Before we get to the Outside the Huddle All-Area Team and our end-of-year awards, Bounce wanted to take some time and take a last glance at area conferences and hand out some league-specific hardware.
We move on to the NECC girls.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Eva Herbert, Fairfield
The Falcons were in a bit of precarious spot coming into the season. They had a great bit of program momentum from winning a state title but with the loss of their coach and many players, could they have cultural momentum? As it turns out, they had that in droves and basically ran the NECC until a shocking tournament final loss; though they still captured the regular season title.
To make that happen, players had to step up not into just bigger roles, but primary ones and Eva Herbert was a consistent threat all over the court for Fairfield. She was constantly a Player of the Week nominee because of her performances that stood out amongst a very balanced and winning Fairfield program. Herbert did the right things, the little things and led by example for Fairfield, three traits programs often get from three different players.
Along the way, she averaged 12 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
HONORABLE MENTION: Lily Kreischer (Eastside), Paige Traxler (Eastside), Kylie Caswell (Angola), Abby Pliett (Central Noble)
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Grace Swank, Central Noble
If you know Bounce’s awards and OTH history, you know MVP means something different than Player of the Year. MVP to us is someone who is legit the most valuable to their team and overall success of that program.
This three sport athlete didn’t miss a beat after her successful freshman season and even though she missed a handful of games for the Cougars, when she was in the game and she was on her game, Central Noble played some of their best basketball.
She had eight games with double digit rebounding, including a clutch 13 rebound effort to upset Eastside in Sectional play and avenge a regular season loss. Swank’s tenacity and impact on the interior strengthened the Cougars’ all around game. She also blocked three shots against Wawasee and four against Fremont, had 10 games in double digit scoring and averaged 9.7 points and 8.2 rebounds for the season.
Her impact, and therefore her value, was critical for Central Noble to make the run they did to a Sectional final.
HONORABLE MENTION: Addy Parr (Fremont), Kylie Caswell (Angola), Melissa McCoy (Central Noble)
BREAKOUT PLAYER: Grace Scharlach, Fremont
Scharlach was everything that was advertised in her freshman season and, if you believe the girls hoops insiders, those advertisements brought lofty expectations. It is quite possible that she was the best freshman at Fremont ever and it had the Eagles in the midst of the NECC conversation, helping lead this program to a Sectional title for the eight time ever and for the first time since 2019.
Along the way, Scharlach averaged 12.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and two steals per contest and constantly playing in a mature way that far exceeded her grade level. There is a chance that Scharlach may even develop into not just a good, but a really special player and her play was one of the highlights of the NECC this season.
HONORABLE MENTION: Madison Jones (Fairfield), Sydnee Kessler (Eastside), Mya Turner (Fremont), Abby Pliett (Central Noble)
COACH OF THE YEAR: Mike Lortie, Eastside
Controversial choice here as Fairfield had one stellar season, but Eastside was right there neck and neck with the Falcons and their major win the NECC Tournament pinned Lortie as one of the top coaches in the area this entire season.
Eastside had their best season ever, winning 21 games and keep in mind this was a program that before Lortie took over in 2019 was a six win program. This season, they had two separate seven game win streaks. They fell short in the NECC due to a close three point loss to Fairfield in the regular season, only to respond so resoundingly 10 days later with a 53-24 win in the NECC Tournament final game. That screams quality coaching to make the right adjustments in the big moments.
They also had quality non-conference wins over Woodlan and county foe DeKalb.
HONORABLE MENTION: Kyle Hartman (Fairfield); Sam Malcolm (Central Noble)
GAME OF THE YEAR: Eastside vs. Fairfield, January 5
The first meeting between these two teams laid out the landscape that had us all really excited about a potential NECC Tournament final a week and a half later. Turns out, this was by far the better game.
Fairfield got a lot of good work in the fourth quarter where they really were comfortable establishing their vision for easier baskets including a great one from Madison Jones that put them up four points. But, Lucy Kitchen’s three with around 20 seconds to go cut the Falcon lead to just one point.
Fairfield hung on for a 50-47 win with Kaylee Dillon forcing a closing seconds turnover to give Fairfield the win, and in the long run, the NECC regular season title.
EARLY 2024 SAC CHAMPION PREDICTION: Eastside
This may be one of the easiest predictions to make at this point. Had the Blazers not had the year they had, we’d still think they’d make a run next season but it wouldn’t be so locked in.
Eastside will follow up a 21 win, NECC Tournament champion season with the return of their five top players from this past season, Sydnee Kessler (10.3 ppg), Paige Traxler (11.1) and Lily Kreischer (11.8) all return for their senior seasons while Lucy Kitchen and Taylor Mack will just be sophomores when basketball season rolls around again.
While Eastside has proven in recent years that they can be near the top of the conference consistently, this program has the chance to form a real dynasty of sorts in the coming seasons.
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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