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 SAC girls.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jordyn Poole, Snider
Poole became on of the five finalists for Miss Basketball and is an Indiana All-Star this season, to no surprise. She led Snider to another hard fought SAC and then a postseason Sectional crown.
During her senior season, Poole averaged teams highs with 16.9 points and 4.4 assists per game. She constantly performed under the pressure despite being the most highlighted, and therefore most scouted, amongst the Panthers’ tough lineup of players.
Poole has established herself as one of the top players in the SAC and the area her entire career and finishes it as undoubtedly the best in the SAC.
HONORABLE MENTION: Khala Williams-Thomas (Northrop), Addie Shank (Bishop Luers), Myah Epps (Homestead), Gabby Helsom (Homestead)
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Johnea Donahue, Snider
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.
Donahue stands out in this mark because of how she elevated the Panther team this season in two primary ways. First is defensively, where she was as good as anyone in the area. Donahue averaged 4.7 steals per game as a senior and her defense came up not only to generate instant offense for the Panthers in transition but she often did it in clutch scenarios.
Her fire and aggression was a second major weapon for Snider. Donahue played with a sometimes unrivaled passion and it permeated through the Panther lineup and fan base. You could always count on her energy to change situations.
HONORABLE MENTION: Lily George (Carroll), Lexi Castator (Northrop), Ciara Sims (Snider)
BREAKOUT PLAYER: Miley Wareing, Bishop Luers
The sophomore came a bit out of nowhere on a Luers team that there were heavy expectations for. Appearing in all 26 games, she averaged a near double double with 11.7 points and 9.4 rebounds and gave Luers more depth than they were even expecting.
That depth and Wareing’s overall development helped elevate the Knights to a Class 2A state title. In that state championship teams, she cemented herself as a cornerstone of the future for Luers with a game high 17 points as the program won their seventh state crown.
HONORABLE MENTION: Ciara Sims (Snider), Jersey Paul (Carroll), Izzie Eke (Bishop Dwenger), Liv Fry (Homestead)
COACH OF THE YEAR: Mark Pixley, Bishop Luers
A state title basically takes the cake here as Pixley made the right moves and had players in maximum positions to succeed through the postseason.
We say iron sharpens iron with the SAC and this was a perfect case as the Knights battled some high end Class 4A teams throughout the season and used it to make them stronger, even if they weren’t able to topple those teams for a SAC crown.
At the end of the day, Pixley got the prize that everyone else wants and helped put his name amongst the high volume of all-time Luers coaching greats.
HONORABLE MENTION: Rod Parker (Homestead), Reggie Tharp (Snider)
GAME OF THE YEAR: Snider at Homestead, January 12
This was the showdown for the SAC title between the teams, with Snider overcoming one of Homestead’s best games of the season for a late fourth quarter comeback and surge to win 60-52.
The Spartans did a tremendous job to lead a large chunk of the game and played a pace that they were clearly more comfortable with than the Panthers. But it all changed in the blink of an eye late in the fourth with two triples from Kyra Parker and one from Jordyn Poole came in the fourth quarter. The two hit a pair of clutch threes in the fourth to tie the game at 47 before pulling ahead for good.
The game itself was a great back and forth of all of the stars that participated, but Homestead did really look to be the more complete team on that night. Though once Snider started hitting, things tipped quickly and the Panthers won the SAC.
EARLY 2024 SAC CHAMPION PREDICTION: Homestead
So many teams bring back talent for next season, but the Spartans are at the forefront because their losses to graduation are minimal and their top two talents are only going to be juniors.
Gabby Helsom and Myah Epps are both D1 talents that lead the way for Sparty and their return for not only one, but two more seasons lead us to believe that while the Spartan dynasty hasn’t been as dominant as of late, it certainly isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
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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