The SAC was a fun conference to watch all year long with lots of tightly contested battles. In the end, the standings ended up perfectly symmetrical, meaning that each team had a different record than another team in conference play and that any certain team you choose in the standings beat every team below them and lost to everyone above them. This would mean there were no upsets the entire year but as we saw earlier this week with Carroll knocking off Northrop in sectionals you can never know what the result will be when two SAC squads go head to head. Many players stood out this season in the conference and had fantastic seasons that deserve some recognition. Here are some of those players in my All-SAC starting 5:
Guard: Jordyn Poole (Snider, Junior)
Coming into the year the expectations for Poole were to be a top player in the area if not the best and she certainly lived up to those expectations leading her Panthers to a great season. On the year she led Snider in points per game with 15.8 while also dishing out 4.1 assists a game. She also stepped up big in conference play averaging 17.6 points a game against conference opponents including a career-high performance against Northrop scoring 30 points. Her overall efficiency is what makes her most dangerous as she shot 49% from the field and 43% from three on the season. Defensively she also made some big plays with 3.1 steals a game. Poole had been reeling in offers from major conference schools for years now and still has one more season of dominating the SAC to go.
Guard: Taylor Fordyce (Carroll, Senior)
Fordyce has had a great career with the Chargers as she is a 1,000-point career scorer and had another great season this year. She led Carroll to a 4th-place finish in the conference while averaging a team-high 15.1 points a game. She was also a very efficient scorer shooting 47% from the field and 38% from behind the arc. She came up big in other areas as well with 4.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.8 steals a game. Free throw shooting has been another strength for her as she showcased Tuesday by going 12 for 12 from the line in an upset win over Northrop.
Forward: Neveah Jackson (Northrop, Senior)
For years Neveah has been playing at a high level in SAC whether it was these last two years at Northrop or even playing at a high level as an underclassman at Carroll. She also is another 1,000-point career scorer on this list showing how great she has been for a couple of years now. This season she helped take on the task of leading the Bruins to their first conference title in well over 20 years. She was able to do just that as they finished with an unblemished record. Neveah led Northrop in points(14.7) and blocks(1.6) a game while also getting 2.6 steals a game. Although Neveah’s high school playing days are now over after taking an upset loss to Carroll she still has a bright future in basketball ahead as she will be playing at Valparaiso University next year along with her sister Saniya.
Forward: Saniya Jackson (Northrop, Senior)
Just like her sister, Saniya is a 1,000-point scorer that will be heading to Valparaiso next season. She was a very consistent presence for the Bruins all year reaching double digits in points in all but two games this season. She also had two games with a double-double this season with points and rebounds, the second one coming against Homestead in a game that won Northrop the conference championship. She was big on the glass all year with 6.7 boards a game while also being one of the most impactful defensive players in the conference with 2.9 steals and 1.4 blocks a game. Saniya truly impacted the game in all aspects and was one of the key pieces that led the Bruins to their perfect 9-0 SAC regular season record.
Forward: Ali Stephens (Homestead, Senior)
Stephens took on the role of the leader for Homestead this year and has thrived under the new role. For the first time in her career, she needed to have more of a post presence and took that challenge head-on grabbing 6.1 rebounds a game this year including 3 games with a double-double. See also was great at scoring the ball with 15.3 points a game. Although it may have seemed like a down year for the Spartans because of the success they have become accustomed to, they are still one of the best squads in the state this season and Stephens is one of the main reasons for that.
And 5 players really aren’t enough so here are some honorable mentions that had outstanding seasons this year.
HM: Myah Epps (Homestead, Freshman)
From the very beginning of the season, Epps stepped up big for the Lady Spartans as they needed someone to fill the void that Ayanna Patterson left behind as she went to UConn. For Epps to be able to perform right away as a Freshman showed exactly why she was already pulling in division one offers. To be the only underclassman on this list is making a statement and shows how she will be one of the top players in the conference for years to come. She also just continued to improve the game in and game out this season getting better as the season progressed. Epps averages were 12.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2 steals a game. She was the facilitator for the Spartans this year, a team that ended up third in the conference. She also showed a great ability to attack the basket and draw contact getting herself to the line frequently with 90 attempts from the line this year. In the first game of sectional, she also showed a clutch gene knocking down 3 free throws with 0.5 seconds left against Columbia City to give the Spartans a one-point win and stay alive.
HM: Brooklyn McLemore (Northrop, Senior)
McLemore may have been the best post presence in the entire conference this season as she came up big on the glass and got lots of points in the paint. Her averages were 11.1 points a game along with a team-high 7.9 rebounds a game. In just 14 games played in the regular season, she was able to get 4 double-doubles which does not even include her absolutely dominant showcase to close out the year when she scored 21 points and got 9 rebounds against Homestead. In the biggest game of the regular season, she stepped up and showed out for the Bruins. Overall on the year the Bruins were such an unstoppable offensive attack and when teams are playing at that high of a level it is often because of offensive rebounds. With those 2nd chance opportunities, it makes it so even when the defense forces a miss they still can’t get the stop and that’s why McLemore was so vital to the Bruins’ success averaging 4.5 offensive rebounds a game.
HM: Johnea Donahue (Snider, Junior)
Donahue this season was the perfect backcourt running mate with Jordyn Poole as they together led the Panthers to second place in the SAC. She is able to get it done in so many different ways whether it’s scoring, rebounding, facilitating the offense, or forcing turnovers she did it all and her stat line shows that. She averaged 12.4 points a game this season and after not hitting double digits in her first five games she scored double digits in 14 of her last 17 games to close out the regular season. As for her rebounding and assist numbers she put up 4.3 assists and 4.6 rebounds. The most impressive part of Donahue’s season though was her ability to wreak havoc defensively with 5.8 steals a game. There were even three games in which her steal total reached double digits which is an incredible feat even on its own.
