State Finals Preview: Class 3A & Class 4A

The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id="96086" first="RaShunda" last="Jones"] of South Bend’s Washington High School. We have now made it through an entire regular season, as well as the state tournament, with just four games left to play. This weekend marks the 46th annual IHSAA girls’ basketball State Finals, taking place once again at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The uniqueness to this year, is that since there are COVID protocols necessary, the games will be split into two days, with the Class 2A game being played Friday night, and the other three games being played throughout Saturday. Below is a look at the Class 3A and Class 4A State Championships, with breakdowns and analysis of those two games, plus predictions of the potential outcomes. (All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time.)   SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27th - 3:30 PM - CLASS 3A FINAL 22-5 Washington High School (South Bend, IN) The Panthers of South Bend Washington look to bring home just the third State Championship in school history in any sport, and the first since the girls’ basketball team won their lone one in 2007. The path has been long and distinguished, having taken on a much tougher schedule this season, plus in their six-game tournament run so far, they’ve knocked off ranked teams in Mishawaka Marian and Norwell. Last weekend, Washington jump out to a big lead early, then held Norwell at bay, before finally ending the Knights’ run, 61-40. Yes, they have leaders in each of the different statistical categories, but it’s difficult to single out one player to stop, as they can come at you from a number of different directions. 6-2 Junior forward [player_tooltip player_id="97241" first="Mila" last="Reynolds"] (19.0p, 9.0r, 2.2b) is the Panthers’ leading scorer and rebounder. She is strong and athletic inside, she’s great in the mid-post, but she can knock down the 3-pointer as well. Sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id="96086" first="RaShunda" last="Jones"] (17.5p, 4.2r, 3.5a, 4.3s) has had an outstanding Sophomore campaign. She is long, quick/fast, and explosive in all directions. She simply makes plays at both ends of the floor. 6-0 Sophomore point guard [player_tooltip player_id="59769" first="Amiyah" last="Reynolds"] (10.0p, 7.4r, 6.7a, 4.0s) may not score as much as the other two, but she might be their best playmaker. She is so smooth, long, fluid, and highly skilled with the ball in her hands. 6-4 Senior post [player_tooltip player_id="130364" first="Francisca" last="Galicia"] (4.7p, 4.9r, 2.3b) continues to shine on the big stage now, and she gives them a presence most opponents can’t counter. Junior forward Shamarah Allen (7.5p, 5.2r, 2.3s) is an explosive athlete who makes plays, Senior guard Camiya Robinson (2.6p) is a quick little water-bug who defends hard, and Junior forward Lauren Gillon (2.4p, 2.9r) adds strength and some physicality off the bench. 24-3 Silver Creek High School (Sellersburg, IN) The Silver Creek Dragons are making their first appearance in the State Finals, but they also find themselves competing to help build their school’s State Championship résumé, as their boys’ basketball crown in 2019 is the lone title Silver Creek High School possesses in any sport. They, like Washington, have played a challenging schedule, with their three losses all coming to Class 4A powers, and none by more than 10 points. Additionally, they are the lone team to have knocked off Class 4A North representative Crown Point this season. Their tourney path has also taken them through highly ranked Class 3A teams like Salem and Evansville Memorial. Again, like Washington, it’s hard to call anyone a go-to player, as they can hurt you from any number of positions. 6-0 Senior forward [player_tooltip player_id="88414" first="Marissa" last="Gasaway"] (12.4p, 12.2r) and Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="130316" first="Alana" last="Striverson"] (12.4p, 3.7r, 2.9a) are the co-leading scorers entering the game, while Gasaway is also the team’s leading rebounder. In fact, Gasaway snagged 20 caroms against Tri-West last Saturday. Junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id="128116" first="Kynidi" last="Striverson"] (10.8p, 5.1r, 4.6a) and Senior wing [player_tooltip player_id="62561" first="Jaclyn" last="Emly"] (10.9p, 3.6r) give them four double-digit scorers. The younger Striverson can affect the game whether or not she’s scoring it, as she is an elite defender and a tremendous creator/passer. Emly is a dangerous shooter from the perimeter, and she plays with a nice motor. Junior guards [player_tooltip player_id="128122" first="Emme" last="Rooney"] (4.7p, 2.7r) and Sydney Sierota (5.1p, 2.4r), plus Senior wing Savannah Kirchgessner (2.9p, 2.1r) have shown the ability to make teams pay when they play off of them. Rooney starts and brings good energy and toughness, Sierota is another ball-handler who can score it as well, and Kirchgessner is a nice jump-shooter who plays with a motor. Class 3A Prediction: They say big-time players make big-time plays, and both of these teams certainly have big-time players. South Bend Washington is definitely taller and longer, and on paper they look like the more talented team. Their size and length will definitely cause problems for Silver Creek, but the Dragons can match them with speed and athleticism. This will sound a little odd, but if the Dragons can play a little lower than Washington, meaning more bounce passes and ball-fakes, and attack gaps low and strong, then they can get inside of the Panthers’ zone and get a lot of nice mid-post scoring opportunities, which Norwell figured out a little too late last weekend. The Panthers can’t come in just expecting to win because they’re more talented. They will need to have a plan to run Silver Creek off the 3-point line, plus they’ll need to be a little more efficient in their half-court offense so the Dragons don’t get too many transition opportunities and beat the Panther size down the floor. This is honestly a coin flip for me. I think I am going to lean toward South Bend Washington in this one, but narrowly, and possibly by a last-possession score. I’ll take the Panthers, 59-57.   SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27th - 8:00 PM - CLASS 4A FINAL 24-1 Crown Point High School (Crown Point, IN) The Crown Point Bulldogs have posted a 50-2 record over the last two seasons, but this year than can cap all of that off with their first girls’ basketball State Championship since 1985, and their third overall. Outside of their conference schedule, the remaining opponents are a who’s who of teams, ranging from Silver Creek (above), to Lawrence North, Castle, Penn, and Carroll (Fort Wayne). Last weekend, it took them a couple of quarters to shake the Carroll Chargers, but they finally put them away, 62-46. Statistically, it looks like there are just two players to worry about for the Bulldogs, but when you watch them, you realize they are much deeper than that. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="61030" first="Jessica" last="Carrothers"] (23.3p, 5.3r, 4.0a, 4.1s) and 6-4 Junior forward [player_tooltip player_id="128115" first="Lilly" last="Stoddard"] (10.9p, 9.0r, 2.3b) do stand out for the Bulldogs as elite talents. Carrothers is a nonstop energy-giver who flies around the floor constantly making plays. She can knock down shots outside, she’s great attacking the basket and finishing inside, plus she finds open teammates, she rebounds, and she gets after it defensively. Stoddard is so long, fluidly athletic, and very bouncy at 6-4. She is a mismatch just on ability, but when you consider her touch/skill in the mid-post and around the block, it will be tough for Brownsburg to match up against. From there, the Santiago sisters are a terror at the defensive end. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="62555" first="Alyna" last="Santiago"] (7.7p, 2.9r, 2.9a, 2.6s) and Junior wing [player_tooltip player_id="128172" first="Alyvia" last="Santiago"] (5.5p) hound the opposing ball-handlers wherever they go, and they will certainly be unsettling for Brownsburg this weekend. Junior forward [player_tooltip player_id="243580" first="Nikki" last="Gerodemos"] (6.3p, 4.5r) and Senior wing Allie Govert (5.4p, 2.5r) bring additional experience and versatility to the lineup. Gerodemos has been strong down the stretch, and she adds interior defense and rebounding. Govert is another perimeter player who can make an open jumper when needed. They have four other ladies who could see the floor if necessary, but who and when will depend on matchups and situations. 17-10 Brownsburg High School (Brownsburg, IN) Of the eight teams playing this weekend, the Brownsburg Bulldogs certainly appear to be the Cinderella of the Ball. They entered the state tournament with just an 11-10 record, they were even 5-8 through 13 games, and they had seen the ups and downs of a trying season. But they played a brutal schedule and had some close games, both wins and losses, against the state’s best teams. Now, they sit just 32 minutes away from winning the sixth State Championship for Brownsburg High School in any sport, and their first in girls’ basketball. These purple Bulldogs, unlike several of the teams remaining, do have a clear-cut leader they lean on in Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="10665" first="Ally" last="Becki"] (17.9p, 7.9r, 2.9a, 4.1s). She has been more of a traditional point guard throughout her career, and she is still a willing distributor, but she has needed to score the ball at a much higher level this year for Brownsburg to succeed. She outscored Franklin herself last week, with 31 points on a near-perfect shooting performance. But she does it all, as in rebounding and defending as well. She can be the game-changer these Bulldogs need, but she’ll need help tomorrow. After Becki, the Bulldogs are rather deep and balanced, and oftentimes matchups set the lineup. They can play several guards or a lot of size, and they can get needed contributions from all over. The most likely to contribute are Sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id="59780" first="Kailyn" last="Terrell"] (6.6p), Junior guard Miya Webb (5.8p), Junior forward [player_tooltip player_id="128179" first="Novalee" last="Glass"] (4.2p, 2.6), Sophomore front-liner [player_tooltip player_id="127239" first="Quinci" last="Thomas"] (3.7p, 5.1r), Junior wing Kiera Guckenberger (4.0p, 3.0r), and Junior forward [player_tooltip player_id="128190" first="Ra’Mya" last="Milton"] (2.0p). Terrell and Webb are both solid ball-handlers who can run offense or knock down open shots. Glass is a strong and physical interior player, while Thomas is a bouncy and athletic rebounder/defender. Guckenberger and Milton use their versatility to affect the game at both ends. Class 4A Prediction: No matter what, I know I am taking the Bulldogs in this one, so at least that much is clear. The Crown Point Bulldogs are battled-tested, they have won a lot of games, and they have a nice duo to lead them into action. I’m not sure the Brownsburg Bulldogs can stop Carrothers from putting up numbers, but they’ll send different defenders at her throughout. I’m curious to see if Brownsburg will use the strength of Glass or the athleticism of Thomas to defend Stoddard early on, as that will also be an interesting matchup. On the other side, Brownsburg has also played a top-level schedule, but expect both Santiagos and possibly Carrothers to take turns on Becki, even trapping her in situations to make her give the ball up. Brownsburg will need a plan to continually get Becki open, because she might see as much individual pressure and denial defense as she ever has. I don’t know that Crown Point has that many more weapons or more depth than Brownsburg, but what I think is that Crown Point has a better shot at containing Becki, than Brownsburg has at containing Carrothers and/or Stoddard. I like Crown Point in this one, though I think it will be under 10 points. Give me the Northwest Indiana Bulldogs over the Central Indiana Bulldogs, 55-46.