Regional Preview: Class 4A North

Everything about the Sectional round last week was eventful…the team play, the individual play, the upsets, and even the weather. 64 total teams escaped to play another day…in the Regional round tomorrow, February 9th. Below is a look at the eight teams who represent the eight Sectionals in Class 4A in the Northern half of the bracket, along with some general comments and analysis. By the end of the day Saturday, only two of these eight teams will remain. I will continue previewing the other Regional sites throughout the day, with eight articles posting in total (Class 1A posted yesterday; Classes 2A & 3A posted earlier today).   SAG = Current 2018-2019 Multiclass Sagarin Rating; SOS = Current 2018-2019 Strength of Schedule *All Game Times Are Eastern Time*   LAPORTE REGIONAL Penn (24-0) SAG 6; SOS 55 Crown Point (26-0) SAG 9; SOS 86 Kankakee Valley (20-4) SAG 38; SOS 114 Plymouth (20-5) SAG 64; SOS 57 11:00a – Penn vs. Plymouth 1:00p – Crown Point vs. Kankakee Valley 8:30p – Championship Game The way this season has shaken out, this looks to be a very nice Regional field. Penn and Crown Point enter undefeated, while Kankakee Valley and Plymouth have quietly put together 20-win seasons. Penn has made deep tournament runs on a regular basis, with a State Championship in 2016 and a Semi-State appearance last season. And this year they’re doing it with primarily all underclassmen. The Kingsmen are led by Trinity Clinton (2021), Reganne Pate (2020), and Jordyn Smith (2021). But this is a program that is traditionally deep and talented, and they can bring additional college prospects at you like Makenzie Kilmer (2019), Antreese Shelton (2020), and Grace Adams (2021). And if that isn’t enough, they still have Jayda Smith (2019), Caroline Morris (2020), Grace Schutt (2021), Delayne Sanchez (2020), and Jada Patton (2022), who are all capable. Plymouth has flown under the radar all season, and despite their location, they haven’t played Penn yet this season. The Pilgrims have a tall task at hand, but they’ve won eight games in a row, and they won all three Sectional games by a total of five points, so they’re capable of playing in close games. Halle Reichard (2019) and Cassidy Holiday (2019) are their leading scorers. Claire Tanner (2020), CeCe Robinson (2019), and Alaina Clady (2020) provide them with a nice supporting cast. Kacee Peters (2019) and Sydni Weir (2020) are also key off the bench for Plymouth. Crown Point has had quite the resurgence this season, and it has to do with a big youth movement. Freshman wing Jessica Carrothers came in this year and has only averaged 22.0 points per game so far. WOW! Sophomore point guard Alyna Santiago has been steady all year, and 6-3 Freshman forward Lilly Stoddard has had an impact as well. Ellie VanDeel (2019) and Abby Stoddard (2020) are their second and third leading scorers, respectively, and both bring solid play to the wing. Caitlyn Phillips (2019) and Paige Sanborn (2019) add experienced depth to the rotation as well. Kankakee Valley always has these quiet, modest seasons, where they win a lot of games but no one talks about them. Well, they’re making their second consecutive Regional appearance, and they could manage to upset a team or two, though they did fall to Crown Point 61-46 in mid-January. Still, though, wing Sarah Martin (2019) has had a great season, plus she is just one of a 7-member Senior class. Catherine Cavinder, Maddie Swart, Kaylee Barrett, Carley DeKock, Aubrey Toppen, and Taylor Miller round our that Senior group. Karmen Nowak (2020), Sam Martin (2020), Kailee Webster (2020), and Courtney Sizemore (2020) add to a deep and experienced roster. Championship Game Prediction: Penn over Crown Point   KOKOMO REGIONAL Hamilton Southeastern (23-1) SAG 1; SOS 8 Homestead (24-3) SAG 5; SOS 28 Zionsville Community (18-8) SAG 15; 13 Carroll-Fort Wayne (14-10) SAG 106; SOS 70 10:00a – Hamilton Southeastern vs. Carroll 12:00p – Homestead vs. Zionsville 8:00p – Championship Game This is the year that Hamilton Southeastern has taken all of its talent and finally knocked out Carmel to advance to the Regional round. They have been festering for a couple of years now, but finally this group has been undefeated against Indiana competition this season. Sydney Parrish (2020) is healthy, talented, skilled, and motivated. Amaya Hamilton (2019), Malea Jackson (2019), Tayah Irvin (2019), and Molly Walton (2019) complete the starting lineup with a lot of experience, talent, and skill of their own. Jackie Maulucci (2020), Bailee Poore (2020), Lydia Self (2021), and Lauren Morris (2020) could start for most other teams, but they form one of the better benches in the state and can fill in comfortably when needed. Carroll has almost completely changed its starting cast from a year ago, and while they still have experience back, they won their Sectional with almost an entirely new starting lineup from 2018. Emily Parrett (2021), Olivia Hoeppner (2020), Malia Williams (2020), and Gracyn Fetters (2020) form a credible backcourt with good all-around skill. Aubrey Freeland (2020), Abbey Jackson (2019), and Delane Sheets (2021) are solid up front as well. Carroll will have an uphill battle from the jump, but look for them to be scrappy and fight HSE to the end. Homestead is one of the most talented teams top to bottom in the state, and that goes for every position and every graduating class. 6-3 wing Ayanna Patterson (2022) is a generational talent who will only continue to improve with added strength and physicality. Sylare Starks (2019), Haley Swing (2019), and Sydney Graber (2020) bring versatile scoring to the lineup as well, and all three are Division-I commits. Rylie Parker (2020) is a sharpshooter who has also committed to a Division-I school. Kara Gealy (2019) and Grace Sullivan (2021) round out the backcourt, and both are quick little point guards. Brianna Lucas (2019) adds depth to the frontcourt. Well, well, well, guess who’s back…Maddie Nolan (2019) has returned from a July ACL injury and is on a tear of a different kind right now, as Zionsville is 4-0 with her in the lineup, including wins over Brownsburg, Lafayette Jefferson, and West Lafayette Harrison. It doesn’t matter what their records or ratings are at this point, because that all goes out the window with her in the lineup. Homestead will have their hands full, but what’s more is girls like Katey Richason (2021), Delaney Richason (2019), Megan Sheridan (2019), Gabby Woodworth (2019), and Kaiti Huber (2020) have learned how to do more things and take on more of the load. The Eagles are lurking and could cause problems for anyone. Championship Game Prediction: Homestead over Hamilton Southeastern in double overtime   Header photo of Hamilton Southeastern High School celebrating their win over Fishers back in December; photo courtesy of Kirk Green of the Hamilton County Reporter at readthereporter.com.