With girls basketball postseason coming around quickly, Bounce is here to quick preview and discuss the area Sectionals, continuing in Class 2A.
EASTSIDE SECTIONAL
Projected Winner: Eastside
Eastside has all of the momentum in the world. Their record is among the best in the entire area as one of just four Northeast Indiana teams to reach 20 wins this season and they shocking dominance of Fairfield in the recent NECC Tournament is looking not so shocking as we start to admire their season in retrospect. The Blazers have all of the right pieces in all of the right places. The way they have been playing lately makes you start to wonder if Eastside can make a run for more title past this week and when that is the case, it is hard to imagine someone being able to control Eastside in enough facets of the game to pull an upset this week.
Player you can’t miss: Grace Swank, Central Noble sophomore
Swank has been an interior problem all year long and doesn’t get enough respect for it. The sophomore is leading Central Noble in field goal percentage at 52 percent while averaging 10.1 points per game, though her worst shooting game of the year did come against Eastside, the first round opponent of the Cougars. With three double doubles this season, Swank is a high volume rebounder who is starting to find the ability to just take over games.
Don’t be surprised if: The best game happens Tuesday
The All-NECC field here should be pretty easy to project. These teams just had a full season against each other and just had another tournament against each other. So its pretty easy to say that Eastside, who won that tournament, is at the top of the list. And when you look at the spread in the conference this season, there is a significant gap between the top and the bottom, which begs this question: is the Sectional crown decided on Tuesday when Eastside plays also strong Central Noble?
Fremont, who gets a first round bye and could easily be finals bound, has had a really strong season perhaps a year earlier than many imagined. But can they give Eastside or Central Noble a tough game in a potential final? Despite winning their last three, that could be difficult. What we do know is that Eastside and Central Noble in the late game on Tuesday could be really, really good.
The fun part is, we normally don’t like these best games of the brackets on Tuesday. But as our resident OTH coach Bob Lapdot pointed out in his column this week, sometimes the best game first is preferable to coaches and teams.
SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Jan. 30
Churubusco vs. Westview, 6 p.m.
Central Noble vs. Eastside, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 2
Fremont vs. Churubusco/Westview, 6 p.m.
Prairie Heights vs. Central Noble/Eastside, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 3
Championship
SOUTH ADAMS SECTIONAL
Projected winner: Bishop Luers
This bracket may be the most intriguing in all of Northeast Indiana this week. The top four teams are a combined 62-23 and the Sectional has the 15th best overall record in the state despite not so great marks from the Adams County teams. Bluffton, Manchester and Whitko all have strong cases in this Sectional too and making an actual projection is pretty difficult.
So why the Knights? The bye helps, especially on the strong side of the bracket. Manchester and Bluffton have to do away with each other to even get to Bishop Luers. But we have to remember that the SAC is a very tough conference from top to bottom most years. Is it fair to say its stronger than the TRC or ACAC? Well, I say yes. And the proof is often in the pudding when mid level SAC schools are so strong some postseason because they have played the tougher schedule. Having to have dealt with Snider and Homestead makes you stronger this week, just one’s opinion.
While Addie Shank is the head of the Knights scoring drive, this team has six players who could really impact the game any given night. #6 isn’t as good as #1 so its not even, but it certainly a rather balanced lineup that has more depth than others in this field.
Players you can’t miss: Isabella Stout, Bluffton and Brooklyn Buzzard, Manchester
These two have had a couple of the best breakout seasons in the entire area. Consistently, Stour and Buzzard are high end scorers and rebounders. They both work very hard, are constantly all over the floor making things happen and because of that they have led their teams to success and Sectional title contendership after failing to capture conference titles.
Stout leads Bluffton at 13.5 points and 6 rebounds per game, while Buzzard’s numbers for Manchester are 14.9 points with a team high 3.8 assists per contest. Their back and forth is something major to watch on Tuesday at the Stardome. Both juniors, this season is just kind of a set up for the future but they could really each have a chance to put a stamp on the season this week.
Don’t be surprised if: Whitko pulls off a tournament overthrow
Let’s talk Whitko, shall we? The regrowth of this program under coach Justin Jordan has been phenomenal to watch the past few years. Senior 1,000 point scorer Kloe Krieg has kind of been the catalyst for it all, a player that Jordan was able to put his trust and faith in basically from the beginning of her career. It has the Wildcats as co-TRC champions this season. Their first round bye and having the other top teams on the other side of the bracket is immense. Not to say Whitko isn’t capable of beating all three of those teams, they are.
Instead, a trip to the finals seems well within Whitko’s reach. The Wildcats, with 18 wins, have the best record in this Sectional and hold a pretty convincing win over Manchester this season. While the top of that bracket looks like so much fun, Whitko shouldn’t be forgotten or overlooked because they can do some pretty major damage come the weekend.
SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Jan. 30
Manchester vs. Bluffton, 6 p.m.
Adams Central vs. South Adams, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 2
Bishop Luers vs. Manchester/Bluffton, 6 p.m.
Whitko vs. Adams Central/South Adams, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 3
Championship
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