GREENFIELD — It might seem like a good thing, drawing a bye in the sectional.
New Palestine got one this year, making the Dragons the only Hancock County team who won’t be competing in tonight’s first round of girls basketball sectionals.
Greenfield-Central, Mt. Vernon and Eastern Hancock open postseason play tonight in two locations, with the Cougars and Marauders at Mt. Vernon and the Royals at Shenandoah.
Ask the coaches and players about their thoughts on byes, and you’ll get a variety of answers.
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“I never know what to hope for, honestly,” Greenfield-Central coach Bradley Key said. “I like to play on the Tuesday nights — you can feel that intensity. Friday’s nice, because you win one game, you’re in the championship. In my experience, I think it’s always fun to go that Tuesday, Friday, Saturday. If you can make that journey, it’s a special week in general.”
The Dragons, who got the bye, have different mindsets between the coaches and the players.
“I like the bye,” New Palestine coach Sarah Gizzi said. “The girls didn’t want the bye; they were hoping to play on Tuesday night. They just like to be there and get in the action, and they don’t want to practice.”
The New Palestine players may have been a bit disappointed in drawing the bye, despite the apparent advantage it gives with a free pass to the semifinal. Some of the other county players and coaches simply just want to get on the court and get going.
Don’t give them the bye. They don’t want it.
“I don’t care who we draw, I just don’t want the bye,” Eastern Hancock coach Shari Doud said. “I don’t like to sit that long between the last game and the first game of sectional.”
“We really liked the draw we got,” Mt. Vernon junior Sydnee Perry said. “I like playing in the first round and not sitting out with a bye.”
The draw is long done. The teams are ready, and all but the Dragons know who they will face. Here’s what to expect from this week’s girls basketball sectionals.
Sectional 9 – Mt. Vernon
It’s no secret who the favorite is in Class 4A’s Sectional 9.
The hosts cannot be counted out, but the Dragons are the team to beat. They won this sectional a year ago. They’ve beaten everyone they’ve faced in this sectional, a 4-0 mark, and finished the season 20-2, three wins better than anyone else in the field.
New Palestine went a perfect 7-0 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference and comes into the sectional with eight seniors, a conference title and a desire to defend their sectional title.
“We are just really excited for the opportunity to defend, to even be in that position, to have won one and to have had such a good season,” Gizzi said. “We feel like we are really in a position to defend our sectional title.”
The rest of the field is ready to try to make that title defense fall short.
“It’s a tough sectional,” Key said. “Connersville’s gotten better and better. Mt. Vernon’s great. Pendleton’s good. Obviously, New Pal and Mt. Vernon are the favorites. We just have to make sure we’ve been focusing on getting ready, and doing things that can help us win games.”
The draw was conducive to a possible sectional championship rematch from last year, when the Dragons took down the Marauders to advance into the regional.
There’s a lot of basketball to be played to get to that point, though. Pendleton Heights, who drew the other bye in the sectional and awaits either Mt. Vernon or Connersville, is finally healthy for the first time in months.
The Arabians can’t be counted out, just like the rest of the six-team field can’t be.
“I’m excited because hopefully, if we win our game, it’s kind of neat that that rematch is a possibility,” Gizzi said. “We know there are a lot of other really good teams that we would have to play to get there.”
“It could set up a rematch, but we are just focusing on the only game that matters right now, and that is Connersville,” Mt. Vernon’s Perry said. “I think we are very confident in each other and the team as a whole. Our team focus starts at the defensive end and how that can bring energy to the whole team, and always having a positive mindset.”
Mt. Vernon has had a strong defense all season, allowing just over 41 points per game.
They won’t be the only team focusing on defense. With high-scoring teams that prefer to push the pace like the Dragons (58.7 points per game) and the Arabians (53.7) in the field, defense could play a key role in who emerges as champion.
“I think we’re really focusing on our defense,” Greenfield-Central junior Hannah Farrell said. “Just playing hard the whole time, giving all we’ve got. I feel like that will lead to offense, which I feel like is our game.”
While no county rivals face off in the opening round, if the three Hancock County teams in this sectional all play their games and take care of business, those rivalries could be renewed this week.
The Cougars and Dragons played an incredible first half on Dec. 7, a back-and-forth 16 minutes that left the game tied at the break. The Dragons pulled away quick in the second half, but those teams would meet in an intriguing semifinal with a Greenfield-Central win tonight.
If the cards fall right, if the Dragons and Marauders face off again for a sectional title, New Palestine isn’t intimidated by Mt. Vernon being the hosts. The Dragons beat the Marauders by six points on Dec. 11, and they are ready to do it again Saturday night if the opportunity presents itself.
“We think we can win it, 100 percent,” New Palestine senior Leah Seib said. “We’re going in there and we’re winning it. We’re not going to lose to Mt. Vernon. We know it’s their house, but we’re going to win.”
Sectional 42 – Shenandoah
Eastern Hancock’s draw in Class 2A’s Sectional 42 is a bit of a mixed bag.
The first round is favorable, with one of the weakest teams in the state awaiting the Royals tonight. The semifinal round would basically be the opposite story if the Royals emerge with a win against Irvington Prep Academy.
“On paper, they are the least likely to win our sectional, but stranger things have happened,” Doud said. “We still have to come out and play hard. Then, obviously Triton Central waits for whoever comes out of that, and hopefully that’ll be us. Triton is No. 2 in the state in 2A. They’re a good basketball team.”
The Tigers are clear favorites in this sectional. Eastern Hancock is familiar with them for multiple reasons.
The Royals faced the Tigers on Nov. 10, a 65-45 Triton Central victory.
“We saw them the second game of the year,” Doud said. “We weren’t ready to play a team that good, second game of the year, but there’s been a lot of games between then and now for both teams.”
Some of the current Royals also probably remember a meeting with the Tigers two years ago, a sectional championship game that didn’t go quite as expected.
The two teams came into that game with remarkably similar records to where they are now. Triton Central was 23-1. Eastern Hancock was 13-10. The Tigers had beaten the Royals by 17 points during that regular season.
It didn’t matter. In the sectional championship, the Royals upset the Tigers, 57-50, and advanced to the regional championship game that year.
That 2017 game serves as a reminder that anything can happen once the postseason begins. Regular-season success doesn’t mean a whole lot when the second season begins. Neither does success in previous seasons.
The Royals are confident in their ability and ready for the challenge.
“Tournament time is a whole new season,” Doud said. “You can take away our record, take away their record, throw the ball up, and it’s a new season. Attitudes are different. The desires are different. There’s a lot at stake. You win or you go home. It’s an exciting time of the year. You just never know what’s going to happen, come tournament time.”
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Sectional 9
At Mt. Vernon
Today
G1: Mt. Vernon vs. Connersville, 6 p.m.
G2: Greenfield-Central vs. Richmond, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
G3: Pendleton Heights vs. G1 winner, 6 p.m.
G4: New Palestine vs. G2 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
G5: G3 winner vs. G4 winner, 7:30 p.m.
The favorites
(with Sagarin Rating, record, offensive/defensive ppg average, leading scorer-ppg)
New Palestine (88.43, 20-2, 58.7/40.5, Leah Seib-14.5)
Mt. Vernon (83.56, 17-5, 49.5/41.8, Lexi Shelton-15.5)
This sectional looks like it is New Palestine’s to lose, but don’t count out the Marauders, who have home-court advantage and always seem to play the Dragons tough. The brackets are set up perfectly for a sectional-championship rematch between the teams. New Palestine beat their county rivals earlier this season and bested the Marauders to win the sectional title last year, though, and the Dragons completed an undefeated run through the Hoosier Heritage Conference to win their first ever outright HHC title. With eight seniors leading the way, including defending Hancock County Player of the Year Leah Seib (14.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg), the Dragons will be a tough out. Don’t be surprised if Mt. Vernon, led by the county’s second-leading scorer Lexi Shelton (15.5 ppg) and coached by a state championship-winning coach in Julie Shelton, pulls off the slight upset.
The contenders
Pendleton Heights (75.11, 13-10, 53.7/51.0, Kailyn Graham-13.7)
Greenfield-Central (69.03, 9-13, 47.5/50.3, Hannah Farrell-19.9)
Connersville (64.23, 10-12, 44.0/48.3, Marley Smith-12.7)
While Sectional 9 looks like a one- or two-team race, the Arabians, Spartans and Cougars could make some noise. Pendleton Heights is the most balanced and dangerous team in this group, with Kailyn Graham (13.7), Aubree Dwiggins (12.0) and Megan Mills (10.1) all boasting double-digit scoring averages. The Arabians are finally healthy after almost two months of being shorthanded, making them a tough semifinal opponent for either Mt. Vernon or Connersville. Greenfield-Central has the best player of this group and perhaps the sectional in Hannah Farrell (19.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 3.5 spg), who has huge scoring potential any night. Connersville would need to get through the hosts, the Arabians and the Dragons, a tall task.
The longshots
Richmond (59.07, 5-18, 42.1/52.2, Kierra Wright-11.3)
Richmond is the weakest of the Sectional 9 teams and would have a tough road to get to a sectional championship. A first-round upset isn’t out of the question for the Red Devils, but they’ll have to contain Farrell, which is easier said than done. Richmond will need seniors Kierra Wright (11.3 ppg) and Zoee Woolridge (9.9) to step up in a big way to make a run, as the Dragons would await after the Cougars.
Sectional 42
At Shenandoah
Today
G1: Knightstown vs. Shenandoah, 6 p.m.
G2: Irvington Prep Academy vs. Eastern Hancock, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
G3: Indianapolis Howe vs. G1 winner, 6 p.m.
G4: Triton Central vs. G2 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
G5: G3 winner vs. G4 winner, 7:30 p.m.
The favorites
(with Sagarin Rating, record, offensive/defensive ppg average, leading scorer-ppg)
Triton Central (85.67, 21-1, 67.2/40.5, Tenleigh Phelps-16.4)
The path to the regional goes through Triton Central. With one loss and ranked No. 2 in the state, they are the clear favorites here and get a favorable draw, with a bye and their biggest competitor, Shenandoah, sitting on the opposite side of the bracket. The Tigers have a ton of firepower, with Tenleigh Phelps (16.4 ppg), Maya Chandler (14.2) and Rylie Stevens (13.9) all scoring more than a dozen points per game. One roadblock could come in the second round, as the Tigers likely haven’t forgotten coming into the sectional final two years ago at 23-1, only to be upset by Eastern Hancock, who is favored to advance out of the first round to meet Triton Central in the semifinal.
The contenders
Shenandoah (70.52, 18-4, 57.0/35.4, Kathryn Perry-17.4)
Eastern Hancock (60.32, 12-10, 49.5/43.1, Jocelyn Duncan-13.0)
Two teams that could pull an upset of Triton Central would be the Royals and the Raiders. On paper, the Raiders look like the bigger threat, but Eastern Hancock beat Shenandoah, 52-48, earlier this season. Shenandoah has a fairly clear path to the sectional championship game, needing to go through two teams they will be heavily favored to beat in Knightstown and Howe. The Royals, on the other hand, will have to find a way past Triton Central in the semifinal. The Raiders’ hopes rest in the hands of two impressive sophomores, Kathryn Perry (17.4 ppg) and Erikka Hill (13.8). The Royals will rely on seniors Jenna Smith (8.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg) and Haley Best (9.1), along with leading scorer Jocelyn Duncan (13.0), to try to advance.
The longshots
Knightstown (36.77, 3-18, 37.6/59.0, Kaitlyn Jackson-8.8)
Indianapolis Howe (25.59, 12-6, 45.9/34.6, N/A)
Irvington Prep Academy (-4.97, 2-15, 20.9/55.1, N/A)
The bottom of Sectional 42 is crowded, with Howe getting a first-round bye and Irvington Prep and Knightstown both heavy underdogs in opening-round games against Eastern Hancock and Shenandoah, respectively. Knightstown may be the most likely of this bunch to win, despite losing to Shenandoah by 40 points in the regular season. While you can’t count anyone out come tournament time, these three teams are about as big of longshots as you’ll find in this year’s tournament.
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