Class of 2027 has a lot of promise
We all knew when the Class of 2023 graduated that we were in for new faces and a changing of the guard in terms of talent in the 260. Immediately when discussing this topic, there’s no greater example to this than what’s going on at Jay County.
The ACAC and the school’s career leader in points Renna Schwieterman graduated and is now a part of a rising program at Purdue Fort Wayne. That torch has passed to her sister Hallie Schwieterman. Hallie, as a freshman, is averaging on 32% from the floor and 35% from three. While the Lady Patriots look quite different from the team from a season ago, this is a team that is still very much in the discussions of ACAC championships. Although questions will be asked whether they can continue that streak since the Bluffton Tigers got off to their best start in program history.
No conference took a bigger hit in terms of talent in this area that the NECC, but the freshman class has replenished some talent in that conference. Fremont has two very exciting players in Grace Scharlach, who leads the NECC in scoring averaging over 14 points per game, and Mya Turner.
Lucy Kitchen and Taylor Mack have become pivotal players off the bench for a very good Eastside squad that is 6-1 at the time of this post. Mack with her ability to add additional shooting and length to a team that already has a little bit of both, and they have another guard who is already comfortable getting the ball in her hands.
Not too far away from Butler, over in Kendallville, there’s been a sense of resurgence at East Noble led by first year Coach Britain Isaacs. While EN returns plenty of experienced players, a portion of their success has come from three stellar freshmen in Averi Amstutz, Elli Will, and Rian David. David is a strong and fundamentally sound guard that shoots the ball decently well but more importantly prioritizes on rebounding and defense.
When there’s a Will there’s a way for Elli Will who averages 8.6 points, 7.3 boards, and 1.4 blocks per game as a future double-double machine in the post. Averi is already one of the toughest players in this area, and that’s reflective on her 11 points and 3 steals per game. Amstutz is a tough scorer that can get to they net, and she has the best ball handling skills on that East Noble roster. If she can develop into becoming a more consistent threat as a perimeter shooter, then she will eventually be one of the premier players in the state.
NE8 Play Begins Tonight Night for Girls’ Basketball
Coming into the season, all eyes have been on Columbia City and Norwell who returned everyone off of last season’s teams. To the surprise of no one, they’ve looked like the two best teams in what has been an improving Northeast 8 conference.
Columbia City (8-0) is the top ranked team in the entire state regardless class thanks in part to impressive wins over Snider (54-40), Valparaiso (61-46), and previously top ranked Hamilton Southeastern (67-51) at Valparaiso. When we look at Columbia City, it’s obviously the lethal guard play of the Eagles, a physical defense, quick speed, and their willingness to share the ball.
While the start has been great, they want to continue this momentum into NE8 play and later on with sectionals as those two of the Eagles’ ultimate goals every year. They know that on any given night, every team they’ll face will play their best effort against them. Columbia City opens NE8 play on Saturday when they travel to Leo (5-3).
For Norwell (6-2), they’ve also made some changes to their schedule to be prepared for NE8 play. But unlike CC, they have dealt with a couple close losses. While they were successful in beating Northrop (56-52), they lost by 4 combined points at the hands of Northridge and Homestead at the Castle.
Coach Eric Thornton said that stretch of competition helped them elevate their game in an effort to be best prepared for the grind of a conference slate. They expect this year’s NE8 to be no different.
“We want to keep building off (of) that momentum,” said Thornton on his team’s start. “Beginning with Huntington North, we’ll (once) again be playing against some really good teams. That’s both challenging and fun.
“In order to win really tough games, we’ve worked to improve in our physicality, our footwork, and our rebounding effort.”
That game will be played on Friday night at the Castle. Huntington North (2-3) is looking to reverse a trend where the Vikings come into this game 1-7 against Norwell since joining the conference. Coach Matt Hinds has yet to win that game as a Huntington North head coach. While they’ve dealt with adversity and a tough opening two games of their season at Snider and Carmel, the Vikings have bounced back with two solid wins against SAC foes Carroll and Bishop Luers.
Hinds credits Norwell’s effort and the long-standing tradition set by Thornton in the kids’ development to become the “next shooter” the way players like Kennedy Fuelling have become. Interestingly, Hinds believes his team is capable of competing against great teams, especially Norwell.
“The challenge is within ourselves,” said Hinds on their struggles with Norwell. “It all starts with believing in what we do as a Lady Viking Program. Our approach will remain the same. We will believe … We will play fearless and we will chase every challenge that is before us. That is who we are!”
Huntington North will come into this game as a big underdog, and according to Hinds, they will need to attack the basket, take care of the ball, communicate on defense, and own the paint to have a chance at a victory.
Is the NECC Down??
After years of having sustained success and several teams making deep runs in the postseason led by Central Noble and Fairfield, the NECC is down across the board for the first time in a decade. I’m saying that, the NECC still has a few good teams.
Preseason favorite Eastside (6-1) continues to showcase their talents with experienced shooters like Paige Traxler and Lily Kreischer leading the offense, a physical defense that pressures the opposing team’s ball handlers well, and a no-quit mentality. As mentioned earlier, they have some youth that adds a new element to the challenge of beating Eastside. Things will start to get tougher as they get closer to the NECC tournament on January 9th.
But in terms of NECC regular season games, we may have to wait until the January 5th game when Eastside travels to defending NECC and State Champion Fairfield, in what may ultimately decide the NECC.
The more things change at Fairfield (7-1), it seems like the more stays the same. They have a new coach in Kyle Hartman, they graduated their 3 talented seniors, and they’re playing some younger kids. But all in all, Fairfield girls basketball remains as one of the top tier teams in Northern Indiana.
Eva Herbert has become one of the 5 best players out of the NECC this season, especially as a sophomore no less, Madison Jones has emerged as a promising freshman in the paint, and these role players like Kaylee Dillon have embraced those new roles well.
Don’t let Central Noble’s start (4-5) fool you. They will be fine. They have played a very tough schedule to open the season, and it doesn’t help that injuries and some inexperience have been a factor in some of those losses early on. Abby Pliett might be the most improved player in the NECC right now. Last season, she was almost exclusively a JV starter, but has now translated her talents on the varsity stage smoothly, despite the transition. Melissa McCoy, who was previously homeschooled, has emerged as one of the team’s tougher guards that can cut to the basket and grab critical boards.
Central Noble plays hard and the winning culture that was set years ago highlighted by the Class of 2019 (Sydney Freeman and Meleah Leatherman) showcases the type of program that CN has become even with this being under 2nd year CN Coach Sam Malcolm. If CN is able to get a healthy Grace Swank back at some point in the season, they will be a dangerous team in the playoffs.
When looking at the rest of the conference, Fremont is obviously a team with its focus towards the future, but the talent level at Fremont showcases a high ceiling of being able to compete for championships in the not too distant future. Angola has the size and toughness to compete in games, but it is an offense that needs to improve over time.
Traditional NECC power Garrett is undergoing a rebuilding season by their standards, but their toughness and resilience has not been lost in the shuffle. With talent coming into the program over the next few years, we will eventually see Garrett back into the conversation.
This season has also been a season of rebuilding from the ground up for West Noble, Lakeland, and Westview where at one point or another had found success in both the NECC and in the playoffs.
And we cannot forget with by far the most improved team in the NECC, the ‘We Believe’ Prairie Heights Panthers. After going 1-22 a season ago, Bill Morr’s team has found a spark of confidence with a 3-3 start. With improvements being made by the Boots’ sisters, Emily McCrea, and McKinlee Kain to name a few, the Panthers’ high energy and resilience has kept the Panthers on an outside shot in making a run in both the NECC and sectional tournaments.
From a talent standpoint, perhaps this is a “down year” for the NECC, but the parity and intrigue that comes with this 2A conference continues to strike excitement on the coming days and weeks ahead.
The Bluffton Tigers are Climbing to Unprecedented Heights
Last season, Bluffton underachieved to an 11-11 campaign despite capable talent and athleticism that the Tigers have presented in recent years. Now under longtime coach Doug Curtis, Bluffton got off to its best start ever at 6-0.
Through a new scheme where it emphasizes their ability to rebound and attack in the post, Bluffton has found their identity, and it’s a team who’s roster is finding success from a variety of different players. Isabella Stout, Maryn Schreiber, Konley Ault, Haylee Gibson and Madison Sonnigsen are all showcasing their years of experience and developing basketball skills paying off, and it’s the defense that’s becoming Bluffton’s biggest weapon.
It is true that Jay County remains as the team to beat in the ACAC until someone beats them. But if there’s ever a year to pull off a rare win over the Pats, maybe it’s the 2023-24 Bluffton Tigers. It feels like this is an opportunity that doesn’t come very often at the Tiger’s Den, but with a consistent ability to finish on offense, that goal can be reached.
Either way, the ACAC conference should be quite an interesting storyline as we get closer to the tradition-rich ACAC tournament in just over a month from now.
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