Tournament Preview: Class 4A, Region 8

<span style="font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 16px">With the 4A tournament set to get underway on Wednesday, February 13th, 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.</span> <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>Grinnell (17-2) Knoxville (14-5) Pella (14-6) ADM (14-8) Carlisle (10-10) Norwalk (6-15) <span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size: 14pt"><strong>The</strong> <strong>Favorite</strong></span> <strong>Grinnell</strong> This year Grinnell has been lighting up the nets. They have shot 554 3-pointers this season, which is the top mark in the region and the third highest in the state. They are making an average of 10 a game and because of that are averaging 68.4 points a game. Grinnell has 197 turnovers on the year which is easily the lowest mark in the region. This is a team that could go on a run through state. They are led by senior <strong>Macy Harris</strong> who has scored 19.3 points a game. <span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size: 14pt"><strong>The Sleepers</strong></span> <strong>Knoxville</strong> Knoxville has five losses on the season and two of them have came to foes within the region. Their last regular season game they fell to Van Meter, and before that to region foe Carlisle. They also lost to Pella a little earlier this year. With just three upperclassmen on this team, Knoxville is set up well for the future. I think they could knock off Grinnell, but they have to get through both Norwalk and Pella first. <strong>Katie Keitges</strong>, a junior, leads the region in points per game as she is scoring 23.5 a game. <strong>Pella</strong> Pella has the bye and will be playing the winner of Knoxville and Norwalk in the second round. They hold a win over both of those and are 4-2 against region opponents. Their only two losses have come to Grinnell. They have the best shooting percentage in the region and because of that they will always have a shot to knock someone off. Senior <strong>Emily Holterhaus</strong> is leading the charge for Pella averaging 15.6 points a game. <span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>The Outside Shot</strong></span></span><strong> </strong><strong>ADM</strong> After starting out the season at 7-1, ADM has struggled over the last half of the season going 7-7 in that span. A lot of that can be attributed to being a young team that has nine freshmen and sophomores on the team. They force a lot of turnovers on defense but do give the ball up quite a bit. This is a team with a shot at Grinnell if they can get by Carlisle. <strong>Abbie Hlas</strong>, a junior, leads the team in scoring with 13.7 points a game. <span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>Players to Watch</strong></span></span> <strong>2019</strong> Macy Harris (Grinnell) Emily Holterhaus (Pella) Naomi Jackson (Grinnell) Gianna Bellizzi (Norwalk) Grace Held (Pella) <strong style="font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 16px">2020</strong> Katie Keitges (Knoxville) Molly Hoekstra (Carlisle) Abbie Hlas (ADM) Delaney Bertman (ADM) Kennedy Preston (Carlisle) <strong>2021</strong> Maggie Wilkins (Knoxville) Madison Naig (Pella) Sydney Berg (Carlisle) Grace Hardcastle (ADM) Aniston Smith (ADM) <strong>2022</strong> Jocelyn Bice (Norwalk) Olivia Johnson (Norwalk) Meredith McKnight (Grinnell) Charlee Heffron (Knoxville) Bailey Van Voorst (Pella) &nbsp;