Fremont enters the new season carrying both considerable expectations and the confidence created by the most successful postseason run in program history. The Eagles finished 28-3, captured sectional, regional and semistate championships and reached the Class 1A state championship game for the first time before falling to defending champion Borden, 51-31, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The good news for Fremont is that four starters return from that historic team, and all four are seniors with extensive varsity experience. Grace Scharlach, Mya Turner, Chloe Verdin and Mallorie Hufnagle give the Eagles an established foundation that has already experienced the pressure of playing deep into February. Their presence should help Fremont enter the season with championship-level standards already in place.
Scharlach is the centerpiece after averaging 19.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.1 steals per game. The 5-foot-5 guard made 68 three-pointers last season—the most among Northeast Indiana’s returning girls players—and shot better than 50 percent from beyond the arc entering the state championship game. She also received All-NECC, IBCA All-State and Outside the Huddle All-Area recognition.
Fremont is far from a one-player team, however. Turner gives the Eagles another proven scorer and a stronger presence around the basket after producing 15.8 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game. The 5-foot-8 guard-forward also averaged 2.5 steals, and her ability to score in transition, rebound and defend multiple positions complements Scharlach’s shooting and playmaking.
Verdin supplies another disruptive two-way guard after averaging 8.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and a team-best 3.2 steals. Hufnagle contributed 4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Together, the four returning starters averaged nearly 48 points and more than 10 steals, giving Fremont the experience and defensive activity needed to continue playing at a fast pace.
The Eagles demonstrated how effective that formula could be throughout last season. Fremont finished second in the Northeast Corner Conference at 11-2, then won nine consecutive games to reach the state final. The postseason included a 59-43 sectional championship victory over Blackhawk Christian, a 63-47 semistate win over Monroe Central and a 55-33 victory over Elkhart Christian Academy that secured the program’s first semistate crown.
The primary challenge will be developing the next group around that senior core. Senior forwards Rylee Hayes and Clara Hukill and junior guard Karson Schrewsburg arrive from the junior varsity, while freshmen guards Amalia Goins and Elise Robinson will compete for opportunities. Fremont must identify which newcomers are prepared to defend, run the floor and fill the responsibilities left by last season’s graduates.
With Scharlach, Turner, Verdin and Hufnagle back, Fremont should again possess multiple scoring threats and the speed to make opponents uncomfortable. The Eagles’ ceiling may ultimately depend on how quickly the newcomers adjust and whether the team can limit turnovers without sacrificing its preferred tempo. If those pieces come together, Fremont has the experience, firepower and postseason belief to make another serious championship run.
“We are coming off an amazing season last year with being 1A State Runner-Ups. We have high expectations this year, but understand we lost some key players and now have a target on our backs. However, our goal is to still be competitive in the conference and post season this year,” says coach Shae Thomas.
WHY #6?
Like many teams in the back half of the preseason Top 10, Fremont will have some critical spots to refill, but this is also a team who was in the state finals last season and does return one of the best 1-2 combos in the area from a season ago. Not many teams ever get the luxury of returning a talented duo like Scharlach-Turner, so there is a lot of excitement in the idea that these two could again lead Fremon to a lot of success.
CRITICAL GAME – NOVEMBER 13 at EASTSIDE
Welcome to it right out of the gate. The NECC could hang in the balance in Fremont’s third game of the season. So while the Eagles and Thomas aren’t exactly going to be looking past their opening opponents, this game would be massive and arguably the most critical no matter where it fell on the calendar. Fremont lost three games last season: the state championship game, Eastside in the regular season and Eastside in the NECC Tournament. So how could this game be any less important than calling it THE game for the Eagles this season?
CRUCIAL PLAYER
Chloe Verdin becomes that next player that really could make sure that Fremont doesn’t have much, if any, falloff from a season ago. She showed signs that she is not only a competitor but that she is going to really battle and be valuable as an option that will help spread the floor out well. Teams aren’t going to be able to ignore Verdin just to key on Fremont’s big two and that could easily turn her presence into a real Big Three for the Eagles early and often.
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