Down The Stretch: Class 1A

The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id="130379" first="Emma" last="Hoover"] of Northfield High School. As the regular season begins to wind down, and the IHSAA Sectional draw is set for tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, including today we have just seven days of eligibility left to play regular season games. The state tournament begins on February 2, and teams are ready to get going. With that in mind, I wanted to highlight a handful of teams in Class 1A who stand out for three very different reasons at this point in the season.   STRONG & STEADY I will call this the "usual suspect" list, as these four teams are regularly among the top in the state in Class 1A, and they continue to perform at a high level this season. Lanesville began their season with a loss, to Bedford North Lawrence, then rattled off 11 wins in a row. They currently sit at 17-3 and are a major threat to Loogootee’s return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse as the Class 1A South representative this season. Senior forward [player_tooltip player_id="22694" first="Gracie" last="Adams"] (20.3p, 7.8r, 3.0a, 2.6s) has been outstanding this year, posting 20 or more points on 11 occasions, including a 47-point outburst against West Washington in late-November. Sophomore forward [player_tooltip player_id="59789" first="Linzie" last="Wernert"] (11.8p, 6.0r, 2.4a, 2.8s) is a real threat as well for the Eagles, and she affects both ends of the floor with toughness and great effort. The Eagles of Jac-Cen-Del are no stranger to the spotlight, having won 12 Sectionals, four Regionals, a Semi-State, and a State title in the last 12 postseasons. They have once again put together a strong résumé with an 18-3 record, plus quality wins against Waldron, Whiteland, and Greensburg. They are a mostly veteran bunch, led by Senior front-liner [player_tooltip player_id="130348" first="Paige" last="Ledford"] (16.0p, 10.8r) and Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="182142" first="Annabelle" last="Williams"] (10.8p, 4.3r, 3.5a, 2.7s). Two of the most talented teams in Class 1A also hail from the South, and there will truly be battles won and lost next month in the Regional and Semi-State rounds. Greenwood Christian may present a 12-6 record right now, but three of their six losses have come to Class 4A Center Grove, Class 4A East Central, and a strong Class 2A Northeastern team. The Cougars boast four double-figure scorers, with Senior forward [player_tooltip player_id="35057" first="Isabella" last="Reed"] (23.5p, 13.6r, 3.9a, 2.2s) being their workhorse. She is highly effective inside at the Class 1A level, but she can also play in the mid-post and around the perimeter equally well and affect the game in so many ways. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="62575" first="Brooklyn" last="Stubblefield"] (16.0p, 2.8r, 2.9a, 3.6s) has certainly made her presence felt this year after transferring in, and she is looking more comfortable each week. Senior wing [player_tooltip player_id="184244" first="Savvanah" last="Frye"] (11.5p, 6.3r, 4.5a) is another versatile player who gives great effort at both ends of the floor, as is Junior wing Ellie Bigelow (10.5p, 2.0r, 2.0a, 2.2s). They have postponed the remainder of their regular season schedule, so let’s hope they are healthy come February. Another team down South who opponents are scared of is Trinity Lutheran. These Cougars have an incredible inside-out duo of Senior forward [player_tooltip player_id="35016" first="Sydney" last="Jaynes"] (18.9p, 9.2r, 3.3a, 2.6s, 3.6b) and Sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id="59779" first="Bailey" last="Tabeling"] (20.5p, 4.4r, 4.8a, 3.5s). Jaynes is an incredibly skilled, versatile, 6-3 front-liner who few, if any, Class 1A teams match up well against. Tabeling is a dynamic scorer with a great motor, toughness, and a pure perimeter stroke. Junior guard Kailene Cockerham (8.3p, 3.2r, 2.7a, 2.0s) is another key contributor for the Cougars. They are sitting at 17-3, plus they have already knocked off both Greenwood Christian and Lanesville earlier this month. If you want to pick Eagles or Cougars to represent Class 1A from the South, I think you’re pretty safe.   OVERACHIEVERS The Vikings of Blue River Valley have made for a nice success story, and while I figured they would be good this year, especially behind the play of 6-2 Junior post [player_tooltip player_id="97266" first="Ally" last="Madden"] (18.2p, 10.4r, 2.3a, 2.4s, 2.7b), I don’t know that many people thought they would be 16-2 at this point in the season, with wins over Shenandoah, Union City, and Northeastern. After Madden’s Freshman year, the Vikings graduated their entire backcourt of [player_tooltip player_id="36333" first="Lindsey" last="Williams"], Haley Foster, and Hannah Foster from a 20-7 Regional finalist team. Last year, Blue River Valley entered the state tournament with a modest 11-9 record, but they made quite the run, before finally losing to State Runner-Up Pioneer in the Semi-State round. Madden is the focal point, but a big piece of their successful 2020-2021 campaign can be attributed to the addition of Sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id="203655" first="Maci" last="Chamberlin"] (15.7p, 2.2r, 3.6a, 2.6s), a move-in from Winchester. She has given them quite the threat on the perimeter to compliment Madden’s interior presence. The Waldron Mohawks, on the other hand, haven’t had a great deal of success over the last 10 seasons, with their 16-7 mark in 2018-2019 representing their only year above .500 during that stretch. Last year they were a solid 12-12 and made it to the Sectional final, but Jac-Cen-Del seems to be their nemesis each time they make a run. JCD has already defeated Waldron this season, but the Mohawks are an impressive 15-3 overall and 10-1 since that early December loss to the Eagles, with their lone defeat during that stretch being at the hands of the perennially good Class 2A Triton Central Tigers. The Mohawks are a rather balanced, veteran team, getting their main contributions from a quartet of Juniors and a Senior. Junior wing Bella Larrison (11.0p, 6.2r, 2.0a) leads them in scoring and rebounding, while Senior guard Lauryn Thomas (8.5p, 2.9r, 3.9a) leads them in assists. Junior wing Nichole Garner (10.4p, 2.9r, 2.4a) is another double-figure scorer for Waldron. If they can ever figure out a way to get past Jac-Cen-Del, they could definitely give teams fits down the road with their balanced, team play.   POTENTIAL SLEEPERS For this section, I chose to select a couple of teams who were outside of the Class 1A Top-10 in terms of Sagarin Ratings at the time of their selection for this article. I think each of these teams is talented enough to make a deep run in the state tournament. One group who I think can really get places, and partly because they’re in the North half of Class 1A, are the Lady Norse of Northfield. They are Senior-laden, talented, skilled, and they’ve been places before. Two years ago, when these Seniors were Sophomores, they lost to eventual State Champion Marquette Catholic in the Semi-State. Last year, they were a Regional finalist, narrowly falling to Blue River Valley. So they are motivated, and if you get the chance to see them, just enjoy their height, length, and athleticism, plus their ability to make plays at both ends of the floor. Senior wing [player_tooltip player_id="130379" first="Emma" last="Hoover"] (11.1p, 3.5r, 3.2a, 2.8s), Senior forward [player_tooltip player_id="130376" first="Addi" last="Baker"] (11.5p, 6.4r, 2.7a, 2.7s), Senior wing [player_tooltip player_id="130347" first="Kyra" last="Kennedy"] (11.1p, 4.8r, 2.6a, 2.2s), and Senior wing [player_tooltip player_id="158394" first="Kearston" last="Stout"] (9.9p, 6.7r) are the primary catalysts for the Lady Norse. They are currently 13-5, but they have rattled off an impressive eight-game win streak after beginning the season 5-5. Another team I think can go deep in the tournament, and someone I’ve celebrated here before, are the Indians of Union City. They are another veteran group, though primarily Juniors, and they have all the pieces to make a nice postseason run. When these girls were in Junior High, they saw their Indians make a State Finals appearance in 2016-2017, falling to Wood Memorial. However, Union City is only 1-3 in postseason play since, without even a Sectional finals visit. This could be the year, though, that they make another run. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="182140" first="Skylie" last="Lutz"] (16.9p, 5.4r, 2.9a) has proven she can be an explosive scorer at times, posting 41 points against Knightstown back in early December. Junior wing [player_tooltip player_id="97326" first="Mariah" last="Claywell"] (15.9p, 9.5r, 4.1a, 3.3s) is a versatile player who can battle inside or play comfortably around the perimeter. 6-1 Junior post [player_tooltip player_id="243576" first="Emily" last="Livingston"] (13.2p, 9.9r) has stepped up this season, and she gives the Indians a nice interior presence to combat any opposing post play. While Union City is just 11-8 at this time, they have played the most aggressive schedule they’ve probably ever seen, with their losses all coming to quality opponents like Jay County, Northeastern, Tipton, Shenandoah, Blue River Valley, Greenwood Christian, Winchester, and Tri. On the other end of the spectrum are the Caston Comets. They haven’t posted a winning season since 2013-2014, and they’ve only won two Sectional games since then. Last year, even, they were just 5-19 on the year. But the addition of two key Freshmen has made the Comets a contender. They are suddenly 14-5 in 2020-2021, and they’ve won six of their last seven games. Along the way, they managed to knock off Northfield by 11 points, plus they gave Class 3A power Knox (19-3) trouble before falling by a six-point margin. And, what is scary for opponents about young kids excelling is, they don’t care if they are supposed to succeed or not, and they enter every game carefree and energetic. They could really cause problems in the North in Class 1A. Freshman wing [player_tooltip player_id="239357" first="Isabel" last="Scales"] (13.2p, 4.7r, 3.7a, 3.2s) has immediately taken a leadership role on the court, and she leads the Comets in scoring, assists, and steals. Freshman guard Addison Zimpleman (8.2p, 2.8r, 2.6a, 2.3s) is her backcourt running mate, and she has put together a nice rookie season. Senior front-liner Jordan Clingler (7.1p, 4.9r) is their leading rebounder, plus she has four years of Varsity experience. If teams don’t respect the Comets come tournament time, they could be headed home quickly.