Girls basketball season is over, but just like last year, I am not quite done with things yet. So over the next few days, Bounce will be giving out some awards of his own, solely of my own opinion, about each of the four main conferences in our area. Don’t forget that Outside the Huddle will award their official Player of the Year and Coach of the Year coming up next week.
Today we head to the Northeast Corner Conference.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Hanna Knoll, Angola
Every time OTH talks MVP, it is important to point out that we focus on exactly what it stands for and it isn’t “BEST PLAYER.” Who was the most valuable to their team with what they provide? Sometimes it means the best player, sometimes it doesn’t, but specifically it is who is MOST VALUABLE to a team’s overall success. I am NOT naming a traditional conference player of the year, but focusing in this column on overall value.
In the NECC, there is plenty of value to go around but we land on Knoll because Angola really did need her, as their top player, to set tempo on and off the court. There was a veteran presence, but with a lot of young contributors and a new head coach, Angola needed someone like Knoll to really take on a leadership role.
She has grown so much over her time at Angola, herself being a big part of the program as an underclassman. Would Angola have found success without Knoll? Some, I am sure. But her value ranged from her high level scoring to her her leadership and confidence. She took over when she needed to and there is no denying she was a huge part of why Angola added NECC Tournament and Sectional titles.
Honorable Mention: Bailey Hartsough, Lakeland; Lillian Mast, West Noble, Bridgette Gray, Central Noble, Jada Rhonehouse, Fremont, Sullivan Kessler, Eastside
BREAKOUT PLAYER: Faith Riehl, Lakeland
In the depth of the NECC, this could have gone a number of ways. But the way that Lakeland positioned themselves in this conference has a lot to do with how Riehl responded to added pressures. While Bailey Hartsough got hers, she faced increasing pressure and Riehl was able to step into that right hand role.
Riehl’s season sadly was cut short due to injury, but her 12.5 points and 4.7 rebounds over 22 games was critical. Not only was she who we find to be the breakout player of the conference, it is quite possible that she was the entire area’s biggest breakout player this season.
Honorable Mention: Riley Pepple, Angola; Madi Vice, Central Noble; Alayna Boots, Prairie Heights; Mackensy Mabie, West Noble; Taylor Gerke, Garrett
MOST UNDERRATRED: Taylor Gerke, Garrett
Hard to label someone who took over games as much as Gerke as underrated, but hear me out. When everyone looked at Garrett preseason, they really honed in on the three big returners and when Faith Owen returned to the team, the focus was their continued growth as a group. The addition of Gerke peaked interest and we soon found out why.
But here is the thing, she remained underrated throughout the year despite all of the high quality things she was doing on both ends of the court. Thats what happens when you play in such a talented lineup. Gerke’s contributions were huge for Garrett’s big NECC title winning season, but if I am being honest, she probably didn’t get enough overall credit for the massive role she played in this top heavy rotation.
Honorable Mention: Skye Kessler, Eastside; Brea Garber, Fairfield; Trevyn Terry, Prairie Heights; Lauren Leach, Angola; Peyton Hartsough, Lakeland
COACH OF THE YEAR: Bob Lapadot, Garrett
The success of first year NECC girls head coaches was fantastic, but Lapadot’s tenure has been a successful one that hit a, for now, peak this season. Garrett fell short on a pair of championship opportunities but the fact remains that they remained dominant throughout the regular season. The Railroaders were 17-1 outside of their conference tournament and Sectional rounds.
Lapadot leads a team that has been built up by him and themselves and found a lot of success in an undefeated, outright NECC regular season title. The reality remains that Lapadot and his team probably haven’t reached their peak yet. The NECC was arguably the area’s toughest conference top to bottom so be able to run through it is incredibly impressive.
Honorable Mention: Nick Burlingame, Angola; Jeff Burns, West Noble; Dale Gearheart, Lakeland
GAME OF THE YEAR: Garrett vs. Angola, Sectional Finals 2/6
These teams were always going to be at the top and this rubber match was no different. Garrett played with that chip on their shoulder: a conference champion who just couldn’t shake the thought in the minds of others that they weren’t in charge of the conference just yet. Angola had been in that same space in the past with Central Noble ahead of them and the Hornets weren’t ready to send out arguably the best player in their program’s history without a win.
Both of their first two games were solid too and the majority of the best games in this conference this season had one of these two teams in them. But this one was a slugfest from the opening tip. When Angola prevailed, it was a monumental occasion, one more time to prove that the Hornets are at the top of the NECC until someone can knock them off soundly.
Honorable Mention: Eastside at Angola, January 12; Garrett at Fairfield, January 5; Garrett at West Noble, January 22; West Noble at Angola January 6; Lakeland at Central Noble, January 12; Lakeland vs. Central Noble Sectional, February 2
BOUNCE’S PICK TO BE 2022 NECC CHAMPS: Garrett
This is a no brainer. There will be contenders, but with some of the seniors that graduated from those contenders, they have a lot of work to do to catch up to Garrett. The Railroaders will return five starters who could easily be classified as the five best players in the NECC to start next season. That is a heck of a launching pad. With a 2020 Sectional title and a 2020-21 NECC title in their rearview, this Garrett squad is built to win next season.
Nataley Armstrong, Morgan Ostrowski and Faith Owen were given most of the keys to the kingdom and freshmen and the additions since then of Bailey Kelham and Taylor Gerke has made this team a super power. They stumbled rarely this past season and juniors and a sophomore, I don’t expect it to happen much into 2021-22.
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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