Tournament Preview: Class 3A, Region 1

With the 3A 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>Algona (19-1) Okoboji (19-2) Estherville Lincoln Center (11-10) MOC-Floyd Valley (11-10) Spirit Lake (10-10) Sheldon (10-11) Sioux Center (8-12) OABCIG (5-16) <span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size: 14pt"><strong>The Favorite</strong></span> <strong>Algona </strong>While I think Algona and Okoboji are neck and neck, Algona just doesn't have a bad loss while Okoboji does with their loss to MOC-Floyd Valley. I think that Algona is a team that can get really hot and make a ton of 3-pointers as evidenced by their 145 makes on the season. They rarely turn the ball over as they have the least in the region. <strong>Abbey Holmes</strong>, a junior, leads the team scoring 16.4 points a game. <span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size: 14pt"><strong>The Sleeper</strong></span> <strong>Okoboji </strong>Okoboji, like I talked about above, is a real contender for the region title. They scare me a little bit because of that loss to MOC-Floyd Valley, but I still think they can get out of the region and head to Des Moines. Okoboji shares the ball really well as they have 346 assists on the season, most in the region by 101. They also average 59.6 points a game which is the best in the region. The region leader in scoring plays for Okoboji as junior <strong>Kallyn Stumbo</strong> is scoring 16.5 points a game this year. <span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>The Outside Shots</strong></span></span><strong> </strong><strong>Estherville Lincoln Center</strong> They have a few head scratching losses, but they have a couple really good results. They played Algona earlier this season and only lost by nine. This is a team that hit 158 3-pointers last year so the chance is there for them to get hot and rip off a few wins in a row against better teams. It has been a little bit of a rough slide for the last few weeks and they will have to right the ship before Saturday. Senior <strong>Josie Condon</strong> has knocked down 48 3-pointers en route to a team leading 13.4 points a game. <strong>MOC-Floyd Valley</strong> After starting the year off 7-2, MOC-Floyd Valley has now lost eight of their last twelve games. They do have a really good win against Okoboji early on in the season and stayed close in their second game of the year. They struggle shooting free throws as they only average 51.5 percent from the line and that could be something that hurts them in a close game. <strong>Jazlin De Haan</strong>, a senior, leads the team scoring 14.2 points per game all while not attempting a 3-pointer. <span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>Players to Watch</strong></span></span> <strong>2019</strong> Josie Condon (Estherville Lincoln Central) Alyssa Mulder (Sioux Center) Jadeyn Schutt (MOC-Floyd Valley) Cassidy Bart (Sheldon) Emily Meyer (Sheldon) <strong>2020</strong> Kallyn Stumbo (Okoboji) Abbey Holmes (Algona) Magen Christopherson (Okoboji) Jordyn Hamm (Spirit Lake) Aliyah Buscher (Algona) <strong>2021</strong> Jazlin De Haan (MOC-Floyd Valley) Brooklyn Grady (Sheldon) Jacie Vander Waal (Sioux Center) Carly Murphy (OABCIG) Karli Olsen (Spirit Lake) <strong>2022</strong> Jaydan Nitchals (Estherville Lincoln Central) Kaitlyn Tendal (Estherville Lincoln Central) Maliah Kleinhesselink (Sheldon) Brooke Smith (Spirit Lake) Raegan Freeman (Sheldon)