IHSAA girls basketball Class 3A sectional preview: Schedule, players to watch, predictions

It is sectional season for Indiana high school girls basketball. Let’s take a closer look at the Class 3A field with storylines, the local matchups, players to watch and predictions.

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Class 3A

No. 1 team: Hamilton Heights (19-2)

Making a case for Norwell (18-4) at No. 1: The coaches like Hamilton Heights, but the computers actually favor Norwell for the top overall spot in Class 3A — and for good reason. Ranked No. 6 in statewide RPI, the Knights have played the toughest schedule in 3A (28th overall), one that's included FW Northrop, Homestead, Columbia City, Lawrence North, FW Snider and Valparaiso. They boast a pair of senior standouts with Kennedy Fuelling and Makenzie Fuess, and are assigned a 70% chance of advancing to semistate.

Group of death in Monticello: Sectional 22 is the place to be for overall bang for your buck. Host Twin Lakes boasts the all-time leader for 3-pointers made in senior Olivia Nickerson and a junior star in Addie Bowsman; West Lafayette — which upset top-ranked Hamilton Heights in December — is led by Adrianne Tolen, who became the school's all-time leading scorer earlier this month. Rensselaer Central, which has only lost to Hamilton Heights, has a pair of 14-point scorers (Kamri Rowland and Taylor Van Meter); Benton Central lost to Rensselaer twice, but avoided that side of the bracket; and Western began the season 13-0 and is led by five seniors. Buckle up.

More: Unique chemistry lifts Twin Lakes record-setting duo, which includes state's 3-point queen

History repeating itself down south: If Tuesday goes chalk at Gibson Southern, the Titans and Tigers will square off for a seventh straight season, this time in the sectional semifinals. Evansville Memorial, which won the regular-season meeting by eight, is led by seniors Avery Kelley and Sophie Johnson. They're both averaging in double figures, as are freshman Rylee Canaan and junior Myla Browning. Gibson Southern counters with the 1-2 punch of junior Gabby Spink and senior Chloey Graham, who average 20 and 17 points, respectively.

Sectional 24 at Yorktown

Team to beat: Hamilton Heights (20-2). One last run at a state championship for Evansville commit Camryn Runner and the Huskies, whose only losses this season have come against 4A Noblesville and West Lafayette. This team operates through Runner, who is averaging 28 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals for the three-time defending sectional champs. Ella Hickok and junior Katie Brown both contribute around 9-10 ppg, with Hickok adding a team-high 4.5 apg and senior Hadleigh Cherry close behind at 3 apg.

Next best: Jay County (20-2). The Patriots, led by first-year coach Sherri McIntire, have reached 20 wins for a third consecutive season. They have a trio of dangerous scorers with seniors Sophia Saxman and Molly Muhlenkamp, and freshman Hallie Schwieterman, plus senior Breanna Dirksen, who averages around three assists and three steals. Jay County managed to limit Runner to 17 points and only six field goal attempts back in November … but she converted five of those attempts, three of which were from behind the arc and HH won by 12.

Prediction: Hamilton Heights over Jay County. There's probably a changing of the guard on the horizon for Sectional 24, but not this year.

Sectional 25 at Cascade

Team to beat: Danville (20-3). The Warriors have put together quite the resume. Losses to 4A Plainfield by four, 4A Silver Creek by six and 4A Plainfield by five in double overtime in the county championship game; wins over Tri-West (two), 4A Decatur Central and, most recently, 4A McCutcheon (limited freshman Lillie Graves to seven points on 3-of-14 shooting). In terms of personnel, sophomore Maddie Wethington and juniors Emma Ancelet and Addison Davis are the core trio for this group, which is shooting 40% as a team and averages 13 steals.

Next best: Tri-West (12-10). From 7-17 a season ago to double-digit wins for the seventh time in eight seasons. Impressive work by first-year coach Justin Bennett, who has guided his team to notable wins over Heritage Christian and 4A Bloomington North. Tri-West lost to Danville by five in November and 10 at the county tournament. Lauren Bear and Aniyah Anthony are both scoring in double figures and bolstered by a quartet of upperclassmen: Seniors Atta Garnett, Regan Canada and McKinzie Wilhoite, plus junior Zoie Bruner. The Bruins don't shoot the ball especially well (34%), but they generate nine offensive rebounds per game.

Sleeper: Lebanon (9-14). If the Tigers can get by Western Boone, they stand the best chance of eliminating Tri-West ahead of Saturday. In fact, they led the Bruins entering the fourth quarter, but were out-scored 20-6 over those final eight minutes en route to a 37-31 loss. Rebounding (33-13 advantage) and Leila Richards (15 points, four 3s) were both bright spots. Emily Sperry, Riley Vanaman and Claire Boling are all averaging around five boards per game, with Boling also contributing 10 points and three steals.

Local notes: Western Boone (9-13), rattled off a five-game win streak between January and February before running into Speedway and Danville. The Stars are led by the freshman-senior tandem of Ally Lewis and Kierra Koch, with Olivia Reagan and Emerson Gott both providing a strong presence on the glass (6-9 rebounds a piece). … Monrovia (13-9) enters sectional having won three straight and five of its past six. Mary Cox, Emery Newlin, Ruby Murrell and Allie Tallent all average 9-10 ppg. … Cascade (12-10) beat Monrovia by 13 in mid-December. The Cadets have run seven-deep this season with seniors Creedance Chittenden, Liviair Campbell and Claire Austin leading the way alongside juniors Lilly Hall, Chloe Smith and Kaylee Austin. Sophomore Macey Pugh rounds it out.

Prediction: Danville over Tri-West

Sectional 26 at Owen Valley

Team to beat: Indian Creek (18-4). The Braves have a brilliant senior tandem with IU commit Faith Wiseman (she recently cleared 1,000 career rebounds) and Lauren Foster. Junior Ayla Lollar (11 ppg) has not played since Jan. 6, but hopes to return soon. Keep an eye on 6-0 sophomore Alexa Sichting, who had 108 rebounds, 41 steals and 12 blocks through 20 games.

Next best: Northview (19-4). The Knights do most of their scoring damage through Brynlee Clarke (18 ppg, 6 rpg), Carlee Schrader and Reagin White. They dropped a 50-34 decision to Indian Creek in the regular-season finale.

Prediction: Indian Creek over Edgewood

Sectional 27 at Bishop Chatard

Team to beat: Bishop Chatard (15-8). Coach Dan Wagner built a schedule to prepare his team for state tournament play and, if the Trojans can advance, they'll pose a formidable threat to Indian Creek at regionals. I've written about this team's physicality and the benefits of having multi-sport athletes, but the emergence of sophomore Olivia Berzai alongside junior Anna Caskey has Chatard looking especially dangerous.

Next best: Heritage Christian (13-10). The Eagles are 0-2 vs. Chatard and needed overtime to beat Brebeuf, but they avoided their side of the bracket entirely. Their offense is generated through the trio of Mya Davis, Joslyn Marshall and Casey Frost, while 5-11 sophomore Trinity Taylor has been cleaning up on the boards, averaging 10 rpg.

Sleeper: Brebeuf Jesuit (17-6). History repeated itself with Brebeuf beating Chatard in the regular season finale for a second consecutive season, now the Braves, winners of 10 straight, aim to rewrite chapter two and beat the Trojans in sectionals for just the second time since 2011 (1-5). Brebeuf took a hit when 5-6 sophomore Robyn Pate went down against Guerin, but it still has a talented core with Jailen Bowling, Audra Kendall and Ella Miller, plus 5-9 forwards Nathalie Anderson and Savannah Schafer, both of whom will likely matchup vs. Caskey in the post.

Local notes: Guerin Catholic (9-13). The youthful Golden Eagles are still probably a year away from really causing a ruckus in this sectional, but Ava Bills played well down the stretch and the return of Gianna Morelli from an ankle injury gives Guerin the ability to run a two-post lineup with her and fellow freshman Emery Cardinal. ... It's been a historic season for Herron (15-8), which won its first six straight and eight of its first 10. The Achaeans are a senior-driven outfit led by Trinity Foerster, Jaycianna Clark and Jada Wright. … Shortridge (14-8) has a roster consisting almost entirely of freshmen and sophomores. The Blue Devils' lineup is headlined by Kamariona Garrett, Jocelyn Eskew and Keara Stewart, all of whom are scoring in double figures, with Eskew shooting 53% from the field.

Prediction: Chatard over Heritage Christian

Sectional 28 at Beech Grove

Team to beat: Speedway (14-7). The Sparkplugs return as the sectional favorite after being stunned by IHSAA newcomer Purdue Poly Englewood in last year's semifinals. They had won four straight and seven of eight before falling to Cascade in the season finale. The majority of Speedway's production is generated by seniors Alex DeLisle (13 ppg, 9 rpg) and Daniella Galvez (11 ppg, 7 rpg, 3 apg, 3 spg), though seniors Chloe Ellett and Reagan Hendry both average 2-3 assists. 10 different Plugs have appeared in all 20 games (one forfeit).

Next best: Beech Grove (14-8). The Hornets have a really good 1-2 atop their lineup with junior Mylee Boling (15 ppg on 50% shooting, 11 rpg) and freshman Harper Moore (13 ppg, 3 apg, 3 spg). They're bolstered by another freshman, Mariyah Marshall, who's pouring in around 8 ppg. Beech Grove got a tricky draw with Purdue Poly as a potential semifinal opponent.

Sleeper: Purdue Poly (9-10). The Techies were hit hard by graduation, but have a very talented senior centerpiece in 5-9 guard/forward Madison Jobe. They beat Beech Grove by four in November, this despite Boling scoring 21 and a career night from junior Emma Micks. Purdue Poly knocked off 4A Marion on Friday.

Local notes: Senior Nia Stubblefield averaged 13 points and Zita Eke logged over 7 rpg through the first 9-10 games for Cardinal Ritter (6-16), which won two of its first three games this year. … Washington (4-12) runs through senior Malaysha Flanagan, who's scoring 15 ppg and has attempted just one 3-pointer on the season. … Christel House (7-10) runs just six-deep, but has a pair of double-digit scorers in Alexys Turner and Maleah Jackson. The 5-11 Turner averages a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds (plus three blocks).

Prediction: Beech Grove over Speedway. Boling went for 21 in a seven-point loss to the Sparkplugs earlier this month. She's similarly effective Saturday, but it's a big night from Moore that ultimately lifts BG to its first sectional title since 2003.

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana high school girls basketball: Class 3A sectional preview 2024