League Preview – Big 10

The new classifications for boys’ and girls’ basketball set to debut this winter, well, spring now, see the Big 10 teams collectively moving up a class. Bridgeport, Buckhannon-Upshur, and Preston are now in Class AAAA while the remaining teams all made the jump from Class AA to AAA. The Indians actually made a two-classification jump as they were the No. 8 seed in last season’s AA tourney. That shouldn’t change much, especially on the AAA level as some of the state’s top talent and most dominant teams can be found in the Big 10. It should make for an interesting season—when it finally starts. &nbsp; <strong>5 Players to Watch: </strong>(schools are listed as of last year – unless PGH is 100% certain that a player has enrolled elsewhere) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153370" first="Marley" last="Washenitz"]</strong>, 5-8, 2022, Fairmont Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153399" first="Meredith" last="Maier"]</strong>, 5-0, 2022, Fairmont Senior <strong>Paige Humble</strong>, 5-8, 2021, Bridgeport <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153342" first="Karlie" last="Denham"]</strong>, 5-6, 2021, North Marion <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153334" first="Victoria" last="Sturm"]</strong>, 5-9, 2021, Lincoln &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong>4 Sleepers to Watch</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153403" first="Shelby" last="McDaniels"]</strong>, 5-5, 2022, Buckhannon-Upshur <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153389" first="Katlyn" last="Carson"]</strong>, 5-10, 2022, North Marion <strong>Jaden Sturm</strong>, 5-9, 2023, Lincoln <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153415" first="Gabby" last="Reep"]</strong>, 5-5, 2023, Bridgeport <strong>4 Thoughts:</strong> [caption id="attachment_185587" align="alignright" width="185"]<strong><img class="wp-image-185587" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/07/Victoria-Sturm-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="185" height="246" /></strong> <strong> [player_tooltip player_id="153334" first="Victoria" last="Sturm"]</strong>[/caption] &nbsp; [caption id="attachment_153452" align="alignleft" width="230"]<img class="wp-image-153452" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/03/Marley-Washenitz-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="230" height="230" /> [player_tooltip player_id="153370" first="Marley" last="Washenitz"][/caption] The rich got richer. Fairmont Senior was already penciled in as a favorite in Class AAA. The Polar Bears were the No. 3 team last season when Pikeview upset them in the first round. They return arguably the best player in AAA this season in junior [player_tooltip player_id="153370" first="Marley" last="Washenitz"], an early WVU verbal commit. Washenitz averaged nearly 25 points per game as a sophomore and honed her game over the summer playing for the WV Thunder. Then came news that former Grafton third-team all-stater [player_tooltip player_id="153399" first="Meredith" last="Maier"] made the move to play for the Polar Bears, giving Fairmont two of the top three 2022s in West Virginia. Speaking of senior, Fairmont had reached the AA finals four of the last six seasons including winning the state title in both 2017 and 2019. In fact, only once in the last eight seasons have the Polar Bears failed to make the state tournament—the 2017-18 season. Overall, Big 10 teams have dominated the AA tournament the last decade. You have to travel back to 2013-14 to find a time a league team didn’t make the AA finale. That year, Fairmont lost in the semifinals. It’s been since 2011-12 since a Big 10 team didn’t advance to the semifinal round. During that span, North Marion has one championship, as does Bridgeport. That’s not even factoring the Huskies’ run of AAA championships, the last two of which came in 2010 and 2011. Even Buckhannon-Upshur got into the act. Playing on the AAA level, the Buccaneers finished as state runner-up in 2017 and 2018 and reached the state tournament the two years prior. [caption id="attachment_239044" align="alignleft" width="117"]<img class="wp-image-239044 " src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/12/Karlie-Denham-158x300.jpg" alt="" width="117" height="222" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153342" first="Karlie" last="Denham"]</strong>[/caption] [caption id="attachment_185586" align="alignright" width="163"]<img class="wp-image-185586 " src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/07/Meredith-Maier-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="163" height="216" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153399" first="Meredith" last="Maier"]</strong>[/caption] While Fairmont Senior may be a preseason favorite to win AAA this season, the Cougars of Lincoln aren’t far behind. In fact, Lincoln and North Marion were set to square off in a semifinal round matchup last March before the tournament was canceled, ensuring another season of a Big 10 team in the finals. The Cougars return a couple mainstays in first-team all-state guard [player_tooltip player_id="153334" first="Victoria" last="Sturm"] and point-guard Madi Martin (honorable mention all-W.Va.). But they must replace the inside duo of second-team all-W.Va. forward Allison Rockwell and Brynne Williams (honorable mention). Sturm’s younger sister Jaden (5-9) is talented but more of a guard so the quest to find some reliable post players is on in Shinnston. &nbsp; <strong>3 Big Games:</strong> (games are taken from teams’ original schedules and listed after the present mid-January return to play date. Dates subject to change.) Lincoln at North Marion—January 27 Fairmont Senior at Bridgeport—February 11 Wheeling Park at Buckhannon-Upshur—February 13 <strong>2 Fun Facts:</strong> Washenitz will likely battle with Nitro’s [player_tooltip player_id="153322" first="Baylee" last="Goins"] and George Washington’s [player_tooltip player_id="153323" first="Kalissa" last="Lacy"] for the Ostrowski Award, given annually to the state’s top girls’ basketball player. Lacy, currently a senior at GW, was last season’s winner. If Washenitz were to win, she’d be the first Big 10 players since Bridgeport’s Miki Glenn in 2013 to win it. The last time a Big 10 team didn’t qualify for the AA state tournament was in 2010-11. That year, only Bridgeport made it in AAA. North Marion won the championship in AAA, but didn’t return to the Big 10 until a year later. <strong>1 League Champion Prediction:</strong> Fairmont Senior &nbsp; &nbsp;