2025-26 Season Preview: Class 1A, Sectional 50

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I've always enjoyed offering preseason coverage of each of the 64 Sectionals in Indiana high school basketball, and last year I felt like I got a little behind and didn't finish with the previews until after Thanksgiving. With that said, as we come up on September, I wanted to get out in front of it this year and offer you a glimpse at what the 2025-26 season could hold with a preview of each of the state's 64 Sectionals once again. During the Spring of 2024, the IHSAA moved to a traditional enrollment-based format, realigning all classes with hard enrollment cutoff lines per class instead of taking nearly 400 schools and simply dividing them into four equal classes. With that said, each class has been more competitive, but the bigger classes have fewer teams than the smaller classes. This article serves as one of many previewing each Sectional in the state. In this specific article, I will take a look at Class 1A, Sectional #50. Below is a look at the teams in that Sectional, along with some general comments and analysis.<br><small>(<em>SAG = Final 2024-2025 Multiclass Sagarin Rating (398 teams); SOS = Final 2024-2025 Strength of Schedule</em>)</small></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><font color="#FFFFFF">.</font></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+2">Sectional #50 at West Central</font></strong><br>Tri-County (22-3), SAG 86, SOS 312<br>West Central (15-9), SAG 212, SOS 320<br>Pioneer (12-13), SAG 228, SOS 305<br>DeMotte Christian (18-6), SAG 245, SOS 344<br>North White (9-15), SAG 275, SOS 299<br>Caston (7-16), SAG 281, SOS 268<br>North Newton (8-15), SAG 355, SOS 363<br>South Newton (0-18), SAG 377, SOS 354</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Due to a number of graduation losses across the board, Sectional #50 could be wide open for anyone to take in 2025-2026. Tri-County will likely come back to the pack, following the loss of three of their top four performers. West Central, however, could be that team everyone is aiming for, at least early this season. A lot depends on the health of 6-0 Junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1259578' first='Madisyn' last='DeMoss']</strong> (<em>10.4p, 8.3r, 1.0a, 1.6s, 3.3b</em>), who was reportedly injured during the Spring. She was a budding star a year ago, and she could be a matchup problem this season, if available. 5-6 Senior point guard <strong>Sydney Mellon</strong> (<em>6.6p, 3.5r, 1.8a, 1.8s</em>) provides the Senior leadership, while a host of Juniors and Sophomores litter the roster. The best of the bunch are 5-6 guard <strong>Macie Allen</strong> (<em>5.9p, 1.2r, 1.1a, 1.0s</em>), 5-7 point guard <strong>Katie Scholz</strong> (<em>4.0p, 2.9r, 2.5a, 1.5s</em>), and 5-8 wing <strong>Emily Bunger</strong> (<em>2.9p, 3.1r, 1.1a, 1.8s</em>), all Juniors, plus 5-7 guard <strong>Cassidy Lattimore</strong> (<em>2.0p, 2.3r, 1.0a, 2.7s</em>), a Sophomore. The Trojans are certainly one of the deepest teams in Sectional #50.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North White is a team who always plays with heart and toughness, and they return their top two players, but they graduated most of the rest of their rotation. 5-10 Senior front-liner <strong>Autumn Reif</strong> (<em>12.4p, 9.1r, 2.4s, 1.2b</em>) is a 4-year starter and as hard of a worker inside as anyone in the Sectional. Look for her to potentially average a double-double this season for the Vikings. Sophomore point guard <strong>Ella Hunt</strong> (<em>6.2p, 2.6r, 1.9a, 2.1s</em>) saw plenty of action as a rookie and should be much more comfortable in a key role in her second season. Junior forward <strong>Katy Westerhouse</strong> (<em>2.6p, 2.9r</em>) is the third most experienced player in the lineup, and she should help stabilize the frontcourt. Beyond those three, it will be a mostly new crew. However, if those three can each step up their game just a little, they will play several close, competitive games and could simply outwork opponents for victories.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The dark horse of the group could be the Caston Comets. They spent last year going through a youth movement, seeing a pair of Freshmen and a pair of Sophomores in their top four. Now Sophomores and Juniors, the Comets look to have as experienced and talented of a starting lineup as anyone. 5-6 Junior point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='890801' first='Madisyn' last='Douglass']</strong> (<em>15.8p, 5.9r, 1.3a, 3.6s</em>) might be the best returning player in Sectional #50. She's hard-working, skilled, and very crafty with the ball, plus she has developed into a versatile scorer. 5-6 Sophomore point guard <strong>Grace Colvin</strong> (<em>7.2p, 4.2r, 2.0a, 1.2s</em>) adds another ball-handler to the mix, relieving some of the pressure from Douglass to have to fulfill all roles in the Comet backcourt. 6-1 Junior post <strong>Natalie Warner</strong> (<em>3.3p, 6.0r, 1.1b</em>) and 5-8 Sophomore forward <strong>Allison Craig</strong> (<em>3.0p, 4.3r, 1.0s</em>) offer Caston a rebounding and defensive presence around the paint. If the Comets can find some consistency out of a couple of move-ups from their Junior Varsity group, they could overtake the top spot in Sectional #50 by season's end.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Additional Players to Keep an Eye On:</strong> DeMotte Christian: 5-9 Senior wing <strong>Cassie Nanninga</strong> (<em>5.9p, 1.8r, 1.6a, 2.6s</em>) and 5-11 Senior forward <strong>Cora Dyke</strong> (<em>3.4p, 1.8r</em>); North Newton: 5-4 Sophomore guard <strong>Tatum Cahill</strong> (<em>4.6p, 3.5r, 1.5a, 2.0s</em>) and 5-9 Sophomore forward <strong>Addison Culbreth</strong> (<em>2.9p, 4.7r, 1.8s</em>); Pioneer: Senior guard <strong>Mia McKaig</strong> (<em>10.2p, 5.6r, 1.8a, 2.5s</em>) and Senior forward <strong>Hannah Zeigler</strong> (<em>3.5p, 3.1r</em>); South Newton: 5-10 Junior forward <strong>Avalin Bohlinger</strong> (<em>6.6p, 5.4r, 1.2b</em>) and 5-5 Junior guard <strong>Faye Springsteen</strong> (<em>4.8p, 2.9r, 1.3a, 2.6s</em>); Tri-County: 5-3 Senior guard <strong>Grace Luck</strong> (<em>5.7p, 2.2r, 2.3a, 3.7s</em>) and 5-8 Sophomore forward <strong>Maddie Iseminger</strong> (<em>5.3p, 3.0r, 1.7a</em>)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->