With a little over a week to go until the start of the boys basketball season and Thanksgiving, here’s a look at some of the key matchups in the 260 area in what looks to be a stacked lineup of games.
Tuesday
Central Noble (2-2) @ Bethany Christian (3-0)
Series in the last 20 years: 14-6 CN
After a disappointing loss to East Noble, the Lady Cougars came away with a 61-40 win at Prairie Heights on Saturday thanks to a strong 3rd quarter. But this is a tough road trip up in Goshen in the Menno Lands.
The Lady Bruins are coming off a state finals berth in Class 1A a year ago and look just as strong this season. The Bruins dominated Elkhart Christian on Friday 59-22, and the Bruins defense is holding teams to less than 26 points per game.
Senior guard and the future Trine commit Zoe Willems recently set new records as the school’s all-time leader in points (1,208) and rebounding (681). I see the Lady Bruins getting it done tonight.
Players to Watch
CN: Taylor Custer Junior Guard
Bethany: Mariah Stoltzfus Senior Point Guard (Goshen College Commit)
Bethany by 3
Fairfield (4-0) @ Northridge (2-1)
Series in the last 20 years: 12-6 Northridge
Defending 3A State Champion Fairfield is off to a solid 4-0 start in the Kyle Hartman era, which includes a 40-24 win over a pretty decent Goshen squad that has Kyra Hill.
Sophomore Eva Herbert is having a strong start to her season as she dropped 23 points and 5 3’s against rival Goshen on Saturday. By my count, she is averaging 14.5 points to go with her 4.3 boards and 3 assists per game. Northridge is coming off a very impressive 54-53 road win at Norwel led by 18 points, 9 boards, and 4 steals from Morgan Cross.
Fairfield has had their number in recent seasons, but they will have a tremendous challenge against their height as Northridge is averaging 33 boards per game as a team.
Players to Watch
Fairfield: Kaylee Dillon Senior Combo Guard
Northridge: Gabby Gates Senior Combo Forward (Huntington University Commit)
Northridge by 7
Fremont (1-2) @ Blackhawk Christian (3-1)
Series in the last 20 years: 13-10 Fremont
Coming off a 59-42 win over Adams Central, the Lady Eagles come into this game with some confidence. But it’s a huge task ahead of them against a powerful Braves team that nearly knocked off Eastside a week ago.
Fremont will have a tremendous challenge trying to not just slow down Emma Kline but also their big Allie Boyer. Fremont is building something tremendously special up in Steuben County, but this is a tough matchup on paper.
Players to Watch
Fremont: Addy Parr Junior Shooting Guard
Blackhawk: Allie Boyer Senior Center
Blackhawk by 10
Homestead (2-0) @ Norwell (2-1)
Series in the last 20 years: 9-8 Homestead
These are former conference rivals in the now defunct NHC, and it’s a very enticing matchup with a lot of talent on both sides of the court.
Homestead is coming off a convincing 73-40 win over Wayne where Myah Epps had 26 points, 7 boards, and 2 assists. Norwell will need a much needed bounceback performance if they want to beat Sparty. That will start with winning the rebounding battle in the glass where they allowed 34 boards to Northridge. And the Knights will need a solid night shooting the ball.
I see this game going down the wire, but I have Homestead hanging on for the win.
Players to Watch
Homestead: Gabby Helsom Sophomore Shooting Guard
Norwell: Kennedy Fuelling Senior Shooting Guard (Marian Commit)
Homestead by 3
Leo (4-1) @ Eastside (3-0)
Series in the last 20 years: 4-1 Eastside
Both teams are off to strong starts to their 2023 seasons. Leo is coming off a 52-49 loss to a solid Blackhawk Christian squad. Meanwhile, Eastside took down NECC rival Fremont 56-48. Paige Traxler leads the NECC in scoring averaging 17 points per game as the conference’s top shooter thus far. While Traxler added 20 @ Fremont, it was Lily Kreischer down the stretch that chipped in 17 that helped propel Eastside to victory lane.
It’s been a balanced attack for Leo as 5 players average at least 6 points per game, with Leah Shappell (13.8) and Kayla Adams (11.5) leading the scoring department. This game will come down to how well Leo’s guards can handle Eastside’s pressure, as well as the ability to crash the boards inside. Leo is averaging 37 boards per game this season with Adams averaging 11.5 boards per game.
This game is a coin toss, but I see Eastside gaining a slight edge.
Players to Watch
Leo: Kayla Adams Senior Combo Forward
Eastside: Paige Traxler Junior Shooting Guard
Eastside by 1
Snider (5-0) @ Columbia City (3-0)
Series in the last 20 years: 11-9 Columbia City
This game is as close as they come in the 260 tonight as the Lady Eagles host Snider in the NE8 Game of the Week. Both of CC’s most recent wins against Snider came by an average margin of roughly 5 points, which includes a 55-50 win a year ago.
Addison Baxter leads the NE8 in scoring averaging 22 points per game for the future Butler Lady Bulldog. But the team around her is 100% the same as the one from a year ago led by Huntington commit Kyndra Sheets and Molly Baker. In this game, CC will need to start off strong offensively, avoid and defensively will need to defend the paint well in this game. Sn
For Snider, you’re looking at a game where they will need to execute on their offensive sets and defensively need to slow down CC’s penetration. If Snider contains the tremendous backcourt of Baxter and Sheets, Snider probably gets the edge.
I think Snider finds a way to escape with a tough road win.
Players to Watch
Snider: Ciara Sims Senior Guard
Columbia City: Addison Baxter Junior Point Guard (Butler Commit)
Snider by 2
Friday
Fremont (1-2) @ Central Noble (2-2)
Series in the last 20 years: 16-12 CN
This is the NECC Game of the Week as the Eagles make the hour long drive to the Jungle in Albion, IN to face the Cougars. It’s been a season that has started with trial and error. When you look at this team led by the two freshmen Grace Scharlach and Mya Turner, there’s a tremendous future in sight for the Fremont program. Scharlach is 2nd in the entire conference in scoring averaging 15 points per game.
Addy Parr, who started off cold the first two games, had a huge performance at Adams Central where she had 22 points and 5 boards. If those 3 girls can have a balanced attack, Fremont will be in a lot of games. But so far turnovers and some defensive breakdowns have been concerning thus far.
Against a team like CN, you just simply cannot turn the ball over 30 times to this team. This Cougars team has went through a transition of a younger backcourt and players taking on new roles, and not to mention the injuries. Despite that, CN remains as one of the toughest teams to beat, and that’s especially the case on their home floor. While Grace Swank has been sidelined due to an injury, other players have stepped up. Melissa McCoy, Abby Pliett, and Taylor Custer all average around 8 points per game.
But the key for Central Noble is simply being able to find open shooters and to take care of the basketball. If they can do those things, the defense has been good enough to win these games.
I say Central Noble gets it done Friday night.
Players to Watch
Fremont: Grace Scharlach Freshman Point Guard
CN: Abby Pliett Sophomore Point Guard
Central Noble by 4
Garrett (1-1) @ DeKalb (3-0)
Series in the Last 20 Years: 12-8 Garrett
It’s an Old-Time DeKalb County Showdown across the railroad tracks as Garrett and DeKalb square off in Waterloo. Garrett has looked decent under John Bodey. Albeit, this team has a long way to go to get back to being the championship caliber program that this team has been over the years. But you can see some signs of potential.
Garrett has done a nice job utilizing their bigs with Delaeni Hixson, who had 13 points against Heritage, and Kelsey Bergman (IU-Kokomo Volleyball Commit). Bergman is averaging 12.5 points and over a dozen boards per game this season. The big breakout performance has been sophomore Sarah DePew who is averaging 13.5 points per game, which is 4th in the NECC.
But they have a huge task of guarding the sensational junior guard Ashley Cox who is averaging 21.3 points per game. Cox dropped 31 points and 10 rebounds in the 37-33 win over Angola. When you put yourself in the same category as Machelle Joseph in single game scoring numbers, you’re doing something right.
This game will come down to whether Garrett will be able to contain Cox, which means they have to use a box-and-1 which is something I know Bodey has used in the past. And rebounding will be crucial as well.
I think DeKalb finds a way to pick up a big win.
Players to Watch
Garrett: Kelsey Bergman Senior Center (IU-Kokomo Volleyball Commit)
DeKalb: Breann Fordyce Junior Combo Forward
DeKalb by 6
Jay County (1-1) @ Bellmont (1-1)
Series in the last 20 years: 15-5 Jay County
Last season Jay County defeated Bellmont 56-47 when Renna Schwieterman was still a Patriot. Now those reigns go to Hallie Schwieterman who is only a freshman that is averaging 15 points per game already.
But this is a tough matchup at Decatur where the Braves have been transitioning to getting things back in rhythm in basketball form due to the late start caused by the volleyball team’s state finals berth. Kam Jarvis did a nice job contributing in Hailey Cole’s absence including a 15-point performance in the 51-30 win over North Side.
For Bellmont to win, they need to stay healthy and play strong team basketball. Hailey Cole is a huge part of what they want to do on offense and defense, but the rest of the roster is very needed for Bellmont to remain as a contender. Assuming Cole is able to play, which we expect that, I have Bellmont in a SuperSam Upset Special!
Players to Watch
Jay County: Sophia Saxman Senior
Bellmont: Hailey Cole Senior Combo Forward
Bellmont by 2
Northrop (2-1) @ Carroll (1-1)
Series in the last 20 years: 20-8
This has been a very strong start from the Lady Bruins, and honestly one could argue that probably could have went 3-0 to start this campaign as they led for a good chunk of that Norwell game a week ago.
In addition to Destini Craig’s 21 points, Khala Williams-Thomas had 20 points, 5 assists, and 5 blocks vs Concordia on Saturday. If Northrop can get a couple of these talented ladies to find their stride shooting the basketball every night, they’re going to be a hard team to beat most nights.
Carroll looked a lot more like Carroll against Angola last Tuesday in the 55-27 win. Sophomore Lily George is averaging 20 points and 12 boards per game this season. That is a monster stat line for only a sophomore at Carroll. However, unlike Northrop, Carroll does not have a deep varsity roster this season and will need to not only stay healthy but also use their fouls well.
For Carroll to win this game though, one of their guards will need to get hot. Jersey Paul or Ava Myers are probably the two most likely players that have the capability to have a strong showing. In the end however, I still like Northrop in this game.
Players to Watch
Northrop: Alivia Rice Sophomore Guard
Carroll: Ava Myers Sophomore Shooting Guard
Northrop by 8
