Division 5 Sectional 1 Predictions

Brady Peterson November 10, 2024 @ 10:50 AM

After wrapping up D1 predictions yesterday, we're closing the book on my D5 predictions today. We're looking at sectionals one and two in D5 and continuing to predict regional champs, sectional runner-up, and sectional champions.   Sectional One encompasses the smallest schools in the Northwestern part of our state. Like a few others for various reasons, Sectional One will have a new champion after Clear Lake was bumped up to D4 this season, so let's talk about some contenders.   Regional Champion: Winter   The Warriors have a kid capable of being their do-it-all type of kid. [player_tooltip player_id='914997' first='Maddison' last='Dalrymple'] had an excellent first season at Winter and showed that she was one of the more productive kids in the Lakeland-East.   Like most small schools, they don't have much size but have plenty of kids that can run around and make plays on the ball.   Riley Kavanaugh was a reliable guard for the Warriors last season and did some positive things in transition, and as a team, Winter found success with their full-court pressure.   Regional Champion: New Auburn   The Trojans are the second-most likely team to come out of this sectional but drew a tough assignment being in the top half of the sectional.   The reigning Lakeland-East Conference champions are a well-drilled group that stays steady in their zone defense. They won't beat themselves and lost to the eventual sectional champions, Clear Lake, in a regional title game last season.   They lost their physical presence around the basket in Morgan Berg, but outside of her graduations, everyone's back, including leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id='1241336' first='Nora' last='Jensen']. Stability at a small school is rare, but having kids like Kyra North, Elise Branville, and Lindsay Malmanger gives the Trojans an edge heading into the season.   Sectional Runner-Up: Clayton   D5 can get a bad rap from people who don't interact with small schools often. However, Clayton plays a fun brand of basketball.   Having a kid who turns defense into offense at the point of attack in Hayden Bergmann opens doors that most teams don't have. She has active hands on the defensive end of the floor, and without looking, I'd assume she earns an absurd amount of steals per game.   Pairing that with kids who can get out and run makes Clayton a team that can score in bunches, and at that level, unless there's an elite D5 program on the other sideline, most teams can't keep up.   Sectional Champion: Owen-Withee   In a sectional with most of the Lakeland East and West schools and the entire Northern Lights Conference, Owen-Withee out of the Cloverbelt sticks out like a sore thumb.   A team that brings back almost all of their six kids who scored five points or more per game and won 20 games in a conference consisting of D4 teams is noteworthy and with the kids Neillsville lost, a possible outside chance at a conference crown.   The Blackhawks will have a more challenging schedule than anyone in this sectional and have a core of kids who were a game away from a sectional championship last season. I have a hard time betting against a group that got that close.

After wrapping up D1 predictions yesterday, we're closing the book on my D5 predictions today. We're looking at sectionals one and two in D5 and continuing to predict regional champs, sectional runner-up, and sectional champions.