Tomorrow will be the tip-off of the 44th NECC Girls’ Basketball Tournament, which dates back to 1980. Last year saw Garrett winning their first conference tournament in eight years and the first for the NECC since 2004. However, we could see a new champion in this tournament this time around.
With that, here are the NECC Tournament bracket and a brief overview of the tournament’s history:
Let’s preview the rirst-round and the two given second-round matchups that we are given this week. Keep in the mind that the girls’ bracket will determine home-court advantage for both the boys’ and girls’ tournaments until the championship game, which will be hosted by Garrett.
Churubusco (3-12, 1-6) @ Eastside (11-5, 6-1)
This is a rematch from their Dec. 7 meeting where Eastside won 45-27 in Turtle Town. The Blazers are currently on a streak of three losses in their last four games, which includes back-to-back losses to DeKalb and Fairfield.
The Blazers have the fourth best offense and third best defense in the conference, where Eastside is 9-0 when they reach 45 points. Consistency has been somewhat of an issue on that side of the ball, which accounts for many if not all of their losses. They are led by senior Grace Kreischer and sophomore Paige Traxler who combine for 22.6 points per game on the season.
For Busco, it is still a rebuilding situation for David Goodwell’s team, but you have to feel somewhat encouraged by their recent games, especially from sophomores Brooklyn Sinclair and Bridget Timbrook. Sinclair averages 9.2 points per game and is one of the better shooters in this matchup. If Timbrook can breakout in this tournament, Busco could be a sneaky first-round opponent.
Key Strengths
Busco: Rebounds (25.2 per game)
Eastside: Forcing Turnovers/Defensive Efficiency
Key Factors for a Tournament Run
Busco: Improving their shooting numbers (FG%: 27%, 3FG%: 23%)
Eastside: Staying Out of Foul Trouble
Players to Watch in this Tournament
Busco: Bridget Timbrook Sophomore Combo Guard
Eastside: Lily Kreischer Sophomore Combo Guard
Lakeland (9-8, 3-4) @ Hamilton (2-7)
This one’s confusing, so bear with me here. Hamilton is still a NECC member, and as long as they can field a team, they are eligible to be in the tournament. However, Hamilton is playing a JV schedule against the NECC and a few other non-conference teams this season. Therefore, their conference games don’t count towards the NECC regular season standings.
One point of mention for Hamilton is sophomore Ali Vereda, who is 11.6 points per game (combining the varsity games and her games vs the opposing reserve teams). Lakeland is starting to head into the right direction at the most important time of the season. Lakeland enters tourney play with four straight wins, and they are 6-0 when shooting 40% or better from the floor.
It starts with their main core led by senior Peyton Hartsough (Huntington Commit), junior Olivia Oman, and senior Alivia Rasler. Hartsough is approaching 1,000 points as she is currently at 917. Her sister, Bailey, is the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,664. They go, when their Big Three is playing well.
While they should win this game, their quest to reaching Saturday night will likely have to go through Eastside and the winner of CN-Angola.
Key Strengths
Hamilton: Team Effort
Lakeland: Sharing the Basketball (13.9 Assists per game)
Key Factors for a Tournament Run
Lakeland: Staying Healthy
Players to Watch in this Tournament
Hamilton: Ali Vereda Sophomore Guard
Lakeland: Peyton Hartsough Senior Combo Guard (Huntington Commit)
Fairfield (14-2, 7-0) @ Prairie Heights (1-15, 0-9)
Other than the Hamilton game, this is the most lopsided matchup on paper. It is a rematch from their Dec. 3 meeting where Fairfield won convincingly 60-17 at Brushy Prairie. On paper, that narrative probably won’t change.
Fairfield has been seen as the preseason favorite to win the NECC since the end of last season after their run to a 2A semistate. Now as a 3A school, they hope to be in that same spotlight a month from now. However, Fairfield has struggled in this tournament with just one tournament championship to show for it. Last season, they were eliminated in dramatic fashion 37-36 to Eastside.
Fairfield’s success begins with the NECC’s second-ranked defense (30.1) and the NECC’s number one offense (53.6). Future Indiana Wesleyan Lady Wildcat, Brea Garber, is averaging impressive numbers including her 15.2 points per game pace as a senior. Garber currently has 1,188 career points.
But it does not stop there as Fairfield has a nice core around her with senior Bailey Willard (8.6 points), junior Kaylee Dillon (8.9 points), senior Morgan Gawthrop (9.9 points), freshman Eva Herbert, and junior Natalie Whitaker. This is a juggernaut of a program in the NECC this season.
This is a rebuilding season for Prairie Heights, but there are things to take away from their season so far. They play hard, which almost always happens with Heights, and they have a future core in the making led by sophomore Emily McCrea.
Key Strengths
Fairfield: Exceptional Rebounding
PH: No-Quit-Mentality
Key Factors for a Tournament Run
Fairfield: Taking Care of the Basketball
PH: Defense
Players to Watch in this Tournament
Fairfield: Brea Garber Senior Combo Forward (IWU Commit)
PH: Emily McCrea Sophomore Shooting Guard
Fremont (5-10, 2-5) @ Garrett (7-9, 3-4)
The defending tournament champions begin their quest at a repeat with a home game against a surprisingly competitive Fremont team. Fremont is in their first season under Head Coach and 2016 Fremont alum, Shae (Rhonehouse) Thomas who is still the school’s all-time leading scorer.
While this is one of the younger teams in this field, they don’t play like a rebuilding team. Sophomore Addy Parr and senior Natalie Gochenour have been a huge part of Fremont’s success. Parr is averaging 13.1 points per game, while Gochenour averages 8.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Defensively, Fremont can absolutely win this game. But outside of those two, the rest will need to step up a bit if they want to spoil Garrett’s hopes. Next season, we will be in a situation where Fremont will have Addy Parr, Grace Scharlach, and Mya Turner (both Scharlach and Turner are 8th graders) on the same roster.
Garrett has had an up-and-down season after going 27-2, sweeping NECC hardware, and making it to a 3A semistate. Bailey Kelham is having an amazing season averaging 18.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game. The future Huntington Lady Forrester currently sits third on the school’s overall scoring list after surpassing the program record in her game at Busco. With 1,545 career points, Kelham still has a shot at breaking the school’s 51-year-old record set by Jeff Stroman in 1972 (1,732).
However, outside of Kelham, the rest of the team is generating less than 20 points a game. Senior Maddy Schenkel (future Saint Francis Cougar) and junior Kelsey Bergman are capable contributors, but they will need strong team basketball to make a run. Garrett is shooting 27% from the floor and 21% from three.
These two will meet again on Jan. 24 at Garrett.
Key Strengths
Fremont: Rebounding (23.6 Boards per game)
Garrett: Interior Defense (22.2 of their 32.2 rebounds have come on defense)
Key Factors for a Tournament Run
Fremont: Secondary Scoring (Only averaging 12 points from everyone else)
Garrett: Stay out of Foul Trouble (Garrett generally only plays 7 players deep)
Players to Watch in this Tournament
Fremont: Addy Parr Sophomore Combo Guard
Garrett: Bailey Kelham Senior Combo Forward (Huntington Commit)
Central Noble (17-0, 7-0) @ Angola (8-9, 5-3)
The last two games mentioned are second-round matchups as they drew a bye into Wednesday’s quarterfinal round. This is a rematch from their Dec. 2 meeting where CN won 44-30. The Lady Cougars are having their best season since the historic 27-1, 2018-19 season where CN was defending a state championship with Sydney Freeman and Meleah (Leatherman) Kunkel.
Under Sam Malcolm, it is a team that has two elite players in seniors Madison Vice (Future Siena Heights Lady Saint) and Meghan Kiebel, who combine for 33 points, 10.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and 5.3 steals per game. They are also getting timely contributions from their role players, including sophomore Kierra Bolen, freshman Grace Swank, junior Makenna Malcolm, and senior Abby Hile.
Vice recently reached 1,000 points becoming the 5th Lady Cougar to achieve this milestone, and she has cemented herself as one of the area’s best players. CN currently has the NECC’s number two offense (53) and leads the conference in defensive efficiency (28.2). For Angola, it has been a year of learning and weathering through adversity as a difficult non-conference schedule and some injuries have led to an 8-9 start.
One factor into their struggles is their shooting as they have shot 40% or better in just five of their games this season. Kylie Caswell leads the way as a junior averaging 11.3 points. After a good start, junior Macy Oberlin (7.9 points per game) has struggled to find her shooting touch as of late. When Caswell is finding her way to the bucket, she can be good.
The good news is sophomore Lexi Stillman is now back in the rotation, and other kids are starting to find some confidence. Sophomore Bailey Holman and senior Jaelyn Fee (Saint Francis Commit) are two other players worth noting. If Angola can shoot the ball well enough, the 1-2-2 trap can give CN some trouble.
Key Strengths
CN: Perimeter Shooting (35% from 3) and 28.1 Rebounds per Game
Angola: Averaging Around 30 Rebounds per Game and generate around a dozen steals per game
Key Factors for a Tournament Run
CN: Take Care of the Basketball
Angola: Need to improve Overall Shooting Numbers
Players to Watch in this Tournament
CN: Madison Vice Senior Combo Guard (Siena Heights Commit)/Meghan Kiebel Senior Guard/Forward
Angola: Lexi Stillman Sophomore Combo Guard
Westview (7-9, 4-3) @ West Noble (2-14, 2-5)
The last given matchup comes in Ligonier where Westview plays West Noble. This is a rematch from their Dec. 1 meeting where Westview won 55-29 thanks to Hope Bortner’s 29 points and a program-tying record 7 three-pointers.
Westview is a team with a lot of nice promising future led by Bortner (who is just a junior) and freshman Mykayla Mast. Both of them combine for 21.1 points per game on a team that only generates 39.4 points per game. Mast is coming off a milestone performance where her 22 points vs South Bend Career Academy is the most ever scored by a freshman at Westview.
When the offense is decent, Westview is very good with other kids like seniors Sara Lapp and Andrea Miller. Westview has been in plenty of close games as they are 2-4 in single digit games.
For West Noble, a difficult season would not come close to justifying how much of a grind it has been for the Lady Chargers. Only four players played on last season’s regional game led by senior Mackensy Mabie (14.1 points per game) and juniors Alexia Mast and Alayna DeLong. West Noble’s total varsity roster only goes eight players deep, and the team is averaging just 18.7 points from the rest of the roster.
West Noble also gives up more points than anyone else in the conference allowing 52.9 points per game. It is clear that their defense must bounce back this week if they want to have a chance at playing spoiler.
Key Strengths
Westview: 35% from 3-Point Range
West Noble: Average 7.6 Offensive Rebounds per Game
Key Factors for a Tournament Run
Westview: Competing in the Glass
West Noble: Better Defense
Players to Watch in this Tournament
Westview: Hope Bortner Junior Combo Guard
West Noble: Mackensy Mabie Senior Combo Guard
SuperSam’s Tournament Prediction:
Fairfield over Central Noble
