defense and secondary scoring. There is continued intrigue into Allie Boyer’s development inside and how she can continue to use her size to her advantage.
THE CONTENDER
LAKEWOOD PARK (12-7)
The Panthers are coming off a fantastic win against Blackhawk Christian that plants them here as a top contender. Chloe Jolloff is arguably the most dynamic scorer in this Sectional and has developed from a Sectional title win as a freshman. She knows how to get to the finals and win it and there are a lot of things that mirror her freshman season with this group, except she is now the seasoned veteran leading a younger team.
Frannie Talarico is a clear big piece as she is going to need to bare the weight of being the number two and that means sometimes being the number one if defenses get the better of Jolloff. She just did so on Thursday against Lakeland Christian. If both Jolloff and Talarico can borderline at or above 20 points each, this team is possibly unstoppable in this Sectional. Another key is consistency though as this team has basically traded wins and losses over the last eight games.
THE OTHERS
BETHANY CHRISTIAN (17-6)
A lot of people may hold Bethany Christian as the top contender in this Sectional, if not the favorite. They do hold a win over Blackhawk Christian and are coming off a spectacular three overtime win against Central Noble, complete with a Sportscenter Top 10 shot from Mariah Stoltzfus. This team has their highest win total in over 20 years and put out a pace that is hard to match. Needless to say, you can put them right there with the aforementioned teams as possibilities to hold the trophy come Saturday night.
The Bruins have the perfect blend of seasoned seniors and very talented underclassmen. Stoltzfus and Zoe Willems are each averaging 11 points per game as freshmen with Willems also leading the team at 9.1 rebounds per game and Stoltzfus averaging five steals per game. With 154 career wins, coach Krysten Parson has more than half of the total wins of the entire Sectional coaching lineup combined.
FREMONT (4-18)
Opening the Sectional on your home court is always helpful and Fremont is very capable of getting through the first round against Elkhart Christian where the winner will get a tough matchup with Bethany Christian. Jada Rhonehouse leads this team again and has some good scoring tendencies, but she will need to be much more consistent to get Fremont into a winning position. You can’t forget this team plays a highly aggressive conference schedule so they are still a credible threat.
ELKHART CHRISTIAN (6-13)
This is the best time of the season for Elkhart Christian, who have won all six of their game in their last seven played. Their game against Fremont in the first round could get them a trip to the semi finals if they are able to rebound with the aggressive Eagles.
HAMILTON (0-7)
John Harrell has Hamilton with zero percent change to win a Sectional title and unfortunately that is fair. This team hasn’t played varsity level games much and they have found no success in that process. It is very unlikely that Hamilton their three season postseason win drought.
BREAKOUT PLAYER ALERT
HAILEE KLINE, BLACKHAWK CHRISTIAN
I get it, Kline broke out a long time ago. She is one of the most dynamic scorers in this Sectional and she led the Braves to a Sectional title last season. But if she can win another one here, she will have firmly planted herself as one of the best players in this area. She scores big against almost everyone and while everybody knows she is Blackhawk Christian’s go to, a big tournament performance really elevates her stock overall.
KATIE BERLEW, FREMONT
The six-foot senior is a strong rebounder, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game with four double doubles on the season. She also recently had a 24 rebound game in a win over Canterbury. For Fremont to pull upsets, Berlew is important in taking control of the aggression.
SCHEDULE
For a complete schedule of all area Sectionals, click here.
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