2025-26 Season Preview: Class 2A, Sectional 45

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are now into the Southern Sectionals for Class 2A. With official IHSAA practices starting last week, I wanted to continue offering 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 64 previewing each Sectional in the state. In this specific article, I will take a look at Class 2A, Sectional #45. 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 #45 at Austin</font></strong><br>Brownstown Central (22-6), SAG 55, SOS 97<br>Austin (20-4), SAG 111, SOS 165<br>South Ripley (14-10), SAG 146, SOS 188<br>Southwestern (Hanover) (16-9), SAG 206, SOS 319<br>Switzerland County (8-16), SAG 279, SOS 213<br>Brown County (2-18), SAG 330, SOS 291</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lady Braves of Brownstown Central just keep moving along, as last season they posted their ninth consecutive season with at least 15 wins, plus they added another Regional Championship. While they graduated a couple of key starters from the last few years, they did add back a skilled youngster who missed the entire 2024-2025 season. The Lady Braves looked solid in June, and I think they could still cause problems in Sectional #45. Their most talented returnee is 5-9 Senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='928931' first='Sophie' last='Wischmeier']</strong> (<em>8.6p, 8.2r, 1.5a, 1.8s</em>). She is a skilled multisport athlete who can play just about any role they need in the moment. 5-6 Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='486520' first='Harley' last='Toppe']</strong> (<em>11.2p, 1.9r, 2.2a, 1.7s</em>) has always been a dangerous perimeter shooter who played off of others, but this season she might transition into more of a primary ball-handler role. In June, she got comfortable there and was extremely feisty defensively. I am also intrigued by 5-9 Senior forward <strong>Hailey Hobson</strong>. She is extremely long &amp; wiry, fairly fluid, somewhat bouncy, and she has shown flashes of playing at each level. 5-8 Senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='486510' first='Jada' last='Miller']</strong> also returns experience and does a nice job of rebounding and defending around the elbows. One player who could make a big difference, literally and figuratively, is 6-1 Junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='750165' first='Claire' last='Brock']</strong>. She opted not to play last Winter but was present again by June. She is skilled, fairly athletic, and hard-working inside, while flashing some perimeter skill. I don't know that Brownstown will be the favorite this year, but they will always compete, and I wouldn't be surprised if they are once again crowned Sectional #45 Champions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The biggest obstacle in the way of Brownstown could be the Eagles of Austin High School. The Eagles have back one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in Southern Indiana in 5-7 Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='567133' first='Brynn' last='Owens']</strong> (<em>25.5p, 6.4r, 3.6a, 3.4s</em>). She plays extremely hard, has great touch &amp; range outside, and when she gets on hot streaks, it's tough to slow her down. Owens did lose her top two running 'mates to graduation, but she does get help once again from 5-5 Senior guard <strong>Jayleigh Schepman</strong> (<em>5.2p, 3.0r, 2.2a, 2.3s</em>) and 5-11 Senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1131950' first='Allyson' last='Davidson']</strong> (<em>6.8p, 3.3r, 1.2a, 1.0s, 1.0b</em>). Schepman can help with ball-handling responsibilities to free up Owens, while Davidson is a really nice athlete who could push for double-double type numbers with more opportunities now that the 2025 grads aren't around. With Owens in the lineup, the Eagles always have a chance, but they will need to build some depth and find a second scoring option to help alleviate pressure from her.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A team who could surprise here are the Lady Raiders of South Ripley. They return four members of their 6-player rotation, including their top two scorers from a year ago...both having averaged double-figures. 5-10 Senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1256508' first='Kaiya' last='Rinear']</strong> (<em>13.7p, 8.0r, 1.4s</em>) and 5-8 Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137334' first='Claire' last='Samples']</strong> (<em>12.9p, 6.4r, 3.4a, 3.5s</em>) stand out as two of the more impactful performers in Sectional #45. Rinear is effective in the mid-post and around the block, plus she has shown a little touch from the perimeter on rare occasion. Samples had a nice second year for the Lady Raiders, and she can play either guard position, distribute, attack, or knock down open shots. She's also a pesky defender. 5-9 Senior <strong>Aubrey Werner</strong> (<em>6.8p, 3.0r</em>) and 5-7 Senior guard <strong>Emily Parks</strong> (<em>2.6p, 1.5r, 2.0a, 1.3s</em>) add veteran leadership and experience, plus Parks can act as another ball-handler when necessary. 5-5 Sophomore guard <strong>Kinley Demaree</strong> (<em>0.2p in 14 games</em>) and 5-11 Sophomore forward <strong>Illana Prosser</strong> (<em>1.6p, 1.3r in 14 games</em>) both played a handful of minutes as rookies and could be next in line to step into key positions. All in all, South Ripley has a nice core of upperclassmen, but they'll need some younger players to step up early and often in order to take the Sectional #45 crown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Additional Players to Keep an Eye On:</strong> Southwestern (Hanover): 5-11 Senior post <strong>Rorie Scroggins</strong> (<em>8.9p, 6.8r, 1.0s</em>), 5-2 Sophomore guard <strong>Mikayla Nussbaum</strong> (<em>8.0p, 1.7r, 1.2a, 1.2s</em>), 5-9 Junior wing <strong>Baleigh McAfee</strong> (<em>7.6p, 5.4r, 2.3a, 1.6s</em>), and 5-10 Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1221123' first='Olivia' last='Simpson']</strong> (<em>6.4p, 5.4r, 4.2a, 3.4s, 1.4b</em>); Switzerland County: 5-6 Senior wing <strong>Addie Kelso</strong> (<em>12.7p</em>) and 5-8 Senior forward <strong>Lauren Smith</strong> (<em>7.5p, 5.0r, 1.9a, 2.0s</em>)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->