2025-26 Season Preview: Class 2A, Sectional 39

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"small"} --> <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='486521' first='Laniah' last='Wills'] (2026) from Lapel High School.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now that Class 1A has been previewed and is posted online, it's time to turn our attention to Class 2A. With official IHSAA practices starting this 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 #37. 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 #39 at Lapel</font></strong><br>Sheridan (25-2), SAG 71, SOS 248<br>Lapel (17-9), SAG 103, SOS 154<br>Frankton (11-13), SAG 227, SOS 238<br>Elwood (12-11), SAG 308, SOS 362<br>Taylor (5-19), SAG 338, SOS 296<br>Tipton (2-21), SAG 353, SOS 285</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Since starring as a Freshman, it seems like 6-1 Senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='486521' first='Laniah' last='Wills']</strong> (<em>26.0p, 12.8r, 1.8a, 2.0s</em>) has been at Lapel for a decade. Opposing coaches are likely thrilled this matchup nightmare is finally finishing her career. She is a monster on the boards and scoring it around the paint, she has continued to extend her range and improve her handle, and she has become a versatile, multilevel defender. Joining Wills in the lineup this year will be 5-8 Senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='721513' first='Sophie' last='Goodwin']</strong> (<em>8.0p, 2.2r, 1.8a, 1.7s</em>). Goodwin should elevate to becoming a double-figure scorer, and she is capable of playing around the perimeter or in the mid-post. Most nights, those two should be enough, but the Bulldogs could definitely use some depth to take pressure off of Wills. 5-6 Junior guard <strong>Jade Armington</strong> (<em>5.9p, 1.2r, 1.0a, 1.0s</em>), 5-5 Junior point guard <strong>Layla Dawson</strong> (<em>3.0p, 2.0r, 4.5a, 1.5s</em>), and 5-6 Junior wing <strong>Addie Bodenhorn</strong> (<em>2.7p, 2.2r, 1.2a, 1.3s</em>) should have the inside track to earning starter's minutes. Dawson was the team's assist leader last season, and she is comfortable as the primary ball-handler. Depending on what happens with the remainder of their roster, the Bulldogs could be a Top 10 team to start the year, or they could be battling it out for Sectional #39 once again. No matter what, though, they can say they have the best player on the floor just about every single night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's going to be tough for any team in Sectional #39 to take down Lapel this season, and despite Sheridan's outstanding 2024-2025 season, they will play this year without their top two players, plus five of their top seven last year graduated in the Spring. However, with all that said, if any team in the field has a chance to knock off the Bulldogs, it is likely the Blackhawks of Sheridan. Really, the only two "knowns" for Sheridan heading into the season are 5-7 Junior guard <strong>Brielle Garner</strong> (<em>7.1p, 1.9r, 1.3a, 1.7s</em>) and 5-6 Junior wing <strong>Sadie Timme</strong> (<em>3.5p, 4.3r, 1.8a, 2.2s</em>). They are the younger sisters to last year's graduated stars, and both have extensive Varsity experience, with Garner having started in the past. Now, they'll need to lead this team, with both likely becoming double-figure scorers. If Sheridan can build any semblance of a support staff around those two, they could be the second-best duo in the Sectional and at least give Lapel something to think about heading into postseason play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Additional Players to Keep an Eye On:</strong> Elwood: 5-6 Junior point guard <strong>Breelyn Norris</strong> (<em>18.5p, 5.4r, 3.7a, 2.8s</em>) and 5-6 Sophomore forward <strong>Addison Stout</strong> (<em>3.5p, 4.7r, 1.3s</em>); Frankton: 6-1 Senior post <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1131946' first='Macy' last='Curtis']</strong> (<em>4.5p, 4.9r, 1.1a, 1.2b</em>) and 5-9 Senior wing <strong>Lainey Hamaker</strong> (<em>4.0p, 2.6r, 1.4s</em>); Taylor: 5-2 Junior guard <strong>Kiera Phelps</strong> (<em>3.3p, 1.9r</em>) and Junior forward <strong>Trinity Calvert</strong> (<em>2.1p, 3.2r</em>); Tipton: 5-8 Junior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='875512' first='Mackenzie' last='Farinella']</strong> (<em>8.6p, 7.0r, 1.5a, 2.0s</em>) and 5-8 Sophomore guard <strong>Shelby Fernung</strong> (<em>3.0p, 2.4r</em>)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->