State Tourney Preview: Class 3A South

NOTE: Due to weather / internet complications, this article did not post on 1/29 as intended, therefore all content was written and prepared prior to any Tuesday night games. I have chosen to stick with my original picks and material instead of updating it based on Tuesday’s results. The IHSAA State Tournament began last night for a few schools across the Hoosier state. With that in mind, I wanted to offer a brief preview of each Sectional in the South for Class 3A, which incorporates Sectionals #25 through #32. Below is a look at the teams in each of those Sectionals, along with some general comments and analysis. I will continue previewing the IHSAA State Tournament throughout the course of today, with eight articles posting in total (1A and 2A posted yesterday).   (SAG = Current 2018-2019 Multiclass Sagarin Rating; SOS = Current 2018-2019 Strength of Schedule)   Sectional #25 at Southmont Benton Central (20-4) SAG 25; SOS 93 Greencastle (14-7) SAG 111; SOS 166 Lebanon (12-10) SAG 213; SOS 234 Southmont (6-15) SAG 315; SOS 291 Crawfordsville (3-19) SAG 334; SOS 223 North Montgomery (3-19) SAG 346; SOS 282 This Sectional is pretty easy to break down. Benton Central is a clear favorite, Greencastle is the toughest challenger and well-coached, and Lebanon is looking to play spoiler somewhere along the line. Benton Central has a nice recent history of success, and wing Emma Fisher (2019) is definitely a strong player for them. Kelsey Coffman (2020) is a nice, versatile player for Benton Central as well. Greencastle looks to the combination of Allison Stevens (2020), Ella Shields (2021), and Claire Gillen (2019). Unfortunately for fans, Benton Central and Greencastle match up right out of the gate. Championship Game Prediction: Benton Central over Lebanon   Sectional #26 at Northview Owen Valley (18-6) SAG 99; SOS 163 Northview (14-9) SAG 153; SOS 196 South Vermillion (13-12) SAG 192; SOS 305 Brown County (7-14) SAG 210; SOS 193 Edgewood (4-20) SAG 277; SOS 182 West Vigo (5-17) SAG 308; SOS 204 Despite several graduation losses, Owen Valley put together a really nice season and look to repeat as Sectional #26 Champs. Dazia Drake (2019) is their leader, but she’s gotten solid help from Abigail Herrington (2019) and Login Richardson (2019). Northview is probably the toughest challenger, and they are led by multisport star Jenny Lundy (2019). South Vermillion has some pieces with which to do damage, like high-scoring wing Mallory Hawkins (2020) and post Rebecca Berry (2020), but they’ve had their ups and downs this season. I think Sectional #26 is still Owen Valley’s for the taking. Championship Game Prediction: Owen Valley over Northview in a close one   Sectional #27 at Bishop Chatard Bishop Chatard (14-9) SAG 73; SOS 73 Cardinal Ritter (15-8) SAG 135; SOS 121 Guerin Catholic (5-17) SAG 226; SOS 56 Crispus Attucks Magnet (6-13) SAG 332; SOS 109 Brebeuf Jesuit (5-16) SAG 338; SOS 153 Bishop Chatard got a big boost this season with the addition of Zakia Rasheed (2021). Pairing her with Moira McGinley (2021) has been huge for the Lady Trojans. Cardinal Ritter is typically pretty solid, and they will pose the biggest threat to Chatard in this 5-team Sectional field. Meghan Sandifer (2020) and Gabby Hicks (2020) form a nice duo for the Raiders. At the end of the day, I really think it will be one of these two teams, with everyone else looking to just win a game. Championship Game Prediction: Bishop Chatard over Cardinal Ritter   Sectional #28 at Indian Creek Danville Community (17-5) SAG 50; SOS 105 Tri-West (16-6) SAG 85; SOS 187 Indian Creek (13-9) SAG 121; SOS 158 Beech Grove (4-16) SAG 221; SOS 85 Emmerich Manual (12-9) SAG 360; SOS 395 Herron (5-16) SAG 374; SOS 375 A big rivalry just last Friday between Danville and Tri-West, and now they’re pitted against each other in a rematch on opening. This should be outstanding. Ella Collier (2020) is the heart and soul of Danville, but she gets help from fellow wing Jenna Cowart (2019), while a guard trio of Maggie Cora (2019), Grace Sandlin (2021), and Kenna Kirby (2022) lead Tri-West into battle. Carli Wilson (2019) is also a double-figure scorer for Tri-West. The winner of this game will likely be the Sectional #28 Champion. Indian Creek could have something to say about that, though, as they are fairly balanced and deep. Caitlyn Snyder (2019) and Katie Burkman (2019) lead the charge for them. Championship Game Prediction: Danville over Beech Grove   Sectional #29 at Lawrenceburg Greensburg (18-4) SAG 49; SOS 101 Rushville Consolidated (15-9) SAG 72; SOS 66 Lawrenceburg (19-4) SAG 89; SOS 123 Madison Consolidated (10-13) SAG 128; SOS 89 Batesville (9-13) SAG 150; SOS 106 Franklin County (7-14) SAG 203; SOS 128 South Dearborn (10-13) SAG 218; SOS 156 Considering the graduation losses Greensburg suffered after their run to Bankers Life Fieldhouse in 2018, it was expected they might fall back a little. Instead, they’ve come out and put together a very similar season record-wise, and they are once again a slight favorite in a balanced Sectional #29. Aliyah Evans (2020), Micha Morrison (2020), Melina Wilkison (2021), and Taylor Cooney (2021) have put Greensburg in a position to make another deep tournament run. Rushville, however, will counter with size and strength, as Taylor Browning (2019), Victoria Campbell (2020), and Allie Smith (2019) all have great experience, but two Freshmen guards, Annika Marlow and Olivia Yager, have stepped into the lineup solidly. Lawrenceburg relies heavily on the talented Juliana Kemper (2020), but also keep an eye on top players like Jade Nutley (2021) of Madison, Hattie Westerfeld (2019) of Batesville, and Kyrstin Bond (2020) of South Dearborn. Championship Game Prediction: Greensburg over Lawrenceburg   Sectional #30 at Charlestown Salem (19-3) SAG 55; SOS 79 Brownstown Central (14-8) SAG 94; SOS 110 Scottsburg (17-6) SAG 97; SOS 118 Silver Creek (15-7) SAG 106; SOS 116 Charlestown (14-9) SAG 131; SOS 154 Corydon Central (10-13) SAG 147; SOS 137 While Salem looks like the potential winner on paper, Sectional #30 is incredibly deep and underappreciated on a statewide level. Literally any one of these teams can win the title. Still though, Salem does boast an impressive record on a tough schedule, and the backcourt duo of Leah Miller (2020) and Hope Tomlinson (2020) is tough to stop. Brownstown is always competitive and well-coached, and they have a really nice player in Ashley Schroer (2020), plus Katherine Benter (2021) and Halle Hehman (2020) have had nice seasons as well. Scottsburg and Jaylah Mays (2020) could play spoiler, but also keep an eye on Silver Creek’s Jaclyn Emly (2021), Charlestown’s Samantha Matthews (2019), and Corydon Central’s Cami Schmitt (2019). Championship Game Prediction: Salem over Brownstown Central in overtime   Sectional #31 at Vincennes Lincoln Vincennes Lincoln (20-3) SAG 58; SOS 147 Washington (15-7) SAG 120; SOS 149 Sullivan (14-9) SAG 140; SOS 157 Princeton Community (14-8) SAG 164; SOS 168 Southridge (6-14) SAG 232; SOS 181 Pike Central (5-16) SAG 256; SOS 159 Vincennes Lincoln has a good thing going of late, and they are as deep and talented as just about anyone in Class 3A. The grouping of Darrian Carmean (2020), Maycee Lange (2021), and Alison Hein (2019) is tremendously tough to stop when they are all rolling and out of foul trouble. Washington will try to present a challenge to them, and Kencia Levasseur (2022) has stepped in from Day-1 and become their go-to player. Sullivan has also turned the reigns over to two Freshmen, with Gracie and Delainey Shorter giving the Golden Arrow lineup a huge boost. Princeton is maybe the other team who could contend here, and Hannah Sisk (2021) puts up big numbers for the Tigers. Championship Game Prediction: Vincennes Lincoln over Princeton   Sectional #32 at Gibson Southern Gibson Southern (20-3) SAG 48; SOS 171 Evansville Memorial (14-8) SAG 63; SOS 86 Heritage Hills (17-5) SAG 118; SOS 243 Mount Vernon-Posey (12-10) SAG 228; SOS 219 Boonville (8-13) SAG 229; SOS 176 Evansville Bosse (7-12) SAG 260; SOS 180 Gibson Southern has the privilege of playing at home, while Evansville Memorial always plays the equivalence of a Class 4A schedule to prepare them for tournament play. Heritage Hills has put together a nice season as well, and I think one of those three teams will advance to the Regional and possibly farther. Top players in Sectional #32 include Meredith Raley (2020), Tabby Klem (2019), and Kami Miller (2021) of Gibson Southern, Soffia Rieckers (2019) and Ryleigh Anslinger (2021) of Evansville Memorial, Rebekah Gordon (2021) and Hadley Lytton (2022) of Heritage Hills, Paige Robinson (2021) and Libby Steinhart (2021) of Mount Vernon, and Ramey Wilder (2020) of Boonville. Championship Game Prediction: Gibson Southern over Evansville Memorial   Header photo of Greensburg after the 2018 Class 3A State Championship game; photo courtesy of the IHSAA Twitter account.