Tourney Time; Intriguing 1st Rd. Matchups – Class 2A

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"small"} --> <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='989989' first='Lila' last='Busenbark'] (2028) of Parke Heritage High School.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Believe it or not, we are just days away from the beginning of the 51st IHSAA Girls' Basketball State Tournament. The Regular season is coming to an end, conference titles have been decided, and coaches are busy game-planning and trying to figure out who can help them win a Sectional, Regional, Semi-State, and even State title. This is when it counts, so I wanted to point out a handful of intriguing opening round matchups in Class 2A this coming week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><font color="FFFFFF">.</font></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+2">Sectional #36 at Woodlan</font></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+1">Whitko (21-1) vs. Woodlan (14-7)</font></strong><br>To be completely honest, Class 2A doesn't have a ton of first round matchups that jump off the page in the North, and Whitko is a strong favorite to make a run up there. At the same time, to play devil's advocate, I needed to choose a game up North, so this looked the most intriguing, and here is why...Woodlan will be at home, and they are 4-0 against all other Sectional #36 teams (<em>they did not play Whitko in the regular season</em>). The Warriors are always scrappy, hard-working, and they can create problems with their effort and urgency. They also defend and rebound well. 6-0 Senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1038858' first='Alyssa' last='Anderson']</strong> (<em>16.7p, 9.8r, 2.5s, 1.2b</em>) is the ideal type of player to cause the Wildcats problems inside. She is long, athletic, skilled, and she can be relentless at times. She's a walking double-double, and she is the one player Whitko might not have a true matchup for. <strong>Savannah Scheumann</strong> (<em>10.3p, 4.0r</em>), a Sophomore forward, has had a nice second season for Woodlan, and she'll help all over the floor. 5-9 Junior <strong>Lexie Peoples</strong> (<em>5.4p, 5.6r, 2.0s</em>) is yet another rebounding and defensive-minded forward who can help patrol the paint, while Sophomore point guard <strong>Kaitlyn Sterling</strong> (<em>4.5p, 3.0r, 3.0a, 2.0s</em>) handles the ball and gets it to her frontline. Whitko is blessed with guard talent, as sisters <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1221113' first='Reese' last='Stonebraker']</strong> (<em>13.2p, 4.4r, 3.0a, 3.2s</em>), a Senior, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='890886' first='Jayma' last='Stonebraker']</strong> (<em>12.4p, 3.1r, 4.4a, 4.3s</em>), a Junior, combine with Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='834952' first='Kyra' last='Lowe']</strong> (<em>9.5p, 2.2r, 3.0a, 3.0s</em>), to lock down the backcourt. 6-2 Junior post <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1259573' first='Ally' last='Brown']</strong> (<em>10.0p, 6.0r, 1.3b</em>) causes problems in the paint, but she could have trouble chasing Anderson around. If Woodlan is to stay in this game, they would need to (a) take care of the basketball against Whitko's pressuring guards, and (b) play packed defenses and force the Wildcats to make shots outside, because if they miss, the Warriors have the rebounding advantage. I still think Whitko will win by 20+, but this is the matchup in Sectional #36 that I think could give the Wildcats the most trouble.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><font color="FFFFFF">.</font></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+2">Sectional #41 at South Putnam</font></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+1">Parke Heritage (15-7) vs. Southmont (17-3)</font></strong><br>On "paper", through all the algorithms, Southmont is a 6-point favorite in this one. However, back on January 8th, Parke Heritage won the matchup, 53-47. Southmont boasts the nice inside-outside duo of Sophomore wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1144620' first='Ella' last='Barry']</strong> (<em>18.9p, 4.3r, 3.4s</em>) and 6-0 Junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137319' first='Layla' last='Gomez']</strong> (<em>12.4p, 8.4r, 2.7a, 2.8b</em>). Barry is a nice athlete who can get to the rim, plus she causes havoc defensively. Gomez is a versatile, inside-out forward who can pass, shoot, and post up smaller defenders inside. Junior forward <strong>Claire Kessler</strong> (<em>7.6p, 5.7r</em>) adds additional rebounding and defense inside the arc, while Junior guard <strong>Molly Williams</strong> (<em>3.9p, 2.2r, 2.0a, 2.1s</em>) helps to stabilize the backcourt for the Mounties. Parke Heritage leans heavily on its Sophomore backcourt of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='989989' first='Lila' last='Busenbark']</strong> (<em>11.7p, 4.0r, 1.8a</em>) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='990958' first='Birkley' last='Schelsky']</strong> (<em>8.1p, 3.2r, 2.1a, 2.1s</em>), plus Junior guard <strong>Anesa Veseli</strong> (<em>7.6p, 2.8r</em>). Busenbark is an athletic weapon who can go for 20 points at any given time. Schelsky is a versatile combo guard who can shoot/score it a little, but she's also a solid facilitator. Veseli missed the entire month of November, but she is back, she's a solid outside shooter, and she brings plenty of experience to the table. The wildcard could be 5-8 Freshman forward <strong>Kennedy Mitchell</strong> (<em>9.0p, 6.2r</em>). If she is able to limit Gomez, or at least match her point for point and rebound for rebound, then that really helps the Wolves in this matchup. As was their first matchup a few weeks ago, I think Tuesday night's outing could be tightly contested throughout, and the team with the ball last could be shooting for the win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><font color="FFFFFF">.</font></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+2">Sectional #44 at Hagerstown</font></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+1">Northeastern (16-7) vs. Union County (11-10)</font></strong><br>Sometimes records can be deceiving, especially when it comes to long-time conference rivals. This is one of those situations. This is the seventh time in eight seasons that the Lady Knights have won 16 or more games, they have good size inside, and they have a Senior guard who can will them to victories if necessary. Union County entered the season with no major standouts or expectations, but they are a scrappy group who always plays hard and disciplined, and they've posted a winning record in the regular season. These two teams met on January 21st, with Northeastern pulling out an 11-point win. Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='486539' first='Adysson' last='Kircher']</strong> (<em>19.1p, 3.5r, 2.3a, 4.5s</em>) runs the show, she can score it from all three levels, and she is a pesky defender as well. Freshman guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1264770' first='Fiona' last='Breitenbach']</strong> (<em>7.5p, 3.0r, 3.4a, 2.5s</em>) has helped a great deal this season with ball-handling duties, but she too can knock down an open jumper or get into the paint and score it. 6-1 post <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1357844' first='Karri' last='Gammon']</strong> (<em>8.4p, 7.2r</em>) and 5-11 forward <strong>Mackenzie Johnson</strong> (<em>11.2p, 7.7r, 2.0a</em>) are strong, physical presences in the paint, and they can be a bit intimidating at times. Look for them to cause problems for Union County, especially defensively. The Patriots, however, are not afraid of their rivals to the North. They possess Senior leadership in the way of wing <strong>Nora Robinson</strong> and forward <strong>Natalie Long</strong>, plus they have a Junior class that is 7 players deep. However, a Freshman class that includes a trio of standouts could set the tone for Union County. 5-5 guard <strong>Brooklyn Beck</strong>, 5-11 forward <strong>Kaybree Settle</strong>, and 5-9 wing <strong>Livi Tinkle</strong> are all rookies who have played major roles this season and look to step up once again in the Sectional. Once again, this is a matchup where I feel like Northeastern has a decided advantage..."on paper"...however, I wouldn't be surprised if this one came down to the wire as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->