Tournament Preview: Class 2A, Region 1

With the 2A tournament set to get underway on Saturday, February 9th, 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 1 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>Cherokee (20-1) West Sioux (15-4) Unity Christian (14-5) South O'Brien (14-6) Boyden-Hull (13-7) Lawton-Bronson (13-7) Rock Valley (13-7) West Lyon (11-8) Central Lyon (11-10) Western Christian (10-11) Hinton (6-15) Sibley Ocheyedan (0-20) <span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size: 14pt"><strong>The Favorite</strong></span> <strong>Cherokee </strong>This is a really, really good team and the only way they lose is in a monumental upset. Their only loss on the year was a nine-point loss at LeMars, the ninth ranked team in 4A. They beat them earlier in the season which is a huge win. Cherokee is balanced as a team and is a really solid mix of young and experienced talent. Cherokee has scored 75.1 points a game, tops in Class 2A. They should run through the region to Des Moines. The senior duo of <strong>Kassidy Pingel</strong> and <strong>Payton Slaughter</strong> lead them in scoring with 20.2 points and 15.7 points a game, respectively. <span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size: 14pt"><strong>The Sleepers</strong></span> <strong>West Sioux </strong>Even though they fell to West Lyon by 19, West Sioux has had a good year thus far. West Sioux has lost to some really good teams and have beaten their fair share of talented squads. They have scored 1,000 points this season and do it in a very balanced way. They are a good defensive team that likes to slow it down and grind you down. West Sioux is so balanced that they have four players averaging between 11.2 points a game and 9.9 points a game. <strong>Unity Christian</strong> After getting off to an 0-2 start with losses to LeMars and Cherokee, Unity Christian has been on a roll. Winners of six in a row they have beaten both of the teams below them in the standings by 27 points this season. They are an efficient team as they shoot over 50 percent from the floor and if they get their opponent on an off night, they could beat anyone. <strong>Janie Schoonhoven</strong>, a sophomore, leads them in scoring at 17.5 points a game. She is second in the region rebounding the ball with 9.1 rebounds a game. <span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>The Outside Shot</strong></span></span><strong> </strong><strong>South O'Brien</strong> South O'Brien got the short end of the stick for the draw in the tournament. They are on the top side with Cherokee. They do have the bye, but in order to get to the region final they have to get through the top seed. South O'Brien does have a fairly young team, so anything is possible. <strong>Hannah Dau</strong>, is shooting the ball terrifically this season as she has scored 18.8 points a game. The sophomore is shooting 43 percent from behind the arc. <span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>Players to Watch</strong></span></span> <strong>2019</strong> Kassidy Pingel (Cherokee) Kaitlin Ricke (Lawton-Bronson) Payton Slaughter (Cherokee) Jori Bronner (Unity Christian) Emily De Ruyter (Rock Valley) <strong>2020</strong> Mallory Nilles (Boyden-Hull) Haley Williams (Lawton-Bronson) Olivia Granstra (Western Christian) Brooke Zylstra (Boyden-Hull) Meghan Danielson (West Sioux) <strong>2021</strong> Hannah Dau (South O'Brien) Hayden Heimensen (Central Lyon) Janie Schoonhoven (Unity Christian) JeMae Nichols (Cherokee) Kelli Greenfield (Sibley-Ocheyedan) <strong>2022</strong> Brooklyn Meyer (West Lyon) Anna Coffee (Hinton) Bella Badar (Hinton) Abbie Bos (Sibley-Ocheyedan) Ariana Noonkester (Sibley-Ocheyedan) &nbsp;