Regional Preview: Class 2A South
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The featured image is of Brynna Collins Brynna Collins 5'7" | SG North Knox | 2025 State IN (2025) of North Knox High School. Following a pair of Sectional championship games Monday evening, the Regional fields are now set. This…
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Continue ReadingThe featured image is of Brynna Collins Brynna Collins 5'7" | SG North Knox | 2025 State IN (2025) of North Knox High School.
Following a pair of Sectional championship games Monday evening, the Regional fields are now set. This season, the IHSAA decided to make the Regional a one-game affair to win a title, with two Regional games at the same host site, similar to past Semi-States. Therefore, there will now be two Regional winners at each site. The Semi-States will be a four-team, three-game event next Saturday, where teams in each class must win twice to advance to the State Finals. As for the Regionals, below is a look at the two Regionals in Class 2A taking place in the Southern half of the state.
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Southmont Regional:
Game-1: Eastern Hancock (22-3) vs. University (20-4), 1:00 p.m. ET
Game-2: Greencastle (22-4) vs. Union County (16-9), 4:00 p.m. ET
Game-1: This first game at the Southmont Regional should be outstanding. Eastern Hancock hasn’t lost since December 6th, winning 13 games in a row. They are deep, balanced, and can score the ball from all five positions. Senior Grace Stapleton Grace Stapleton 5'5" | PG Eastern Hancock | 2023 IN plays with great poise and control, plus she’s an excellent perimeter shooter. The Bolding sisters, Senior Emma Bolding and Junior Sammie Bolding, offer Stapleton support in the backcourt, plus Junior wing Makenzie O’Neal is a nice, versatile forward. 6-1 Junior post Ruby White Ruby White 6'1" | C Eastern Hancock | 2024 IN will be needed defensively, plus she continues to impact games more and more offensively. University also plays with a great deal of balance and talent. 6-2 Senior Kelsey DuBois Kelsey DuBois 6'2" | PF University | 2023 State IN , plus Senior wing Payton Seay Payton Seay 5'6" | SF University | 2023 State IN have a great deal of tournament experience and are looking to continue their season all the way until the end. Senior guard Jordan Patterson Jordan Patterson 5'5" | CG University | 2023 IN is right there with them in terms of past experience, and Sophomore Taylor Seay Taylor Seay 5'8" | SF University | 2025 IN is a really nice athlete in her second year as a Varsity contributor. The Trailblazers are always a touch matchup, and they themselves haven’t lost since December 3rd, putting together a 14-game winning streak of their own. This is an incredibly tough pick’em game. I think Eastern Hancock is a little deeper, but University is more talented at key positions. As long as University can keep players on the floor, I’ll give them the slight advantage…Trailblazers 51, Royals 47.
Game-2: Greencastle is in the middle of their best season of the 2000s, and they won their first Sectional since 2013. Senior guard Gloria Brewer Gloria Brewer 5'7" | SG Greencastle | 2023 State IN has a lot to do with that. She is the ultimate competitor, she plays with a great motor, and she can do a little of everything for her team. She is a talented scorer with a little range, she can find open teammates, but she also gets after it at the defensive end of the floor. Senior Emma Hunter and Junior Evelyn Briones have been key pieces for the Tiger Cubs this season as well. Hunter does a little inside-out, while Briones is a perimeter threat. Union County is in the Regional for the second consecutive year, both times following an “upset” win in the Sectional. The Lady Patriots have seen several quality graduates leave the last couple of Springs, but they seem to find people to step up. This year, they are more of the epitome of team, finding contributions throughout their roster, in turn making them difficult to defend. Senior Shelby Hill and Sophomore Katie McCashland are their top scorers, but the Patriots rely on everyone to make plays in a team-first environment. It seems to me like this is Greencastle’s year, so I am going to take the Tiger Cubs in this one, but I expect Union County to put up a good fight early on. I’ll take Greencastle by a 49-38 margin.
Players to Watch:
Eastern Hancock –
Grace Stapleton
Grace
Stapleton
5'5" | PG
Eastern Hancock | 2023
IN
, 2023 – 15.8p, 3.6r, 5.1a, 3.4s
Eastern Hancock – Sammie Bolding, 2024 – 11.5p, 2.3a, 2.3s
Eastern Hancock –
Ruby White
Ruby
White
6'1" | C
Eastern Hancock | 2024
IN
, 2024 – 8.3p, 6.5r
Eastern Hancock – Emma Bolding, 2023 – 7.9p, 3.7r
Eastern Hancock – Makenzie O’Neal, 2024 – 7.0p, 4.8r, 2.1a, 2.1s
Greencastle –
Gloria Brewer
Gloria
Brewer
5'7" | SG
Greencastle | 2023
State
IN
, 2023 – 25.9p, 10.8r, 3.3a, 4.8s
Greencastle – Emma Hunter, 2023 – 15.0p, 5.1r, 3.2s
Greencastle – Evelyn Briones, 2024 – 9.7p, 2.5r
Greencastle – Madi Plew, 2024 – 3.4p, 3.8r
Union County – Shelby Hill, 2023 – 10.2p, 7.3r
Union County – Katie McCashland, 2025 – 9.2p, 3.2r, 2.2s
Union County – Brooke Fields, 2023 – 6.2p, 2.6r, 3.8a, 2.4s
Union County – Carly McCashland, 2023 – 4.7p, 2.2r
University –
Payton Seay
Payton
Seay
5'6" | SF
University | 2023
State
IN
, 2023 – 20.3p, 7.7r, 2.8a, 2.7s
University –
Kelsey DuBois
Kelsey
DuBois
6'2" | PF
University | 2023
State
IN
, 2023 – 15.3p, 11.2r, 2.7a, 3.5b
University –
Jordan Patterson
Jordan
Patterson
5'5" | CG
University | 2023
IN
, 2023 – 8.2p, 3.0r, 2.9a
University –
Taylor Seay
Taylor
Seay
5'8" | SF
University | 2025
IN
, 2025 – 7.7p, 3.2r
University – Keira Bright, 2024 – 5.7p, 2.0a
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Crawford County Regional:
Game-1: South Ripley (16-9) vs. North Knox (26-1), 4:00 p.m. ET
Game-2: Brownstown Central (19-7) vs. Forest Park (22-3), 7:00 p.m. ET
Game-1: South Ripley had big moments in the Sectional, avenging an 18-point loss to North Decatur by beating them 41-35 in the Sectional first round. Then they avenged a nine-point loss to Switzerland County be defeating them 47-36 in the Sectional Semifinal. Now, they are here, riding a five-game win streak. Senior Katelynn Samples is the leading scorer and rebounder for the Lady Raiders, but they get production from their entire lineup. That could work to their benefit tomorrow. Then there is North Knox sitting there at 26-1, winners of 10 in a row, with their lone loss coming by a single point to Brownstown Central (below). The Lady Warriors are doing it with mostly Sophomores and Freshmen as well, so they could make deep tourney runs for the next couple of seasons. Sophomore wings Alex McKinley Alex McKinley 5'8" | SG North Knox | 2025 State IN and Brynna Collins Brynna Collins 5'7" | SG North Knox | 2025 State IN provide the offensive punch for North Knox., but they have quite a bit of depth as well. The Lady Warriors are the clear-cut favorites here, and that’s the direction I will lean. North Knox beats South Ripley, 51-33.
Game-2: The second game at Crawford County features the defending State Champs in Forest Park, versus an always competitive Brownstown Central squad. Brownstown leans heavily on the Senior duo of Madelyn Hackman Madelyn Hackman 5'8" | SG Brownstown Central | 2023 State IN and Kalee Borden, and those two are really nice ballplayers. Hackman is an accurate shooter with deep range and playmaking ability. But Forest Park has nice size, four starters returning from last year’s group, one of which is 6-1 Senior Amber Tretter Amber Tretter 6'1" | PF Forest Park | 2023 State IN , who is headed to Division-I Miami University (Ohio) next season. Forest Park should be stronger on the boards and defensively, plus Seniors Lydia Betz Lydia Betz 5'10" | SF Forest Park | 2023 State IN and Carley Begle Carley Begle 5'9" | PF Forest Park | 2023 IN are nice compliments to Tretter. It would take a great effort on Brownstown’s part to upset the Lady Rangers. With that said, I will take Forest Park in this one, 48-38.
Players to Watch:
Brownstown –
Madelyn Hackman
Madelyn
Hackman
5'8" | SG
Brownstown Central | 2023
State
IN
, 2023
Brownstown – Kalee Borden, 2023
Forest Park –
Amber Tretter
Amber
Tretter
6'1" | PF
Forest Park | 2023
State
IN
, 2023
Forest Park –
Lydia Betz
Lydia
Betz
5'10" | SF
Forest Park | 2023
State
IN
, 2023
Forest Park –
Carley Begle
Carley
Begle
5'9" | PF
Forest Park | 2023
IN
, 2023
Forest Park – Gabey Gray, 2023
North Knox –
Alex McKinley
Alex
McKinley
5'8" | SG
North Knox | 2025
State
IN
, 2025 – 11.2p, 4.3r
North Knox –
Brynna Collins
Brynna
Collins
5'7" | SG
North Knox | 2025
State
IN
, 2025 – 9.3p, 4.6r, 2.7s
North Knox –
Lexi Primus
Lexi
Primus
5'8" | SG
North Knox | 2026
State
IN
, 2026 – 7.9p
North Knox –
Brooklyn Sturgeon
Brooklyn
Sturgeon
5'3" | CG
North Knox | 2025
IN
, 2025 – 6.5p, 2.3r
North Knox – Reegan Hammelman, 2023 – 5.7p, 4.2r, 2.8a
South Ripley – Katelynn Samples, 2023 – 9.5, 7.0r
South Ripley – Emily Flood, 2023 – 8.3p, 3.5r
South Ripley – Reese Obendorf, 2024 – 7.9p, 5.4r, 2.0s
South Ripley – Lydia Cornett, 2024 – 6.8p, 3.3r, 2.0a, 2.0s