Checking In On Other Contenders in D5

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Today's the final day of going through divisions before most schools get their playoff push going tomorrow night. The final division on the docket is Division 5, so let's start with the No. 1s and then close with other contenders.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Webster</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Webster split the season series with their potential Sectional Semifinal opponent, Clear Lake.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers play an aggressive 2-3 zone that they extend to attempt to earn some steals close to halfcourt. A kid like Lauren Hetfield has thrived being able to explode at cross-court passes that she's turned into open layups. The whole team is like that, making them a tough team to prepare for.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Turtle Lake</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lakers are an odd group. They finished around the top of the middle of the pack in the Lakeland-West but showed flashes of a team that could beat anyone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Having a kid who's led the conference in scoring, like [player_tooltip player_id='521879' first='Mackenzie' last='Tarman'], gives them a puncher's chance in every game they're in. Few kids can defend Tarman one-on-one in D5, and even though they're a 3-seed, the top two seeds are teams they've already seen twice.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Athens</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For most teams, losing a kid like [player_tooltip player_id='849573' first='Addison' last='Lavicka'] in AAU is a death blow. However, this group has come together well throughout the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kids like Jazelle Hartwig and [player_tooltip player_id='849580' first='Sophia' last='Koker'] have improved and give them as much as they physically can, and they earned a 4-seed in their sectional.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As a No. 4 seed, if they get by Pacelli, I could see this team making it to the state tournament in March.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lourdes Academy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The maturing process for this group has taken some time, but it feels like Lourdes is ready to make a run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='448293' first='Hailee' last='Bauer'] has grown into a reliable scorer at the D5 level and led the Knights to a Trailways-East title last season with an undefeated record.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They may not be favored to get out of their sectional or even sub-sectional. However, if Bauer gets on a roll, anything is possible.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->