The girls NECC Tournament tips off on Tuesday with games in the tournament that day, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Consolation games will be played on Thursday. A complete bracket of the 2026 NECC Tournament can be seen at the bottom of this article.
The winners will follow the boys teams this year as the host sites (i.e. the boys winner of the top game of Fremont and Prairie Heights will see that site host the second round boys and girls game even if the girls team from that school has been eliminated).
THE FAVORITE
There are some other teams that are in the hunt here, but Fremont is certainly the team to watch as they look to avenge their one NECC loss this season to Eastside. Fremont has not lost since that November 14 game and they have not lost outside of that game. Despite surges for the program, Fremont has not won two tournament games since 2014 when they advanced to the semi finals before falling to West Noble.
They have been able to get some rest after a massive win two weeks ago over rival Angola, which is a rare thing in that rivalry. Grace Scharlach recently surpassed 1,000 career points and then turned around and scored 15 in just a half last week in a win over Goshen. He scoring strength has helped Fremont to the point where they are beating opponents by almost 24 points per game. As much as Scharlach has been a killer offensively, Mya Turner has also been a major scoring threat and Mallorie Hufnagle deserves a lot of credit for what she has added on both sides of the ball.
THE CONTENDER
Despite some struggles as of late, there is little reason to expect that Eastside won’t contend for the title since they have been the most consistent threat for several seasons in a row. The Blazers are in a good spot still to become the third program in a row to earn back-to-back regular season crowns but there is a lot of focus on this tournament and grind it takes to win it mirroring the Sectional round.
Taylor Mack has been a high end scorer, something that Eastside hasn’t had in many ways in their recent run of success. That doesn’t mean that the Blazers are not tremendously balanced as we have come to expect of them. Adelaide Elden andLucy Kitchen have both had some tremendous individual games as the season has progressed and it has helped Eastside to the point where they are pushing on a third straight 20 win season; a tournament title would push them to 18 total wins.
THE LEAD(S) FOR MVP
There is no actual MVP given out for the NECC Tournament like there is in the ACAC, but that doesn’t mean that Outside the Huddle can’t project a hypothetical lead or leads for such a thing.
So here are some no brainers mostly because they are mentioned above in OTH’s projected favorite and contender. Count Eastside’s Grace Scharlach and Eastside’s Taylor Mack as who are two of the leads for having the best tournament. Both pack a heavy scoring bunch with the ability to make the game different with their own forms of aggressive play.
But now lets talk about Fairfield’s Madison Jones and Angola’s Kendall VanderWal.
Jones is in the argument as being the best shooter in the NECC. She has turned into a nightly 20-plus point threat for Fairfield and is coming off a stellar all around contest against Garrett last week where she rarely had to break the plain of the paint around the basket. She is shifty off ball and makes things difficult for any defender who isn’t just tasked with face guarding her around the court.
Angola’s VanderWal has an argument too and its that she is the best breakout player in all of the area after coming to Angola from Ohio this season. VanderWal is a monster double double threat and probably the best at that in the NECC as she averages around 17.5 points per game.
BREAKOUT POTENTIAL
Stella Stockamp of Angola is the lead in OTH’s eyes to have a breakout performance. The Hornets may not be among the top favorites in the tournament as they sit fifth in the conference standings right now. But that doesn’t mean Angola can’t battle for a title and are certainly a team to watch who could pull enough upsets to find themselves in a position to win this thing. The way that Stockamp has been playing and stepping up as of late really changes the depth and dynamic of this Hornets team.
Garrett’s Avery Leech has had a breakout year as a freshman, thrust into the Railroader starting lineup in ways due to a lack of depth. But has she ever risen to the occasion, averaging 11.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while not coming off the court in eight of Garrett’s games this season.
Elyse Mead of West Noble may only get one tournament game to prove a point since the Chargers drew Eastside but if anyone can make the most of a big game as a breakout, it may be her. Mead has led the charge to help build the Chargers back up after some down seasons. Mead has been one of the conference’s strongest scorers at times as the team has gained a lot of growing experience including three overtime games.
BOUNCE PREDICTING THE WINNERS
If Fremont is a team to beat in this tournament, Bounce will certainly take them in their opening night contest with Prairie Heights. In the next game down in the bracket, the Garrett girls can be a curious case. They haven’t beaten a top end NECC team yet, but they threatened Eastside near the half and only trailed Fairfield 26-22 at one point; give me the Railroaders to advance. In the first round on the bottom half of the bracket, it is an underrated Lakeland team that takes the win, in part because Dulce Canedo has been such a revelation for them and their growing program.
In the quarterfinal round, Garrett gets their first crack at Fremont this season. It opens up some fun matchups with Garrett’s guard play ofEmma Coffman and Sarah DePew and the scoring punch we’ve mentioned of Grace Scharlach and Mya Turner of Fremont; give the edge still though to the Eagles. We’ll take Fairfield over an underrated Westview team, Angola to top Lakeland and Eastside over West Noble.
Does this set up the best final four in recent memory for the girls NECC Tournament? If Bounce’s projected bracket holds up, then Fremont would be hosting Fairfield in the semi finals and home court may play a big role. Fremont’s offense gets a lot of love, but their defense gets them to the finals. Eastside/Angola was a fun one the first time and it will be again but take the Blazers to take the rematch the same as they did the first time.
It is potentially true that no girls basketball game in the area is exciting the rest of the way than a potential Fremont/Eastside rematch. If we get that on Saturday at West Noble, expected a really good battle but in the end, Bounce has to go with what makes the most sense with Fremont is surging at a rate that impresses us all, I am taking the Eagles to win the NECC Tournament title.
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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