D3 Northridge Sectionals: 5 takeaways
It was an action-packed day at Northridge High School on Saturday, as the Division 3 sectionals in Dayton got underway. Three of the top five D3 seeds in Dayton chose to attend this sectional, with the other location at Covington…
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Continue ReadingIt was an action-packed day at Northridge High School on Saturday, as the Division 3 sectionals in Dayton got underway. Three of the top five D3 seeds in Dayton chose to attend this sectional, with the other location at Covington High School.
In the opener, it was #2 West Liberty Salem rolling past Milton Union 60-11, #4 Arcanum knocked off Dixie 60-18 and in the nightcap, it was #5 Carlisle holding off Preble Shawnee 49-31.
Here are my 5 takeaways from the day I spent at Northridge:
Defense wins games: West Liberty Salem smothered Milton Union holding them to only 11 points in their matchup. West Liberty has an impressive team that will be a major force again in 2020-21, as they have no seniors on the roster. Their defense has been very impressive all season, only allowing 28.2 points per game. They pressure and force teams into bad shots, while being a solid offensive team. Junior guard Grace Estes was a guard who caught my eye with her floor sense and solid defensive effort. She is joined in the backcourt by another solid guard in sophomore Emily Hollar giving them a dangerous backcourt as they head through the tournament.
How do you stop her?: WLS also had a very solid and improving 6-0 junior post player Selena Weaver, a kid who just gets better every time I see her. I first saw her early in the year against Tippecanoe and she was impressive then. She does a great job sealing off her opponent and when she gets into position around the rim, she elevates well and can score against most post players. Definitely a kid that will continue to draw coaches at the next level.
5 aces: The best starting five that I saw belonged to Arcanum, a team who ironically got all five kids on the all-conference team in the Cross County Conference. They move the ball well and have all five starters who can score. Unsigned senior Kayla O’Daniel is a 5-8 forward who moves well to the rim, senior point guard Gracie Garno dishes the ball well and controls the tempo, while three super sophs continue to build great chemistry among themselves as 6-foot Taylor Gray, 5-8 Hailey Unger and 5-6 Madelyn Fearon all are next level players, with Gray leaning more volleyball right now. The Trojans have five aces that can count on for success. The most explosive player I saw was Unger, who likely has the most potential of the five. She can fire the three against anyone, elevates into a picture perfect jumpshot, great hands and coordination, gets by her defender and can fly to the rim.
A youth movement: While they struggled at times to score, Preble Shawnee showed some flashes of solid play in their loss to Carlisle. And they are very young, with their top two players being freshmen. 5-6 guard Campbell Jewell is one of the top athletes in the state, also an established high-level soccer player. Needs to tune her skills and work on some fundamentals, but she is talented and athletic, which translates into buckets. Liv Thompson is also skilled and does a lot for her team. Classmate Harlie Howard is coming along nicely for a freshman, and these three give the Arrows a promising future.
Where did they come from?- The last four years, Carlisle has a losing record every season. Now in 2020…they are making good strides. 18-4 on the season and solid weapons across the lineup. Caitlyn Stewart is an unsigned senior shooting guard who is deadly from the three. Kaylee Lawson was impressive with her floor presence and she can not only score but distribute. Post Kaylee Dingee was strong on the boards and throw in an improved Jillian McIntosh and Sidney Morris and the Indians set the tempo early in their game. They are losing Stewart to graduation, but returns everyone else.