- Fairfield 10-1 (4-0)
- Central Noble 12-0 (5-0)
- Eastside 7-2 (5-0)
- Lakeland 5-6 (1-2)
- Angola 4-7 (2-3)
- Garrett 3-6 (2-2)
- Westview 4-7 (3-2)
- Fremont 3-6 (1-2)
- West Noble 1-8 (1-3)
- Churubusco 2-8 (0-4)
- Prairie Heights 1-9 (0-6)
If you saw the feature photo, you know there is something cooking at the Jungle in Albion, IN. Central Noble has their second 12-0 start in program history (matching the 2018-19 Lady Cougars) with blowout wins over Lakewood Park and Westview. Madison Vice averaged 21 points per game in that week, and she now leads the NECC in scoring at 17.1 points per game. Vice is also at the cusp of becoming the fifth ever Lady Cougar to reach 1,000 career points.
Fairfield wasn’t nearly as busy this past week, but Friday’s win over Lakeland gives Fairfield their ninth double-digit win. We may have to wait until Saturday to find a worthy challenger for Fairfield.
Garrett had an up-and-down week with an impressive 46-40 road win over Westview, but also a 66-23 road loss to Norwell. On the bright note, Bailey Kelham now has 1,407 career points, trailing Brandi Dawson’s program record by just 26 points. Kelham is currently second in the NECC in scoring averaging 16.8 points per game.
If you are a Lakeland fan, you could not be more thrilled to be done with that week after two brutal losses at Fairfield (59-33) and at Bethany Christian (44-34). Now, can they get weather the storm this week? Two crucial NECC games await them: Wednesday @ Angola and Saturday vs Eastside.
Finally, let’s give the West Noble Lady Chargers some love here as we haven’t talked much about them this season. Their 50-42 win at Busco gives West Noble their first win of the season thanks to the play of senior Mackensy Mabie (17 points) and junior Alayna DeLong (12 points).
SuperSam’s 5 NECC Girls’ Basketball Picks of the Week
Wednesday
5-6 Lakeland @ 4-7 Angola
The Battle on Highway 20 between two schools separated by 24 miles apart. This is a game where both teams need a bounce back win and find a way to stay alive for a top 6 spot in the NECC. Lakeland failed to score 40 points in consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 4-5.
The shooting numbers have been pretty miserable lately for both teams. Lakeland is shooting exactly 33% from the floor and below 28% from 3 in their last two games. The Lakers are 4-0 when they shoot 40% or better and 4-2 when they shoot 30% or better from 3.
Dating back to last season, Lakeland is 9-9 when Peyton is scoring 14 or more points, but they are 6-9 when she doesn’t. For Angola, it has not been a good December for them so far going 0-2 and averaging 32 points per game. When Angola shoots the ball well, they are an above average basketball team, but that hasn’t been consistent enough lately.
When the Hornets are shooting as badly as they have been lately, it has a snowball effect on their defense, and you get a team that has lost three straight. If Angola can get to at least 40 points, they are 2-2 in the process.
Lakeland is looking for their first win against Angola since Jan. 16, 2014, and their first win at Angola since Nov. 24, 2007. Peyton Hartsough is averaging 12 points in her career against Angola.
Players to Watch
Lakeland: Peyton Hartsough Senior Combo Guard (Huntington Commit)
Angola: Leah Snyder Junior Forward
Angola by 2
Thursday
4-8 Concordia @ 3-6 Garrett
By the time we get to Thursday, Bailey Kelham could be within striking distance of reaching a huge milestone. If you recall, Kelham recorded her 1,00th career point last season against the Lady Cadets.
This also means that Garrett has to find a way to come up with a strong gameplan and find a way to still get a huge win. The Cadets have either been snake bitten or they have run into strong opponents. Concordia is 1-2 in games decided by less than 10 points. However, if there is something to take away from this game, it’s the fact Concordia has some nice talent led by Lauren Goodman and Annaka Nelson.
Garrett is going to need a good balanced shooting night to have a shot at winning this game.
Players to Watch
Concordia: Annaka Nelson Senior Combo Forward (Huntington Commit)
Garrett: Bailey Kelham Senior Combo Forward (Huntington Commit0
Garrett by 3
4-7 Westview @ 3-6 Fremont
The Steel Cage brings us a very interesting matchup between two teams that seemingly are rising in the respects of many across the NECC. Head Coaches Ryan Yoder and Shae (Rhonehouse) Thomas have done a splendid job of leading their rebuilding programs into respectable seasons to this point.
In this game, it is going to headline two emerging shooters: Junior Hope Bortner of Westview and Sophomore Addy Parr of Fremont. Both players are averaging over 12 points a game and ranked 8th and 9th respectively in the NECC scoring race.
Where Westview could have an advantage in this game are varsity experience, depth, defense, and excellent perimeter shooting. Westview did not graduate a lot of talent over the last two seasons, and that has propelled with a more competitive 2022-23 season. Westview is shooting 37% from three this season, and they are holding teams to 41.8 points per game.
While Fremont should have a slight height advantage with the play of Senior Natalie Gochenour, Fremont lacks scoring depth and even some varsity experience that could challenge them in this game. They will need a strong night rebounding the basketball in this game.
Players to Watch
Westview: Hope Bortner Junior Combo Guard
Fremont: Addy Parr Sophomore Combo Guard
Westview by 8
Saturday
7-2 Eastside @ 5-6 Lakeland
This could be a barn burner deep in the heart of LaGrange County where the Lakers host the Eastside Lady Blazers. Eastside is one of the area’s stingiest defenses allowing just 37.9 points per game. However, when their offense finds its stride, they are almost lethal.
Eastside is 6-0 when they are scoring 45 or more points, which is why they are averaging 47.4 points per game. This is thanks in part to strong depth: Grace Kreischer, Paige Traxler, and Sydnee Kessler.
For Lakeland, it will be their first home game since Nov. 29, where they hope to get more wins in front of their loyal fans. Lakeland won’t be on the road after Wednesday night’s game until the Trine University Holliday Classic on Dec. 29.
But as mentioned in the Angola preview, if Lakeland does not shoot the ball well, they almost certainly lose games. So, you have to hope someone has a huge night offensively and find a way to frustrate the Kreischer girls in the paint. It is worthy of note that Eastside has lost three of their last four trips to Lakeland dating back to 2014-15.
Players to Watch
Eastside: Grace Kreischer Senior Combo Forward
Lakeland: Olivia Oman Junior Combo Guard
Lakeland by 5
9-3 Snider @ 10-1 Fairfield
This is by far the hardest game to predict because two things can strongly happen here, especially since it’s a 1:30 tipoff. Either Snider has an amazing afternoon shooting the ball and defending the paint to beat Fairfield by 20 or 30 points. Or Snider can’t make any quality shots, and this game becomes a typical Fairfield game where it’s scrappy, physical, and not a lot of scoring.
Snider is very talented with a lot of excellent players across the board. Junior Jordyn Poole is one of the best guards in the nation within her class averaging 14.8 points and 3.5 assists on 38% 3-point shooting.
There is also Nae Nae Donahue, where she is averaging 10.8 points and shooting 45% from the floor. Keep in mind that Donahue is averaging 15.5 points over her last two games. Now you have to respect Clara Sims, who is also averaging 10.5 points per game and shooting 48% from the floor.
In other news, this is a very athletic, quick Snider offense that forces teams to make difficult shots. That is without mentioning the defensive prowess of Tia Phinezy where she is grabbing 7.8 boards and recording 3.8 blocks. Oh my Oklahoma!
For Fairfield, it is a very good team that knows they can compete with very good programs such as Columbia City and Northridge. The fact they went into Columbia City and played a great game in that environment (51-46 Columbia City win), that shows the character Brodie Garber’s team has right now.
Brea Garber is Brea Garber. She is one of the most dominant players in the state of Indiana because of her ability to be a game changer in many different ways. She’s a fantastic scorer, but she rebounds/defends well, she sees the floor at a high level, and she makes every teammate better because she is so selfless.
Bailey Willard is a solid shooter that has good resiliency to not give up on plays. Morgan Gawthrop is one of those important glue-girls every great team needs to have.
Plus, they have some solid guards in Natalie Whitaker, Eva Herbert, and Kaylee Dillon among others. The question becomes: Can they contain Snider’s athleticism and be able to generate enough offense?
Players to Watch
Snider: Tia Phinezy Junior Shooting Guard
Fairfield: Brea Garber Senior Combo Forward
Snider by 12
