Regional Preview: Class 2A South

Everything about the Sectional round last week was eventful…the team play, the individual play, the upsets, and even the weather. 64 total teams escaped to play another day…in the Regional round tomorrow, February 9th. Below is a look at the eight teams who represent the eight Sectionals in Class 2A in the Southern half of the bracket, along with some general comments and analysis. By the end of the day Saturday, only two of these eight teams will remain. I will continue previewing the other Regional sites throughout the day, with eight articles posting in total (Class 1A posted yesterday).   SAG = Current 2018-2019 Multiclass Sagarin Rating; SOS = Current 2018-2019 Strength of Schedule *All Game Times Are Eastern Time*   SPEEDWAY REGIONAL Triton Central (23-1) SAG 25; SOS 175 Winchester (23-3) SAG 55; SOS 188 Western Boone (16-9) SAG 76; SOS 87 Covenant Christian-Indianapolis (18-8) SAG 119; SOS 180 10:00a – Western Boone vs. Covenant Christian 12:00p – Triton Central vs. Winchester 8:00p – Championship Game From the beginning of the season, I considered Triton Central as my favorite in the South to make it to Bankers Life Fieldhouse, and they haven’t disappointed. Their only loss was to Class 2A North power Central Noble, and the two could very well meet in a couple of weeks, but there is still some work to be done, and this weekend won’t be easy. TC has a balanced and deep roster, led by Tenleigh Phelps (2021), Maya Chandler (2020), and Rylie Stephens (2020). Grace Crist (2020), Taylor Heath (2021), Bailey Stamper (2021), Alexis Bass (2019), and Makenzie Ryle (2021) are also critical to their success. They will get tested immediately by Winchester. Winchester is coming off of a State Finals appearance last season, and they are hungry for the Championship this year. But the Golden Falcons will have to get through the Tigers first. Madeline Lawrence (2020), Shelby Miller (2019), Becca Chamberlin (2020), Hannah Graft (2019), and Kira Robinson (2019) make up one of the most potent starting lineups in the state in Class 2A. Sarah Graft (2019) also plays a key role off the bench for them. Western Boone might have nine losses, but they’ve played a tough schedule, and they can certainly wreck some people’s day. Madison Jones (2019) has been putting up huge scoring numbers (28.9 ppg), and assuming she can get going and stay out of foul trouble, Western Boone should have as good of a chance as anyone here. She has gotten solid support from Lauryn Florey (2020) and Kara Brewer (2020) all season. Hillary Reed (2020) and Tori Wilkinson (2020) have also had strong games this season. Covenant Christian has had its moments this year, especially with consecutive wins against Heritage Christian, Cathedral, and Linton-Stockton. They look to a trio of double-digit scorers in Bailey Everett (2019), Ilani Williams-Harris (2020), and Bonnie Ludlow (2021). They get their depth from Sania Borom (2020), Samara Douglas (2022), Hana Anderson (2021), and Nicole Gruesser (2021). Championship Game Prediction: Triton Central over Western Boone   PAOLI REGIONAL Eastern-Pekin (20-6) SAG 111; SOS 129 Evansville Mater Dei (15-10) SAG 133; SOS 168 South Ripley (18-7) SAG 149; SOS 270 South Knox (16-11) SAG 157; SOS 221 10:30a – Evansville Mater Dei vs. South Ripley 12:30p – Eastern-Pekin vs. South Knox 8:00p – Championship Game Eastern has had its share of tournament success, capping it off with a Class 2A State Championship in 2017. This season they rolled out a different roster from 2017, but point guard Isabell Claywell (2020) remains and is their leader now. Sophomores Lily Crumpton and Kendra Sill contribute in the frontcourt, while Brookelynn Casey (2019) helps Claywell in the backcourt. South Knox is coming off of a Sectional title that few people outside of their program thought was within their reach, considering the seasons Linton-Stockton and North Knox put together. They are likely the underdog once again here, but I think they almost prefer that role. Mykayla Couchenour (2020) is their leader, but they also get strong play from Hannah Ivers (2020), Paige Cavins (2019), and Lexi Detweiler (2021). Evansville Mater Dei has played nine Class 4A teams and eight Class 3A teams to get them prepared for postseason play. They’ve had their ups and downs, but they would likely credit that schedule with helping them through Sectional play. The Wildcats are led this year by a pair of Seniors in forward Jossie Hudson, an Evansville recruit, and guard Hannah Wininger. Sophomore post Mariah Dickerson provides a big boost inside after returning in January from an ACL injury, but they have also gotten solid play from Emily Beckerle (2021), Kelsey Carr (2019), Olivia Effinger (2019), and Alaina Spahn (2019). South Ripley is another strong program annually who is rather unknown. Their unquestioned leaders for the last couple of years have been Senior post Elexah Roepke, and Senior guard Morgan Peetz. South Ripley also has another nice interior player in Cierra Copeland (2020). If they can get additional production from lesser-experienced perimeter players, the Raiders definitely have the interior play to cause problems for the other teams in this Regional. Championship Game Prediction: Eastern-Pekin over Evansville Mater Dei in overtime   Header photo of Isabell Claywell of Eastern-Pekin High School; photo courtesy of Mason Asher of Prep Girls Hoops.