With girls basketball postseason has turned over quickly, Bounce is here to quickly preview and discuss the area Regionals, continuing in Class 4A.
8 area teams remain for the regional round, but just five potential champions with area teams meeting each other in three of Saturday’s contests.
Click here to see the complete schedule of Regional title games featuring area teams.
CLASS 4A
SNIDER VS. NORWELL (AT BELLMONT)
Norwell comes in 22-4, fresh off their second win this season over Homestead and their first ever Class 4A title of any kind, while Snider sits at 18-6, perhaps one of the more underrated teams in the area this season. Norwell comes into this game considered the favorite out of the north in Class 4A, so obviously they are the favorite in this game metrically. Snider beat Norwell in December 73-61, but it was the last time that Norwell lost a game and the two programs have never met in the postseason before with this being Norwell’s first foray into Class 4A.
While Norwell’s offense is always a focus, and rightfully so, they are going to have to step up their defense in this one. The Panthers’ 73 points in their first meeting is the most points given up by the Knights all season and 35 points higher than their defensive average. Since then, Norwell has seemed to be on a tear defensively, consistently putting together games of 15-20 steals. Janaya Cooper scored 33 points on 14-of-20 shooting for Snider the last time these two teams met.
BOUNCE’S PREDICTION: Norwell 60-62
CLASS 3A
EAST NOBLE VS. BELLMONT (AT BELLMONT)
The Knights come in 20-5 while Bellmont sits at 21-3. This is one that depending what side of the aisle you sit on, you either really like or really hate. There are certainly two dynamic sides when you see two conference foes battling anytime in the postseason. According to John Harrell’s computer projections, the Braves actually have the best shot in Class 3A in the state at winning a Regional crown. When the two teams played in the regular season on December 12, Bellmont picked up a 59-37 win; the third least amount of points that East Noble has scored in a game all season.
For Bellmont, diversity in scoring as of late has been helpful especially from Marianne Bleke; so too will the fact that they get to play this game at home. So what is to say that their game won’t look similar to last time? East Noble has improved offensively through various fazes of the season, including lately but Bellmont’s defense has not showed signs that it will waver from that first meeting. Can the Knights keep up with their higher level of scoring with three players all averaging double figures? That is the key in this one, so Averi Amstutz (13.7 ppg), Rian David (11.1) and Addison Deming (10) will all need to be on top of their game.
BOUNCE’S PREDICTION: Bellmont 50-36
FAIRFIELD VS. KANKAKEE VALLEY (AT WINAMAC)
Just because Fairfield used a buzzer beater last week to get to this game, doesn’t mean they don’t belong. The Falcons sit at 19-6 and are searching for their fourth 20 win seasons in the past 5 years. They will get a Kankakee Valley team that is 20-4 who lost three of their first six games but only once since; a 38-29 loss on January 27. The Falcons are the favorite here but that doesn’t mean the expectation is not razor close. Both teams are scoring well above each others defensive average so this could be a game full of adjustments. The two teams have no previous meetings.
This Kanakee Valley is fairly young when they match up with the experience of Fairfield and a pair of 1,000 point career scorers in Madison Jones and Eva Herbert. This duo is critically underrated in some instances even though Jones has been torching almost everyone she has played this year. This in addition to the fact that Hebert has been one of the most consistent stars in the NECC for multiple seasons at this point. Kanakee Valley relies on four heavy scorers who are between 9.4 and 12 ppg each, led by sophomore Camry Krueger but none of their top 6 are seniors; there are only two seniors on their roster.
BOUNCE’S PREDICTION: Fairfield 50-49
CLASS 2A
WHITKO VS. EASTSIDE (AT WARSAW)
The top team in the class skated through the Sectional round and now gets a rematch against Eastside. Last season, Whitko’s great run ended at the hands of Eastside in the semi state round, just two wins away from a state title berth. That, of course, has to weigh heavily on the minds of the Wildcats, who have just loss once this season and that was November 14. Eastside sits at 22-3 and after losing 3-of-4 at the change of the year, they have since won eight straight to capture NECC Tournament and Sectional titles along the way. Whitko had a 33 percent chance of winning state according to John Harrell’s computer numbers with no other team having more than a 10 percent chance right now. Last year’s meeting is the only one between the two teams in the last 25 years.
Whitko is one of those teams, much like Eastside, that is using really strong offensive balance. While Taylor Mack has emerged as the top Blazer scorer, Lucy Kitchen and Adelaide Elden have both been big pieces throughout the season and Kitchen’s ability to space the floor and work with the ball in her hands has been massive. Whitko has four players who score 9.5 points per game or more and any of those four could really be a leader any given night, as we saw during Sectional week. Kyra Lowe’s 27 points over two games led the Wildcats during the Sectional semi final and final rounds, while Jocelyn Luecke and Hazel Leffers also stepped up big to make this team deeper and more dangerous.
BOUNCE’S PREDICTION: Whitko 62-50
CLASS 1A
MARQUETTE CATHOLIC VS. FREMONT (AT JIMTOWN)
Fremont has another championship season wrapped up and their reward is Class 1A Marquette Catholic. The Eagles are 25-2 to Marquette Catholic’s 23-3. Fremont has won six straight after falling in the finals of the NECC Tournament in January, while the Blazers are winners of 11 straight after dropping all three of their losses in a row at the Northridge Tournament in late December. Marquette Catholic is the heavy favorite in the state to win the 1A state title. The programs have met just once before, with the Blazers getting a win in the 2019 Regional round.
Laniah Davis is going to be a real problem that the Eagles are going to have to solve. The 5-7 senior averages 20.5 points per game and is likely the best scorer that Fremont has or would see all season. Davis has been limited to single digits just once and it was in a blowout win, while she has scored 20 or more on 15 different occasions. She also averages 7.4 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game, showing off that all around game. Fremont will need Mya Turner to be really strong on the inside, not just controlling rebounding, but also Davis on her drives. Fremont is going to get scrappy here, but do they have enough pieces?
BOUNCE’S PREDICTION: Marquette Catholic 64-56
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
Be the first to comment