State Finals Preview: Morning Session

What a great season of girls’ high school basketball! And it all comes to an end tomorrow. Several Seniors will don their high school uniforms for the very last time, four young ladies will win the prestigious mental attitude award, and four teams will finish the season as Champions! Marquette Catholic, Vincennes Rivet, and Winchester Community are all returning to the State Finals for a second consecutive year. Marquette won the Class 1A title last season, while Rivet and Winchester are hungry for more. Oak Hill is the “newcomer”, though they were just here in 2017 and have a hunger of their own. Below is a look at the two State Championship games in the morning session, Classes 1A & 2A, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Last week I was 4-0 in picking these four teams as winners, so hopefully I can continue that streak in these two classes. All of the State Championship games can be seen on Fox Sports Indiana or at IHSAAtv.org.   SAG = Current 2018-2019 Multiclass Sagarin Rating; SOS = Current 2018-2019 Strength of Schedule *All Game Times Are Eastern Time*   10:30 A.M. – CLASS 1A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Marquette Catholic (26-2) SAG 14; SOS 90 Marquette has been the prohibitive favorite to repeat as Class 1A State Champions since they walked off the floor at Bankers Life Fieldhouse one year ago. Emma & Sophia Nolan (2019) are obviously the headliners doing the most damage on the scoreboard, but Emma struggled with foul trouble and the team didn’t shoot it well a week ago. You also have to worry about Emmery Joseph (2019), Claire Salyer (2019), Morgan Crook (2019), and Ally McConnell (2020), who have all shown the ability to put up points and contribute in several other meaningful ways. Vincennes Rivet (29-0) SAG 31; SOS 145 Rivet finished as the State Runner-Up in Class 1A last season, and they’ve put together an even better season than they did a year ago. The duo of Senior forward Grace Waggoner and Junior wing Tia Tolbert are a tough matchup for any team in Class 1A. Those two can carry them at times, but against Marquette they will need contributions from Molly Niehaus (2019), Macee Hamilton (2020), Caroline Herman (2020), Lauren Carie (2021), Meredith Weiss (2022), and Maddi Halter (2022). Why Marquette will win: Marquette is tall, talented, and experienced. In Class 1A, there aren’t many more things you could want than that. While I’ll sing the praises of the supporting cast until the end of the day Saturday, they have to use the inside game and pound it inside to Emma & Sophia Nolan (2019). That’s a decided advantage they have, as Rivet doesn’t have a true post of their ability. Also, in this game specifically, they’ll need the supporting cast to hit shots when the twins are doubled. Why Rivet will win: Hunger and vengeance will be the key here for Rivet. As Yogi Berra once said, “it’s like déjà vu all over again.” They get their chance at Marquette again, so they must learn from what didn’t work last season and make adjustments. Marquette is no different stylistically; they are just a year older and a little better. Rivet just needs to continue to do what they always do and not deviate from their own identity as well. They’ve played a tough schedule this year, and that should help them in this game. Key Player: I think the key player in this game is Rivet Senior Grace Waggoner. She is the one player for Rivet who can match Emma & Sophia Nolan talent for talent. Grace struggled to make shots at times last year, and she’ll need to come up huge for Rivet this season if they want to “flip the script”. She will also have to play strong inside, rebound well, and provide a post presence defensively, since Rivet is limited with true posts. Prediction: Marquette Catholic 53, Vincennes Rivet 44   12:45 P.M. – CLASS 2A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Oak Hill (24-3) SAG 25; SOS 184 The Golden Eagles have experienced individual talent throughout their roster, but they also play incredibly hard and physical. The core of Taylor Westgate (2020), Adrianna Trexler (2019), Jenessa Hasty (2019), and Kaela Robey (2019) are now finishing their third year together in the lineup, and they’re in their second State Finals appearance (also in 2017), plus they’ve appeared in one additional Regional over that span. But this year they look for more, as they are getting additional help from Andrea and Marissa Wilk (2019), Brittany McCorkle (2019), and Abby Shaw (2020). Winchester (26-3) SAG 46; SOS 160 Winchester is coming off of a State Finals appearance last season, and they are hungry for the Championship this year. Oak Hill will be no easy task, but the Golden Falcons should match up reasonably well, though a lot of that depends upon the health of Kira Robinson’s (2019) ankle, which was injured late in the Semi-State game. Madeline Lawrence (2020), Shelby Miller (2019), Becca Chamberlin (2020), Hannah Graft (2019), and Kira Robinson 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. Why Oak Hill will win: Oak Hill is incredibly experienced throughout their roster, and I’m not just talking about a couple of players over the last two seasons. You have eight players, six Seniors and two Juniors, who have been at the core of this team’s success for the better part of four seasons now. They show emotion, sure, but they also understand how to reign it back in quickly and perform the next possession equally as well. They are competitive, tough, and very disciplined. That’s their key to success. Why Winchester will win: This is pretty easy…they have unfinished business from a year ago. Yes, they are playing a different opponent, but they want to finish what they started a year ago…something they felt was hindered when Shelby Miller went down in the 2018 Regional and Madeline Lawrence went down in the 2018 State Championship game, both with ACL injuries. But they have played the last month or so on a mission to put themselves right back where they were a year ago…with a chance at a Class 2A State Title. Key Players: I think this comes down to Brittany McCorkle and Jenessa Hasty making shots. Winchester often plays some “junk” defenses and hounds the opponent’s best player or two, so I could see them collapsing on Taylor Westgate and chasing Adrianna Trexler around. If McCorkle and Hasty can make shots and take care of the basketball, I think they will be the key in this game. Prediction: Oak Hill 45, Winchester 39   Header photo of the inside of Bankers Life Fieldhouse; photo courtesy of nba.com.