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 soon.
Today we head to the Summit Athletic Conference.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Ayanna Patterson, Homestead
You’ve seen the spiel by now, right? As Outside the Huddle sees it, the best player in a conference isn’t always the most valuable player to their team. In this case, there is a possible exception. And we’ll let you all debate the best player situation amongst yourselves.
But in terms of value to their team, Patterson stands tall. So many times this season, Patterson put her mostly inexperienced team on her back and drove forward. When Homestead took lumps, for what feels like the first time ever at this point, Patterson was the one righting the ship at the forefront. Homestead developed through the season into a team that was far more complete than when they started. But there is zero argument that they were even able to get there because Patterson helped hold them up in the down times.
Value is the key here. And Patterson’s value this season, more than any other she has or will play as a Homestead Spartan, was so critical.
Honorable Mention: TiAuna White, Northrop; Jordyn Poole, Snider; Emily Parrett, Carroll; Olivia Smith, South Side; Destiny Jackson, Snider; Chanteese Craig, Concordia Lutheran; Delaney Bailey, Bishop Luers
BREAKOUT PLAYERS: Jordyn Poole/Johnea Donahue, Snider
No brainer? Kind of. But picking between Snider freshmen was hard enough. Picking between these two was utterly impossible. Poole was the biggest impact player of this class coming in. What she did in middle school and the summer leading up to her freshman season made her undeniably the best player in the Class of 2024 when the season began. And she lived up to every single bit of the hype. While it was a major group effort to take Snider from the bottom portion of the conference to a contender for the title right until the end of the regular season, Poole looked so flawless in moments. She averaged 13.9 points and 3.1 assists while her ball handling and court vision was on par with any other lead guard in the conference.
Then came Donahue, also averaging a co-team high 13.9 points while being a solid rebounder (4.4 per game) and forceful defender (3.3 steals per game). Donahue too was well regarded out of middle school but she took little time in establishing how prepared her game was for the high school level. Donahue earned All-SAC Second team behind Poole’s first team nod but these two played equally all year and that made Snider so good. Donahue’s ability to attack the rim from multiple angles really helped her stand out.
Honorable Mention: Annika Davis, South Side; Taylor Fordyce, Carroll; Grace Hedtke, Concordia Lutheran; Sydney Gorman, Wayne; Aniah Hill, Wayne; Addie Shank, Bishop Luers; Destini Craig, Snider
MOST UNDERRATRED: Grace Hedtke, Concordia Lutheran
I’ll be honest, it was Hedtke’s omission from the All-SAC first and second teams that really baffled me. Yes, Honorable Mention is a great honor but when Bounce saw Concordia this season, Hedtke was often the most important player on the court. The senior ended up scoring a team second best 12.7 points per game and when she caught fire, opposing teams were in trouble. She hit 44 three pointers and had nine games where she hit three or more in the game.
Hedtke’s ability to space the floor led to these shots. But most importantly she was a player who played spot roles before her senior season. And in her senior season, when there was a substantial spot for her to step up into, she did it with flare.
Honorable Mention: LonDynn Betts, Concordia Lutheran; Ali Stephens, Homestead; Aniah Hill, Wayne; Janiaya Bright, Bishop Luers
COACH OF THE YEAR: Mark Redding, Carroll
Redding’s coaching style of spreading out his lineup has always garnered success and this year it went over the top as Carroll became the first team not named Homestead to win the SAC since the two teams joined the conference. Redding knows how to get the best out of his players spots 1-12 and has no issue going that deep, including those hockey style line changes. To have 12 different girls prepared to step onto a varsity court, not hurt you and actually provide positives is far from easy. But in Redding’s system, it is almost required.
Honorable Mention: Rod Parker, Homestead; Juanita Goodwell, South Side; Akilah Sims, Snider
GAME OF THE YEAR: Homestead at Carroll, December 4; 2OT
Carroll has a couple of games that could vie for this top spot, but of course it had to be this one. Kind of like a passing of the torch in ways. The final score indicated that we knew Carroll was the team in control of their destiny in the SAC this season, taking the mantle from Homestead, who hadn’t yet had a regular season blemish during their years in this conference.
But what got us to that final score was wild. Carroll really looked in control, up by 10 at halftime before Homestead forced their way back into the game, not quite ready to give up their crown. Instead, Homestead was in a good spot to win the game multiple times, up by 5 in the first overtime. Emily Parrett’s three pointer to beat that first OT buzzer is arguably the shot of the year and it pushed the momentum back to Carroll.
While Homestead wasn’t giving up easy, Carroll wasn’t giving up their destiny. This game was big for the bigger picture of the SAC but on this one night, in that bubble at Carroll, it was arguably the best fight of the season.
Honorable Mention: Snider at South Side, December 4; Homestead at Snider, January 15; Snider at Concordia, January 2; Homestead vs. South Side Sectional, February 6; Bishop Luers at Concordia, January 8; Carroll at Snider, January 29
BOUNCE’S PICK TO BE 2022 SAC CHAMPS: Carroll
Snider is going to make a heck of a run at this spot, South Side returns their best player and if you think Homestead is far from the top, you are confused.
But Carroll is sustainable with tons of assets returning. You hate to lose a player like Emily Parrett because of what she’s meant to the program. But, the Chargers will return nearly their entire team and how that they have a taste of the good life, the foot isn’t coming off the pedal anytime soon. Carroll returns a little bit of everything on both ends of the floor. They have to be the favorite to repeat because they are the team to beat now and they showed this season they can play just fine and with comfort having that bullseye on their back.
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
Be the first to comment