THE TEAM TO BEAT
NORWELL (18-5)
This is the moment for the Knights to live up to their full potential. They have some talented underclassmen, but honestly they have been building for this postseason for four years with their senior class. They made it to the Regional night game a year ago, how far can they make it now? The road here was pretty smooth until last week where Norwell lost back to back games against Jay County and Bishop Luers. It makes this postseason trip even more interesting: the ultimate bounce back. They fought back many times this season, the Garrett win stands out, how can Norwell bounce back from a second pair of back to back losses?
They kick things off with a Bishop Luers rematch and expect this team to have learned a lot from the loss to close the regular season. Eric Thornton always learns and he has developed this group to do the same. Norwell will look to lead early but also take high IQ shots. They are capable of shooting in the 50-60 percent range in a game and if they do, who beats them?
THE CONTENDER
BELLMONT (15-5)
Well who else would it be? The Squaws sit on the opposite end of the bracket from rival Norwell and if these two meet in the final – again – you throw everything else out the window. Even with a disparity in the consistency between the two teams this season, their first meeting came down to the wire. But how is that possible? Because Bellmont is ALWAYS fiery in how they play and they scrap. When a chance to beat Norwell is on the other end of that, they turn it up even more.
The Squaws don’t have one player that is consistently a stand out performer but they are a team that makes it work. This is a solidly deep team and it helps them stay fresh as games ramp up or foul trouble mounts. Morgan Shifferly has played well to lead the way offensively, but Faith Morris just hit four threes in a win over Leo. The Squaws have also seen some really good play down the stretch from Lauren Bleke. The list of names could go on and one; this is far from a one trick pony.
THE OTHERS
BISHOP LUERS (9-11)
When you have a recent win over the Sectional favorite, you are always in a good place. The Knights have had an up and down year, but have also shown they have a variety of threats, led this past week by Addie Shank. It takes a solid string of defenders to slow down Janiaya Bright (10 ppg) and Delaney Bailey (10.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg) has diversified her game significantly this season. They may have an edge on the inside as well with the length of Shank and Anna Parent being an issue for opponents. The Knights have proven they can beat Norwell, can they do it twice? If they do, they immediately move up to the favorite position.
HERITAGE (10-11)
Don’t let the Patriots sneak up on you if they sneak up on an opponent or two this week. This was a team that was probably expected to miss a step this season but they surely didn’t with a new coach and new players having to step up into primary roles. Ella and Claire Bickel have both been clutch and Ella is one of the best shooters in this Sectional, hitting 35 triples this season. This is a senior-less team that can go seven or eight players deep. Depth is always a million dollar asset in the postseason.
MISSISSINEWA (5-15)
Mia Katey is a multiple range threat, leading the Indians in scoring, rebounding and steals. She has kept Mississinewa in a lot of games and is coming off four of her best games of the season where Mississinewa went 3-1. Clearly, the goal is to see what you can do to stop her because when she is at her best, so are the Indians.
OAK HILL (8-14)
If Oak Hill can slow things down to their speed in any given game, they have a chance. This isn’t a team who wants to run, but with patience, they can make a difference somewhere in this bracket. They are going to put up a lot of threes, so they also need to get hot shooting the ball. Sometimes they have been, sometimes they haven’t, but they’ve shot 318 triples.
EASTERN (GREENTOWN) (1-20)
Kara Otto leads this group as a solid rebounder, but Eastern struggles to put the ball in the hoop against a Sectional that has no problem scoring. The Comets are shooting just 28 percent from the field this season.
BREAKOUT PLAYER ALERT
GRACE BRADTMUELLER, NORWELL
She has improved her game almost every time out. Bradtmueller is a solid rebounder, but a very underrated post defender and scorer. If she gets you down below the block, they can power through a lot of contact and is also very good at the charity stripe if you think putting her on the line is a better option. Her play will be huge this postseason.
ADDIE SHANK, BISHOP LUERS
Shank has turned it up consistently through her freshman season and is nearly averaging a double double because of it. Her name isn’t brought up enough when talking about the SAC’s top freshmen. She started her career with back to back 16 point games and bookended her regular season by putting up 21 on Norwell…aka, the Knights’ first round opponent.
SCHEDULE
For a complete schedule of all area Sectionals, click here.
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