Division 1 Sectional 1 Predictions

Over the next ten days, I'll predict what happens in each sectional. Every day, we'll look at two sectionals until we wrap things up, and after that, we'll look at what you all said in the poll I posted and see what you all think will happen this season. We'll start with D1 Sectionals 1 and 2, and tomorrow, we'll look at D5 Sectionals 3 and 4 until we meet in the middle.   Sectional One in D1 has been a traditional power with some of the top individual talent in the state. It may not have the top-end talent it had in past seasons, but this sectional still has some game-changers running around this sectional. Here are the Sectional Finalists and Regional Champions I have this season.   Regional Champion: Appleton East   The Patriots have all the talent to contend for a trip to the Resch Center this season. A collection of talent like [player_tooltip player_id='448322' first='Torie' last='Neubauer']-[player_tooltip player_id='338969' first='Lilly' last='Meulemans']-[player_tooltip player_id='749048' first='Ella' last='Sweeney'] is the best trio here, and depth pieces like [player_tooltip player_id='813295' first='Jenna' last='Ott'], Emilia Montmarquette, and possibly others give them the edge on talent over others.   Things didn't click for them last season, and it never felt like they fired on all cylinders at any point. The Patriots have played down to their level of competition.   Some of the issues they faced last year may have been the carousel of coaches that have come and gone the last few seasons, but there aren't any excuses this season. The talent is there. The sectional isn't as loaded as it's been in the past. They're the third fourth-best team in their sectional and give themselves a shot to play in sectionals and possibly earn a shocking birth to the state tournament.   Regional Champion: SPASH   The young upstart in Sectional 1 is the SPASH Panthers. Barring injuries, I don't see that changing.   [player_tooltip player_id='764935' first='Jada' last='Seubert'] is one of the fastest-rising 2027s in the Midwest, and she's coming off a season where a whistle goes their way; Seubert and the Panthers are playing in the second weekend of the tournament. Her ability to create something out of nothing and score from all three levels with the ball in her hands is like [player_tooltip player_id='374227' first='Rainey' last='Welson'] in this sectional. That's about it. Jada is that talented.   The addition of [player_tooltip player_id='936786' first='Leah' last='Awe'] gives them a talent influx in their frontcourt that they haven't had in a while, and her ability to affect the game in multiple facets could be a game-changer for the Panthers. However, it's difficult to say what she'll be like in year one because there isn't much to go off, but the talent is there.   Due to the high-end talent the Panthers have, I wouldn't be stunned if they ended up playing in a Sectional Final this March, even if that may be a step too far.   Sectional Runner-Up: Hudson   The Raiders were Regional Champions a year ago, and they've got as much youth talent as anywhere in the state.   The most significant player, [player_tooltip player_id='751276' first='Olivia' last='LaBlanc'], is back from her knee injury and has a chance to be a dominant force in the Big Rivers and beyond this season. The 6'0 lefty had flashes of brilliance before she went down with her knee injury last December, but the skillset is still there for her to utilize and pick defenses apart.   The Raiders backcourt is stout with [player_tooltip player_id='814306' first='Devin' last='Larson'] and Jaydn Mataczyinski. Hudson also has a solid pair of kids who can play in the frontcourt with [player_tooltip player_id='914300' first='Ella' last='Wolfe'] and [player_tooltip player_id='992505' first='Libby' last='Bartz'].   I don't believe there's much of a gap between this season's Hudson team and my pick for this sectional.   Sectional Champion: Hortonville   My rule is to pick the teams with the best backcourts because that's what wins at the high school level. I don't think you'll find much better than one with [player_tooltip player_id='374227' first='Rainey' last='Welson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='533074' first='Kardyn' last='Peppler'].   They lost their frontcourt talent from the last few seasons in MiKayla Werner and Kallie Peppler, who faced off in their college debuts. Due to their departures, Hortonville will likely play much differently.   The Polar Bears might be a team that plays a frantic style of basketball with some of their auxiliary talents, like [player_tooltip player_id='751269' first='Madelyn' last='Springer'], Mallory Werner, Leah Hearly if she's healthy, and [player_tooltip player_id='1039240' first='Julieyn' last='Martin'].   All of their players are solid athletes and can play in a frantic style of pressing basketball, which would be interesting to see how that plays out. However, the Peppler-Welson backcourt is genuinely lethal.   Other teams to watch: Appleton North, Neenah

Over the next ten days, I'll predict what happens in each sectional. Every day, we'll look at two sectionals until we wrap things up, and after that, we'll look at what you all said in the poll I posted and see what you all think will happen this season. We'll start with D1 Sectionals 1 and 2, and tomorrow, we'll look at D5 Sectionals 3 and 4 until we meet in the middle.