Teams will enter girls’ basketball sectional play this week all in a number of a different places. Some with very few games played and others almost near a full schedule. COVID-19 has impacted each team differntly, making this years’ state tournament as wide open as ever. Here are the local sectionals by the numbers.
2A No. 38 at Fountain Central
• Records: Clinton Prairie 18-2, Seeger 14-2, Sheridan 10-4, Lafayette Central Catholic 12-2, Fountain Central 13-6, Rossville 6-13. Five of the six teams have winning records overall. Clinton Prairie is 4-0 against sectional opponents, while Central Catholic hasn’t played a sectional opponent, and Fountain Central is 0-3. The Mustangs have a pair of losses to Seeger and a loss to the Gophers. A combined 73-29 record amongst the six teams is the second best win percentage of any sectional in the state regardless of class.
• Players to Watch: Fountain Central’s Dakota Borman 14.7 points per game, Sheridan’s Allie Delph 13.4 points per game, Clinton Prairie’s Tynlie Neal 12.9 points per game, Rossville’s Michelle Rodkey 11.6 points per game, Seeger’s Aubry Cole.
• Top Scoring Team: Central Catholic 56.1 points per game. The Knights have a scoring margin of +13.3 and have scored 50 points or more in 10 of their 14 games.
• Top Defensive Team: Seeger 29.8 points per game. The Patriots have a scoring margin of +21.1 and have held opponents under 30 points in 10 of their 16 games.
• Favorite: John Harrell has Central Catholic as the top rated team in the sectional with a sagarin rating of 78.01. Fountain Central is fifth with a 43.32 rating. He gives the Knights a 52.93% chance to win the sectional and less than 1% chance for the Mustangs. Central Catholic is the defending sectional champ and has won three-straight titles. Fountain Central is looking for its fourth title in school history and first since 2015.
2A No. 44 at South Putnam
• Records: South Putnam 11-1, Southmont 12-4, Parke Heritage 12-6, North Putnam 10-12, Cloverdale 3-19, Riverton Parke 4-14. The Eagles (5-0) and the Mounties (2-0) are both perfect against the sectional field, while Parke Heritage is 4-1. Southmont’s wins came against North Putnam and Riverton Parke.
• Players to Watch: North Putnam’s Kyla Willis 20.8 points per game, South Putnam’s Brie Miller 13.6 points per game, Southmont’s Sidney Veatch 13.4 points per game, Parke Heritage’s Grace Ramsay 12.2 points per game, Cloverdale’s Veronica Carter 12 points per game, Riverton Parke’s Bailey Duke 10.1 points per game. South Putnam has three players averaging in double-figures.
• Top Scoring Team: South Putnam 67.3 points per game. The Eagles have a scoring margin of +28.4 and have scored 60 points or more in 10 of their 12 games.
• Top Defensive Team: South Putnam 38.9 points per game. The Eagles have held opponents under 40 points six times. In comparison, Southmont is averaging 49.3 points per game against 41.8 points per game. The Mounties have scored more than 50 points on seven occasions.
• Favorite: John Harrell has South Putnam as the top rated team with a sagarin rating of 75.05. Southmont is second with a rating of 52.44. He gives South Putnam an 88.79% chance to win the sectional, and Southmont just a 4.76% chance. The Eagles are the defending sectional champions, while the Mounties are in search of their first since 2014.
3A No. 25 at Tri-West
• Records: Tri-West 12-6, Danville 11-10, Greencastle 10-10, Crawfordsville 5-10, North Montgomery 4-13, Monrovia 7-11, Frankfort 2-16. The Bruins are 3-0 against the sectional field, while Danville is 5-1, with its lone loss coming to Tri-West. Crawfordsville and North Montgomery each have a win against the field. The two teams didn’t meet in the regular season.
• Players to Watch: Danville’s Maddie Patterson 16 points per game, Tri-West’s Kenna Kirby 15.3 points per game, Frankfort’s Jordan Frazier 13.3 points per game, Monrovia’s Mallory Willett 11.9 points per game, Greencastle’s Kennedy Trigg 11.6 points per game, North Montgomery’s Katie Rice 10 points per game, Crawfordsville’s Shea Williamson 7 points per game.
• Top Scoring Team: Tri-West 59.6 points per game. The Bruins have a scoring margin of +16.8 and have scored 55 points or more 11 times this season.
• Top Defensive Team: Greencastle’s 40.4 points per game. However, the Tiger Cubs score just 39.6 points per game. They’ve held opponents under 40 points 10 times.
• Favorite: John Harrell has Tri-West rated as the top rated team with a sagarin rating of 82.26. Crawfordsville is fifth with a rating of 35.06 and North Montgomery sixth with a rating of 31.67. He gives Tri-West an 81.59% chance of winning the sectional, and Danville a 17.05% chance. Crawfordsville and North Montgomery are both below 1%. Danville is the defending sectional champion. North Montgomery last won a title in 2007 and Crawfordsville in 2009.
