In addition to our normal week of picks, Bounce brings you this special edition.
How will area girls basketball teams fare this week as they position themselves for potential Regional titles on Saturday?
Bounce has you covered making his picks for each Regional game with an area team involved.
CLASS 4A
Warsaw (23-1) vs. South Bend Washington (24-1), 4 p.m. At LaPorte
All eyes and I mean ALL EYES are going to be on LaPorte Saturday afternoon. This is arguably the best matchup in the state of Indiana this week, maybe the entire post season. Warsaw has been completely dominant and they have three players who can just take over and shut down games, much like Joslyn Bricker did as they captured their Sectional title. SB Washington, well if you don’t know about them, you should. They have more games with 93 or more points (3) than they do losses (1 to Lawrence Central). Kira Reynolds get a lot of love for them, but Monique Mitchell’s 18.8 points per game actually leads SB Washington. Reynolds though is a handful, averaging 15.1 points, 13.4 rebounds, 6.6 blocks, 6 assists and 3.6 steals per game. This is going to be a classic. BOUNCE PICKS SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON
McCutcheon (23-3) vs. Snider (13-11), 4 p.m. At Marion
Snider’s Sectional title win was monumental for the program, now their fourth straight, but the first after graduating two Division 1 players in the 2024 class. They have found a good stride of players stepping up into a variety of roles, but facing off against a very dangerous McCutcheon team. The Mavericks are young, but mighty. Sophomore Lillie Graves averages 19.3 points and 4.2 steals per game and has double digit made shots in 3 of her last 5 games, scoring 43, 35 and 30 in that time. BOUNCE PICKS MCCUTCHEON
Homestead (24-2) vs. Hamilton Southeastern (25-0), 7 p.m. At Marion
You never want to get this deep into the season and see a team across from you without a loss. That is what Homestead earned with Monday’s dominant win over Huntington North. Maya Makalusky has been outrageous for the Royals, but may not even be the best scorer in the field because of what Homestead can do. The question is, for a guard heavy Homestead scoring offense, can they handle this 6-4 powerhouse consistently. This is going to fall to Whitney Ankenbruck alot; can she be as craft as Makalusky? Expect a barn burner here. BOUNCE PICKS HOMESTEAD
CLASS 3A
Columbia City (22-4) vs. Lowell (16-9), 4 p.m. At Jimtown
Addison Baxter became Whitley County’s best scoring female and Columbia City’s best scoring player period last week. That is a lot at the top for Lowell to try and have to prepare for. Teams just don’t shut down Baxter and Lowell is likely not the team to do so. That said, if they can keep players like Anisa Tonkel from getting going, they have a better shot. The Eagles are great at the top, we get that, but it has been spots 2-6 that have helped them win too. BOUNCE PICKS COLUMBIA CITY
East Noble (16-9) vs. Norwell (19-6), 7 p.m. At Bellmont
A NE8 rematch with a regional title on the line, it is kind of ironic that Norwell walks into Bellmont for this game after upending the NE8 champs last Saturday. East Noble played in one of the tougher area Sectionals because of the balance of the teams involved, but did not face an opponent as tough as Norwell or their Sectional finals opponent. The first time these two teams met, Norwell won 81-41. Don’t expect much different here, but East Noble probably isn’t done in the Regional round for the coming years. BOUNCE PICKS NORWELL
CLASS 2A
Eastside (25-1) vs. Andrean (15-11), 1 p.m. At Jimtown
Eastside rolled through Sectional week against their own conference, so how sharp they continued to keep themselves was clutch before a Regional round. The Blazers have a lot of depth in their lineup and four to five girls themselves than can take the lead on any given night. Led by Maddie Walton (12.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg), Andrean likes to keep things low scoring and defensive minded. Do they have the energy to do that against a relentless Eastside team? BOUNCE PICKS EASTSIDE
Whitko (20-4) vs. Bremen (24-2), 1 p.m. At Caston
The Wildcats are celebrating their first ever Sectional title this week, but will need to dig in to prepare for a Bremen team that is very tough. Senior Kila Foster is one of three Bremen players averaging double figures scoring and one of four Bremen players with two or more steals in a contest. The lack of a super height advantage for Bremen helps Whitko, who dealt with some tough interior threats last week. BOUNCE PICKS BREMEN
CLASS 1A
Fremont (20-6) vs. Elkhart Christian (20-5), 4 p.m. At Bellmont
Welcome to the 20 win club Fremont, who beat Blackhawk Christian just on Monday to secure a Sectional title. These two teams don’t have a lot of common opponents, but I do like to look at Fairfield, who beat Fremont by 6 and then Elkhart Christian by 16 in the very next game. They also played Westview in back-to-back games with Fremont winning by 29 and Elkhart Christian getting an 18 point victory. Does any of that matter? Perhaps….BOUNCE PICKS FREMONT
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