Quarter Turn: Class 1A
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The featured image is of Savvanah Frye Savvanah Frye 5'8" | SF Greenwood Christian | 2021 State IN of Greenwood Christian Academy. Believe it or not, after tomorrow’s games we will have reached the quarter point in the 2020-2021 season…
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Continue ReadingThe featured image is of Savvanah Frye Savvanah Frye 5'8" | SF Greenwood Christian | 2021 State IN of Greenwood Christian Academy.
Believe it or not, after tomorrow’s games we will have reached the quarter point in the 2020-2021 season based on dates/days. While it might not seem like it for some teams who have played just a game or two (or maybe even none), several others are four, five, or six games into their seasons. In our new environments with safety protocol in place, conditions aren’t ideal for most teams, but at least we are able to take to the hardwood and get something rolling for these student-athletes. After hearing about how other states are handling things, a big “thank you” needs to be aimed at our athletic directors and school administrators who are doing their best to make athletics available to our kids throughout the state. Anyway, below is a look at a few storylines I thought stood out so far in Class 1A. We can’t talk about everyone in each article, so I tried to find what “popped” to me.
2020 State Finalists off to Slow Starts
Loogootee and Pioneer both made their way to Bankers Life Fieldhouse in late-February, and both are primed for another deep tournament run this season. However, each team just played their first games of the season this past week. Tuesday saw Loogootee knock off Eastern Greene 67-31, but their game on Friday, and their games each of the next two Tuesdays have all been postponed already. Whenever the Lions return to the court, they’ll do so with their entire starting lineup from last year intact.
Kalea Fleming
Kalea
Fleming
5'5" | PG
Loogootee | 2021
State
IN
,
Brooklynn Jones
Brooklynn
Jones
5'7" | SF
Loogootee | 2021
State
IN
, and Isabelle Waggner give them an experienced and dynamic backcourt, while sisters Makenzie VanHoy and Kylie VanHoy man the frontcourt. Pioneer, on the other hand, finally got their season started yesterday with a solid 47-11 win against Culver Community. They look to continue their season this Tuesday with a huge conference matchup at Class 3A Knox (4-0). Pioneer also returns their entire starting lineup, headlined by Sophomore guard
Ashlynn Brooke
Ashlynn
Brooke
5'7" | PG
Pioneer | 2023
State
IN
, who ironically didn’t start last season. With the younger Brooke now fully healthy, the Panthers hope to turn the tables and leave Indianapolis as State Champions this season.
Hailey Cripe
Hailey
Cripe
5'6" | SG
Pioneer | 2022
State
IN
was their leading scorer last season, and she returns, as do
Olivia Brooke
Olivia
Brooke
5'9" | SF
Pioneer | 2021
State
IN
, Madison Blickenstaff, Mackenzie Walker, and Macee Baker.
Greenwood Christian Seeks Redemption
Greenwood Christian put together a strong 2019-2020 season, posting a 23-6 record. But the Cougars unfortunately ran out of gas in the Semi-State, falling 57-40 to eventual State Champion Loogootee. This year they’re back, and they might be even stronger with three Seniors and a Junior leading the way. Senior forward
Isabella Reed
Isabella
Reed
5'9" | SF
Greenwood Christian | 2021
State
IN
has always been incredibly productive for this team, and her early season averages of 27.3 points and 17.3 rebounds definitely stand out. But she’s getting more help this year. Senior wing
Savvanah Frye
Savvanah
Frye
5'8" | SF
Greenwood Christian | 2021
State
IN
(14.5p, 7.0r), Senior point guard
Brooklyn Stubblefield
Brooklyn
Stubblefield
5'6" | PG
Greenwood Christian | 2021
State
IN
(13.0p, 4.5a), and Junior guard Ellie Bigelow (12.0p, 2.8s) are all scoring in double-figures. Stubblefield transferred in this year from nearby Greenwood Community High School. Off to a 4-1 start, the Cougars have already knocked off perennial Class 2A power Triton Central, and their lone loss was just ten points to a typically strong Class 4A Center Grove program last Thursday. The Cougars will be a handful for anyone come state tournament time.
Early Season Stat Leaders: Plenty of Points in Class 1A
While it’s still really early in the season, there are a half dozen young ladies scoring at or above the 20-point threshold, per MaxPreps. Greenwood Christian’s
Isabella Reed
Isabella
Reed
5'9" | SF
Greenwood Christian | 2021
State
IN
is clearly ahead at 27.3, but Bethesda Christian Freshman guard
Kenzie Fulks
Kenzie
Fulks
5'7" | PG
Bethesda Christian | 2024
State
IN
(25.0), Orleans Senior forward
Sheridan Robbins
Sheridan
Robbins
5'9" | SF
Orleans | 2021
State
IN
(23.8), and Lanesville Senior forward
Gracie Adams
Gracie
Adams
5'9" | SF
Lanesville | 2021
State
IN
(23.3) also stand out.
Isabella Reed
Isabella
Reed
5'9" | SF
Greenwood Christian | 2021
State
IN
is also doing it on the glass, averaging 17.3 rebounds per game. North Vermillion Junior wing Cami Pearman is also averaging a strong 16.5 rebounds per game. No one else is within five rebounds per game. When it comes to assists, Clinton Central Junior forward Kendall Davison (5.3), Greenwood Christian Senior wing
Savvanah Frye
Savvanah
Frye
5'8" | SF
Greenwood Christian | 2021
State
IN
(5.3), and Union City Senior guard Jodi Carpenter (5.0) all top five per game. As for thefts, Union City Junior wing
Mariah Claywell
Mariah
Claywell
5'7" | SG
Union City | 2022
State
IN
(6.5), Bethany Christian Freshman guard Mariah Stoltzfus (5.7), and Central Christian Senior guard Asia VanRhoon (5.2) lead the state in steals in Class 1A. Again, the season is still very young, and coaches are responsible for submitting their team’s stats to MaxPreps, so we use what we can find.
Young Comets Flying High
Over the past six seasons, the Caston Comets have not had a winning season, with their most wins being nine. They’ve averaged just 6.3 wins per season over that stretch, and they’ve started none of those seasons better than 2-3 through their first five games. In fact, the only two winning seasons the Comets have had in the 2000s were in consecutive years, 2012-2013 (13-10) and 2013-2014 (14-7), when they were Sectional Runners-Up each time. However, there is a much different feel to their 4-1 start this time around. They have knocked off typically successful programs like Argos, Rochester, and Winamac, with their only loss being by eight points (32-24) to a very good North White program. And they’re doing so behind the leadership of Freshman wing Isabel Scales and Freshman guard Addison Zimpleman. Scales leads them in scoring (12.6), assists (2.4), and steals (4.4), while Zimpleman is tied for the assist lead (2.4) and second in scoring (7.4) and steals (3.4). But their youth movement continues, as Sophomore forward Bailey Harness is third in scoring (6.6), third in rebounding (4.6), and third in steals (2.2). With just two Seniors on the entire roster, and none with overwhelming numbers thus far, I would look for Caston to continue their upward trend throughout this season and into the next few years.
Unranked? No Problem
North White, Orleans, and Waldron all began the season outside of our Preseason Top-10, but all have started this season with a 4-0 mark. North White has had a couple of games postponed, or they might be an impressive 6-0 by now. They are getting strong play out of Junior forward Lynzi Heimlich (16.0p, 9.0r, 2.3a, 2.7s) and Senior guard Olivia Allen (10.3p, 3.5r, 2.3s). However, with nine girls averaging 3.0 points per game or more, eight girls averaging 3.0 rebounds per game or more, four girls averaging 2.3 assists per game or more, and five girls averaging 2.0 steals per game or more, the Vikings truly are making this a team effort each and every night. The Bulldogs of Orleans take a different approach, leaning heavily on Senior forward
Sheridan Robbins
Sheridan
Robbins
5'9" | SF
Orleans | 2021
State
IN
(23.8p, 7.5r, 2.5a, 2.0s), and rightfully so. But this season, Senior post Hailee Powell (13.8p, 5.3r, 2.5s) and Senior wing Payton Blanton (9.3p, 3.3r, 2.0a, 2.0s) have stepped up big as well so far. Their schedule looks to toughen up quite a bit in December, with consecutive trips to Paoli, Trinity Lutheran, and West Washington. As for Waldron, They are off to their first 4-0 start since the 2009-2010 season, when they finished 22-4 and made it all the way to the Semi-State. They look to five Juniors and a Senior for a balanced attack to keep them marching on. The lone Senior is point guard Lauryn Thomas, and she leads them in scoring (12.3) and assists (3.7). Junior forward Hadlie Ross (11.3p, 9.0r) has gotten off to a strong start inside, and Junior wing Bella Larrison (10.7p, 6.7r) is a nice athlete outside. Junior wing Nichole Garner (9.7p, 3.7r, 2.7a, 2.3s), Junior guard Megan Bogemann (8.0p, 6.0r, 3.7a, 2.0s), and reserve Junior forward Mackenzie Shaw (3.0p, 4.0r) round out their nucleus. Their next three games come at Greenwood Christian (4-1), versus Triton Central (4-1), and at Jac-Cen-Del (2-1), so we’ll find out quickly how they stack up against three of the state’s better small school programs.