Tournament Preview: Class 1A, Region 8

With the 1A tournament set to get underway on Thursday, February 7th, we are going to be breaking down each region with in depth analysis. We will cover who you should watch for, the teams that could come out of nowhere, and of course, the bracket buster candidate. We will also list five players from each class that you need to keep an eye on throughout the bracket as they can really change the game in a hurry. The complete Region 8 bracket is posted below. <hr /> <span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>The</strong></span></span><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-size: 14pt"> Teams</span></span> </strong>Newell-Fonda (20-0) Westwood (17-4) Glidden-Ralston (15-4) Exira-EHK (16-5) Ar-We-Va (13-7) Siouxland Christian (9-12) Boyer Valley (7-13) Heartland Christian (5-15) West Harrison (4-16) Woodbine (3-15) Whiting (3-16) River Valley (2-16) Riverside (2-17) <span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size: 14pt"><strong>The Favorite</strong></span> <strong>Newell-Fonda </strong>Newell-Fonda has to be the favorite to win Region 8. They sit at 20-0 on the year and really haven't been tested this year. Newell-Fonda has won all of their games by double-digits and they will look to continue that into the tournament. They lead everyone in Class 1A scoring 73.8 points a game. Very balanced scoring is led by senior <strong>Olivia Larsen </strong>at 13.7 points a game. <span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size: 14pt"><strong>The Sleepers</strong></span> <strong>Westwood </strong>Westwood has had a pretty solid season thus far sitting at 17-4 on the year. Their four losses have been good losses but two of them have been to Woodbury Central, a team that Newell-Fonda beat by 16 points. For them to win the region they are going to have to rely on the deep ball. They have made 145 this year, top in the region. Senior <strong>Carah Drees</strong> has been on fire this year as she has scored 16.6 points a game. She is also pulling in 9.6 rebounds a game. <strong>Exira-EHK </strong>This is a strong team with losses to Glidden-Ralston and and interesting loss to Kuemper Catholic, a team that isn't playing that well this season. Exira-EHK can play with anyone, they just need to not get in their own way on the way to the region finals. Sophomore <strong>Tatum Grubbs </strong>leads Exira-EHK with 14.0 points a game. <span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>The Outside Shots</strong></span></span><strong> </strong><strong>Glidden-Ralston</strong> Also a team with four losses this season, Glidden-Ralston has lost to both Ar-We-Va and Exira-EHK and have a win over them as well. This is a team that has the potential to spring an upset, but I am not so sure they can get back through the gauntlet. They are an experienced bunch though, anything can happen. Senior <strong>Samantha Brown</strong> leads the charge for Glidden-Ralston with 12.7 points a game. <span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>Players to Watch</strong></span></span> <strong>2019</strong> Emilee Danner (Ar-We-Va) Semia Aldrich (Whiting) Carah Drees (Westwood) Andee Martin (Westwood) Samantha Brown (Glidden-Ralston) <strong>2020</strong> Bella Dingus (Heartland Christian) Riley Doenhoefer (Siouxland Christian) Hannah Whitver (Glidden-Ralston) Megan Morenz (Newell-Fonda) Daisy Hiserote (Siouxland Christian) <strong>2021</strong> Tatum Grubbs (Exira-EHK) Haley Koch (West Harrison) Cassie Jones (Siouxland Christian) Ella Larsen (Newell-Fonda) Halle Murray (Whiting) <strong>2022</strong> Macy Emgarten (Exira-EHK) Molly Rasmussen (Exira-EHK) Macy Sievers (Newell-Fonda) Whitney Kuhlman (Woodbine) Jenna Shuck (Whiting)