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SECTIONAL 20 AT FAIRFIELD
Projected Winner: Columbia City
While five of the six teams in this field enter the playoffs with 12 or more victories, Columbia City is the cream of the crop.
While the Eagles have had to contend in Homestead in 4A the last several years, with Coach Amy Shearer’s team seeing their season end at the hands of the Spartans in each of the past five seasons, the path is significantly easier with the team now in Class 3A.
However, that path won’t necessarily be easy. Perhaps Columbia City’s biggest roadblock to its first sectional title in a quarter of a century is also its opening opponent – NorthWood on Tuesday.
Some thought this would be a rebuilding-type season for a program that lost four senior starters from last season, but anchored by Addison Baxter, this team is primed to break through with a sectional crown.
Player You Can’t Miss: Claire Payne, NorthWood
Much like her impact on the volleyball court as a middle hitter, Payne is a menace in the post for the Panthers. She averaged a double-double – 15 points and 12 rebounds a game. Even when she isn’t impacting the game directly, her mere presence affects how the opponent plays around the basket.
For the season, Payne is hitting almost 60 percent of her shots from the field. Interestingly, she is only shooting five percentage points better at the free throw line. Perhaps, when challenging her in the post becomes too much, a team may put her at the charity stripe to earn her points?
Don’t be surprised if: Fairfield gets fiesty
Fairfield got the best draw of the sectional as it will play the winner of West Noble and Tippecanoe Valley on Friday. With a manageable road to the sectional final, coupled with Fairfield being the host, Saturday could be a pretty hostile environment for whoever emerges from the bottom half of the bracket.
Just last week, Fairfield gave NorthWood all it could handle in a 35-28 decision. Might lessons learned in that game be used by Coach Kyle Hartman later this week?
SECTIONAL 21 AT CONCORDIA
Projected Winner: DeKalb
In a sectional with no clear favorite, Bounce is leaning towards the Barons.
Why? Well, DeKalb played all but Bishop Dwenger this season in terms of sectional foes, and it went a perfect 5-0 in the process. Not only that, just one of those five games, a Dec. 10 victory over Concordia 64-55, was decided by less than double digits.
Ashley Cox has been huge for the Barons, having just became the program’s all-time leader in games played. Abbie Harris gives DeKalb a proven threat from the outside.
Player You Can’t Miss: Emma Coffman, Garrett
The Railroaders get a tough draw against DeKalb on Wednesday and are the only team in the field without double-digit wins. That said, Coffman is worth the price of admission.
Coffman is coming off a career-high 26 points in the regular-season finale over Lakeland. She has been one of the area’s top freshmen this year. She gets to the rim really well and is a competent perimeter scorer. She is the best ninth grader that the Garrett program has had in a number of years and when she gets comfortable is when the Railroaders play their best as a team.
Don’t be surprised if: East Noble runs all over their opponents
While DeKalb is the favorite, East Noble is a viable threat. However, to reach the final it may have to beat two teams that knocked the Knights off in the regular season – Concordia in the first round and DeKalb in the semis.
Young teams are sometimes the most dangerous, because they don’t know any better. East Noble does not have a single senior that has seen playing time this year. Sophomores Averi Amstutz and Rian David are the leading scorers, and a cadre of other sophomores and juniors give this team a fighting chance if it plays together.
SECTIONAL 22 AT NORWELL
Projected Winner: Bellmont
The Braves fell to Norwell last year in the sectional championship game, but Bellmont is set to get revenge if the two match up on Saturday night again.
Chances are they will, as the NE8 duo are the most talented squads in the field.
Bellmont enters the playoffs on a roll with five-straight wins. The first of those was a three-point win at home over Norwell, ending a four-game losing streak to the Knights.
The Bleke sisters – Ashley and Emily – are the lone players in the Bellmont lineup that average double figures in points, but the Braves are allowing just 36 points a game, meaning they can win a fair amount of games in the 40s and 50s.
Player You Can’t Miss: Vanessa Rosswurm, Norwell
Fact of the matter is, the junior Rosswurm is capable at any moment of erupting for a ton of points. Ask Concordia about that when Rosswurm went for a school-record 43 points in a 32-point win for Norwell way back in November.
Rosswurm is an all-around talent who is exceptional in terms of court vision and shooting. She will be a pivotal part of Norwell’s playoff run, however far it goes.
Don’t be surprised if: A Norwell/Bellmont final is game of the year
Last year, Norwell blew out Bellmont twice – once in the regular season and again in the playoffs. This year, Round 1 went to Bellmont in a close 47-44 decision in mid-January.
These two teams are once again on a collision course, and the ping-pong balls bounced to where they will meet in the championship game if both prevail through the week.
It could be a must-see matchup at Norwell come Saturday night
SECTIONAL 24 AT CONNERSVILLE
Projected Winner: Connersville
The Spartans’ 15-8 record doesn’t tell the entire story, as this is a team that dropped just one game in the regular season to a Class 3A foe, undefeated Greensburg.
Junior Serenity Pennington and classmate Ahniyah Bennett pace Connersville in scoring and are also versatile in how they see the floor and how they play defense.
The lone threat may be Yorktown. Also a 15-win team, the two could meet in Friday’s semifinal.
Player You Can’t Miss: Griffyn Knight, Delta
Lurking at the bottom of the bracket are the Eagles and their leading scorer. Knight averages 16 points per game and is one of the top individuals defensively in this sectional. She is tough and spunky and can score at all three levels.
If Delta is going to go on a run, Knight will need to be big in leading a roster that is low on experience but high on talent.
Don’t be surprised if: Jay County provides some upsets
It has definitely been a rebuilding campaign for the Patriots, who have almost as many losses (12) as they suffered in the last four seasons combined (13).
But this team is also one that can fill the bucket on occasion, led by sophomore Hallie Schwieterman, who is averaging close to 19 points per game.
On paper, Jay County doesn’t have much of a shot in a potential semifinal matchup with Delta, a team that beat it by 41 points just a few weeks ago. But hey, it’s the playoffs. Anything can happen, right?
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