The Allen County Athletic Conference girls basketball tournament will tip off on Tuesday with seven teams vying for a title.
Bluffton is the defending champions, while Woodlan sits atop the current ACAC regular season standings. Southern Wells has the bye straight into the semi finals and with recent area news coming out, it looks like this could be the Raiders’ final ever ACAC Tournament.
THE FAVORITE
Woodlan kind of pushed themselves into this spot the first week of the new year with a win over Jay County and balanced presence in both that win and one over Concordia. Alyssa Anderson, Savannah Scheumann and Lexie Peoples each scored 14 in the Concordia win. The Warriors do not have the best record overall of ACAC teams but their wins over Jay County and Bluffton have them in the spot that has already given the Warriors their first ACAC title since 2020.
Anderson is on the verge of another double double average season, posting 15.6 points and 9.4 rebounds per contest. She has six double doubles and posted a season best 17 rebounds in the key win over Bluffton. The development of Scheumann into a secondary scorer provides a balance and consistency that Woodlan has needed in big games. To topple Woodlan, teams in this tournament will need to really lock down the inside as that is Woodlan’s preferred method, shooting 42 percent from two point range.
THE CONTENDER
With all due respect to others and despite losses to both Woodlan and Jay County, the expectation this preseason was that Bluffton would be the team to beat in the ACAC. So of course, we have to look at the Tigers as the team to challenge Woodlan, that game would be a finals matchup if it happened. The last time the two teams met, it was a three point loss for the Tigers. On paper, Bluffton ticks all of the boxes as the favorite but Woodlan’s win and ACAC edge is why we have them there. Bluffton however has the best record in the conference, a scoring average of 64.2 points per game, which is best in the ACAC, as is their points allowed per game and average margin of victory this season.
Konley Ault has been a revelation as one of the best scorers in Northeast Indiana this season and the head of three double digit average scorers for the Tigers. Ault leads the way with 20.8 points per game, followed by 14.3 from Khloe Dick and 12.1 from Carlee Strunk. But as much as the Tigers have offense, their defensive efforts have been big in catapulting them in the win column. The team averages 15 steals per game, led by 3.5 per game from Ault, 2.7 from Dick and 2.5. from Eden Nash. Sophie Eisenhut has only scored in double figures twice this season, but has eight games with 4 or more blocks and leads the team at 10.4 rebounds per contest.
THE LEAD(S) FOR MVP
Seeing three teams as real potential tournament champions, there are four that OTH would consider the lead candidates to lead their team to a title and capture the ACAC Tournament MVP crown, an official award given out at the tournament.
Woodlan is led by Alyssa Anderson, who is a dangerous threat at the rim. Anderson is shooting 52 percent from the field and has scored in single digits just twice this season. Anderson had eight straight games of 14 or more points heading into last week’s game against Blackhawk Christian.
Konley Ault has had the best scoring games in the ACAC this season with two in the thirties and a big 40 point outing against Southwood for Bluffton where she shot 17-of-25 from the field. Ault is hitting on 46 percent of her shots this season and 72 percent from the foul line.
You can’t say Jay County and MVP potential without the name Schwieterman. And this season, the Patriots boast two who could easily battle for that crown as they have both taken the lead at various times this season. Hallie Schwieterman recently surpassed 1,000 career points while freshman Karsyn Schwieterman has given Jay County a lot to be excited about for future seasons. Lets not forget that there are some past ACAC MVPs in the name of Renna Schwieterman, so this is a bit of a Jay County tradition if they can capture the crown. Hallie is averaging 21.1 points per game while Karsyn sits at 17.3 points per contest.
BREAKOUT POTENTIAL
Defense wins championships right? Well that leads us to look at Bluffton’s killer defense for a potential break out. Junior Eden Nash has averaged 2.5 steals per game this season and has had five steals against both Huntington North and Wabash. Her rebound numbers too have been solid and as she continues to develop, the potential for her to make waves grows. Could Nash help set the tone in her first ACAC Tournament?
For those who know the ACAC, Southern Wells’ Kaylee Davis isn’t someone new or someone that needs to breakout per say. But the sophomore has a real chance in this tournament to make sure more of Northeast Indiana knows her name. The Raiders are having a solid season and a first round bye means they are just one win away from a title game and then you are kind of playing with house money. Currently, Davis leads Southern Wells at 13.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.6 apg and 5.2 spg.
PREDICTING THE WINNERS
Here is where Bounce comes to play. The first round really only features one game that is going to be a tough call as we eliminate one of the top teams in the bracket. So in the opening round, give Bounce Adams Central over Heritage and Bluffton over South Adams. In that big game, expect a big battle and showcase for extreme offense but Bounce is going to take Woodlan to pull off their second win over Jay County this season.
That brings up the semi final round, where I predict Bluffton to battle by Adams Central to reach the finals again. On the top half of the bracket, Southern Wells puts up a better battle than their 33 point loss to Woodlan earlier this season but the Warriors still come out with the title.
In Bounce’s predicted bracket, it sets up a Woodlan/Bluffton rematch; the Warriors won 58-55 on December 12. While Woodlan is OTH’s listed favorite, I think that Bluffton is too deep and digs too deep in this one. They want that first game back and while it helped cost them the conference title, they won’t mind settling for a conference tournament crown. Bounce predicts that Bluffton will beat Woodlan to win the ACAC Tournament.
THE BRACKET
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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