Region Preview: Class 1A, Region 5

Last Thursday afternoon, the IGHSAU announced the region brackets for the upcoming race to the Well. The 1A portion of the tournament gets underway on February 11th. Whether you were 18-0 or 0-18 this season, it does not matter. Each team is now 0-0 and are looking to end their season with a win. Below you can view the best first round match-up, the best potential match-up, our pick to win the region, a sleeper to win the region, an “X-Factor” player, and players to watch. Take a look at the Region 1 bracket here: <a href="https://ia.varsitybound.com/sports/girlsbasketball/2020-21/brackets/h20210126070648355a5025d18ca144a">Class 1A, Region 5</a> <hr /> <strong>Best First Round Match-up: Lisbon vs. Easton Valley</strong> These two teams are very identical on paper so you would assume that they are a very solid match-up in the first round. The winner will have a date with Springville but this game should easily be the best first round game of the reason and give them both a very winnable game. They met once before this year with Lisbon coming away with a three point win. I don’t think you’re going to see anything other than a tough and close game between these two teams once again. <strong>Best Potential Match-up: Winfield-Mt. Union vs. Burlington Notre Dame</strong> Winfield-Mt. Union and Burlington Notre Dame both had an argument to be a higher seed but now we might end up seeing them play in the semi-finals which would be an incredible match-up. Winfield-Mt. Union hasn’t lost a game yet this season while Burlington Notre Dame has just fallen once this season. I would look for this to be a very closely conteted game with Winfield-Mt. Union holding a very slight edge on paper. <strong>Our Pick to Win Region 5: Springville</strong> Springville has been tested a ton this year by matching up with some of the best teams in the state and I think that will help them in the long run even though they have four losses this season. They are one of the top teams in 1A and do have a pretty good draw here even though they are holding those four losses. I think this is a team that will be able to get through to Wells Fargo with all of the stiff competition on the bottom half of the bracket. <strong>Our Sleeper Pick to Win Region 5: Prince of Peace</strong> Prince of Peace is sits at 14-4 on the season and their schedule has gotten them ready for postseason play. They have been hot as of late winning some big games as well which gives them some momentum. If they can win their first game and get to a match-up with Springville and they win that game then I think they have a very solid chance of winning the region. That all hinges on the fact that they can get past Springville. <strong>X-Factor Player: Karli Artman - Burlington Notre Dame - 2022 - 5’7 PG</strong> For Burlington Notre Dame to make a run in the region they will need to get good play from their guards and that starts with Artman. She leads the team in both scoring and in assists per game. She is the one who leads the offense from the point guard spot and she is going to need to play very well for them to be able to beat some very good teams that they are matched up with. Look for Artman to have a great run here leading to Burlington Notre Dame’s success. <strong>Players to Watch</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="63613" first="Lauren" last="Wilson"], 2022, Springville [player_tooltip player_id="129083" first="Morgan" last="Nachazel"], 2022, Springville Holly Kremer, 2021, Marquette Catholic Megan Harrell, 2022, Burlington Notre Dame Marah Hartrick, 2021, New London Bradie Buffington, 2023, Winfield Mt. Union [player_tooltip player_id="165042" first="Anabel" last="Blount"], 2021, Prince of Peace Dani Laughlin, 2023, Highland Sydney McNeil, 2021, Easton Valley Madeline Jacque, 2021, Lone Tree