2025-26 Season Preview: Class 4A, Sectional 1

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"small"} --> <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='834925' first='Kylah' last='Patterson'] (2027) from Hammond's Oliver P. Morton High School.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now that the previews for Classes 1A, 2A, and 3A are complete, it's time to finish up all of the previews with Class 4A. This is the beginning for Class 4A Sectionals, and the season is just past Thanksgiving, so 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 4A, Sectional #1. 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 #1 at Munster</font></strong><br>Lake Central (17-8), SAG 39, SOS 38<br>Hammond Central (20-4), SAG 52, SOS 104<br>Crown Point (12-12), SAG 95, SOS 77<br>Hammond Morton (16-6), SAG 101, SOS 223<br>Munster (14-10), SAG 108, SOS 125</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the departure of 2025 graduates, transfers leaving Lake County, and players simply not playing anymore, Sectional #1 has been sort of turned upside-down. This year, we could see someone without 'Central' in their name take home the hardware. The Crown Point Bulldogs are under new leadership, and their younger prospects from the last couple of seasons are now "coming of age" in basketball terms, so they could be one of those under-the-radar teams early this season who catches people off-guard. Their top three scorers from last season all return in 5-8 Sophomore point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='999415' first='Ava' last='Richie']</strong> (<em>14.3p, 4.8r, 4.0a, 4.0s</em>), 6-4 Junior post <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='756234' first='Ivy' last='Henderson']</strong> (<em>11.9p, 6.2r, 1.0s, 1.5b</em>), and 5-11 Junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137332' first='Ava' last='Punak']</strong> (<em>6.5p, 4.9r, 1.8a, 2.8s</em>). Richie came in and immediately made an impression with her poise, tremendous skill, and ability to create scoring opportunities for herself and teammates. They've needed a playmaker for a couple of years, and now they have a talented youngster taking on that role. Henderson is an imposing presence in the paint, she can be immovable at times, plus she has soft hands and the ability to finish over either shoulder or knock down the 15-footer. Punak is a tough-nosed, high-energy forward who can utilize her strength, toughness, and size inside, or she can play exclusively on the wing. From there, 5-8 Senior guard <strong>Aaliyah Menchaca</strong> (<em>3.9p, 1.8r</em>) and 6-0 Senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='761164' first='Sophie' last='Hart']</strong> (<em>2.3p, 1.8r</em>) return experience and veteran leadership. 5-9 Sophomore forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1229433' first='Sidney' last='Hale']</strong> (<em>1.0p, 2.8r in 23 games</em>) and 5-8 Sophomore wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1229331' first='Addison' last='Seibert']</strong> (<em>0.4p in 20 games</em>) saw enough minutes in 20+ games each that they should both be fighting for bigger roles this season. Additionally, the Bulldogs are typically a deep program, so I would also keep an eye on 5-6 Sophomore guard <strong>Amiyah Menchaca</strong> (<em>1.0p in 5 games</em>), 5-7 Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='909900' first='Rheanna' last='Grzych']</strong> (<em>0.5p in 6 games</em>), 5-7 Senior wing <strong>Mady Johnson</strong> (<em>0.5p in 4 games</em>), and 5-5 Freshman guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='883971' first='Brooklyn' last='Langhans']</strong> to also contend for opportunities this season. If Crown Point can continue to keep its top three healthy and build depth behind them with several of the options above, they could be a real surprise come tournament time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The other team I would heavily consider earning the Sectional #1 crown this season are the Governors from Oliver P. Morton High School in Hammond, Indiana. They return one of the most productive players in the entire state, in addition to five of their top six players from a season ago. 6-0 Junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='834925' first='Kylah' last='Patterson']</strong> (<em>24.1p, 14.0r, 2.5a, 3.0s</em>) can play just about anywhere on the floor. She is strong, assertive, extremely athletic, and her motor does not quit. She can play on the perimeter, push it in transition, play in the mid-post, and even defend the paint. Whatever is needed, she's there to help the team win. 5-8 Sophomore wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1144661' first='De'Zyrra' last='Willingham']</strong> (<em>11.0p, 5.9r, 1.8a, 1.8s</em>) is an extremely long, wiry athlete, who flies around the floor and does a nice job of finding places to contribute. 5-10 Senior post <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1249966' first='Dalanie' last=''] Jones</strong> (<em>5.1p, 5.8r</em>), 5-7 Junior wing <strong>Kymora Baker</strong> (<em>4.1p, 6.3r, 1.0s</em>), and 5-3 Sophomore guard <strong>Branyla Goshay</strong> (<em>2.2p, 1.6r</em>) all do a really nice job of playing off Patterson and being "opportunistic" with their minutes. With as much attention as Patterson draws, those four are always likely to find open jump-shots and easy lay-ups. Each of the past two seasons, the Governors have been lucky enough to have a talented Freshman step in and not only start but contribute in a big way as well. This year is no different, as they welcome 5-5 Freshman guard <strong>Kendrea Lee-Bonner</strong> to the fold. She should provide them with a third scoring option offensively, as well as give them another nice on-ball option defensively. The biggest thing for Morton to knock off a program like Crown Point will be to match them in regard to taking care of the basketball and being able to manufacture baskets down the stretch in a close game. This could be a really nice battle if these two square off in February for Sectional #1.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Additional Players to Keep an Eye on:</strong> Hammond Central: 5-11 Senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='567131' first='Indiah' last='Hutchinson']</strong> (<em>15.5p, 6.1r, 2.4a, 3.2s, 1.2b</em>), 5-9 Senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1357830' first='Layla' last='Hart']</strong> (<em>6.3p, 5.3r, 1.5a, 2.5s</em>), and 5-8 Junior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='751033' first='Adrian' last='McGee']</strong> (<em>4.5p, 1.9r, 1.3a, 1.5s</em>); Lake Central: 6-2 Sophomore post <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='992139' first='Jillian' last='Beaderstadt']</strong> (<em>3.9p, 4.7r</em>), 5-9 Senior guard <strong>Alexandra Myszak</strong> (<em>1.7p, 1.4r</em>), and 6-2 Senior post <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1219773' first='Emma' last='Szany']</strong> (<em>0.4p in 17 games</em>); Munster: 5-10 Senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='486556' first='Igboamaka' last='Odeluga']</strong> (<em>6.8p, 10.0r, 2.4s, 1.0b</em>), 5-9 Senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='532741' first='Arroya' last='Mongerie']</strong> (<em>4.3p, 1.6r, 1.2s</em>), and 5-10 Sophomore forward <strong>Nwanma Odeluga</strong> (<em>1.7p, 2.0r</em>)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->