LAKELAND (20-7) VS. GRIFFITH (13-3), 10:30 A.M.
Griffith has played just five Class 3A teams this season, the result of a condensed schedule that had them going into the postseason with just 14 games under their belt. When they are winning, they are doing so big, outscoring their opponents by over 18 points per contest. Junior Marisa Esquivel has been a steady scorer but the Panthers do not send out a very thick rebounding core.
Lakeland seems to be a team of destiny at this point to be honest. You don’t just get to 20 wins easily in the NECC, especially when you aren’t the top team in that conference. But here sits Lakeland, in their first Regional since 1996 and looking for their first time. Many, maybe Bounce included, questioned if they could get here with a tough NECC laden Sectional and the absence of Faith Riehl. But the Lakers have had answers at every turn and are powering through without their second best player. That is a real testament to the toughness and togetherness of this team.
BOUNCE PICKS LAKELAND
KANKAKEE VALLEY (13-10) VS. SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON (19-5), 12:30 P.M.
South Bend last won a Regional in 2009 at the tail end of four straight titles. They still enter Saturday as the only program to have a Regional crown under their belt. This year’s team has built themselves up by playing some pretty stiff competition both in 3A and up with 4A teams. They are 4-2 versus our area with losses to South Side and Carroll but wins over Snider and Homestead. They don’t rely heavily on their seniors, but haven’t needed to. Mila Reynolds is as tough of a stop as anyone in the field. Averaging 19 points and 9.5 rebounds, the 6-foot-2 junior knows her strengths and plays to them. Anything she may not do, sophomores Amiyah Reynolds and Rashunda Jones clean up.
The Kougars of Kankakee Valley have gotten here with a young team; they have only a single senior. It has been and up and down season for them, never winning more than two games in a row until they finished off the regular season with a win and then picked up two in the Sectional round. Junior Taylor Schoonveld scores at a quality rate and as their top rebounder, is going to be tasked with controlling as much of this game as possible.
BOUNCE PICKS SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON
CHAMPIONSHIP, 7:30 P.M.
There is a way of thought that if Lakeland can get here that they have a chance to get the win. The have a lot of will and a lot of talent to go with hit. In my projected world, South Bend Washington would sit on the other bench and they are just an entirely different animal than what the Lakers are used to. I said in my other Class 3A Regional Primer that maybe my heart was getting in the way of my head but I don’t see that happening here. This Lakeland run has been fantastic, but South Bend Washington is just on a different level than everyone else in this Regional.
BOUNCE PICKS SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON
PLAYERS TO WATCH
CIERRA PIPKINS, GRIFFITH: She leads the Panthers at just 4.1 rebounds per game but if they hope to make it to the night game, she is going to have to do substantially bigger things. Keep and eye on her because her aggression is key in trying to keep Lakeland off the glass.
BAILEY HARTSOUGH, LAKELAND: Who else would it be from the Lakers? Sure, plenty of other girls have stepped up to make big plays, to take on big moments. That is what has made Lakeland’s run special. But at the end of the day, Hartsough is arguably the biggest game changer playing at Jimtown on Saturday. She is a high volume scorer that is rangy and has long limbs that alter the opponent defensively.
RASHUNDA JONES, SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON: Bounce enjoys a do-it-all type of player and Jones encompasses that on a very high level. Averaging 17.1 points, she also hauls in 4.3 rebounds per game while averaging 3.6 assists and 4.6 steals. She does a little bit of everything even if steals are the only thing she leads the team in.
These opinions represent those of Bounce and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Bounce on Twitter at Bounce_OTH
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