Columbus East’s Saige Stahl shoots over Brown County’s Abigail Watson in the Orange Pit at Columbus East High School.
The Republic file photo
The past three years, Columbus East has had a high-scoring point guard in Koryn Greiwe, but hasn’t quite had a consistent No. 2 scorer to take some of the pressure off her.
This year, the Olympians have had that complementary player in athletic forward Saige Stahl, and they’re flying high largely because of it. The 6-foot-1 junior is leading East with 15.7 points and 9.1 rebounds a game going into today’s home contest against Jeffersonville.
“That takes a lot of pressure off of (Greiwe),” East coach Danny Brown said. “Her sophomore year, she was averaging 32 a game (early in the season). She doesn’t have to do that now. She distributes the ball more, and Saige is a big part of that, and so is Leah (Bachmann) and Harley (Gant) underneath, and Albany (Speer) is playing well and knocking down shots. That starting group is really playing well together, and I think they feed off of each other. I think one thing that’s unique about this group, and Saige included, is when they make a pass, they expect to get it back, and I think that goes a long way as far as good team chemistry and unity. They share the basketball.”
The Olympians, ranked No. 8 in Class 4A, are 9-1 and riding a seven-game winning streak. Their only loss came against 4A No. 7 Fishers, and they’ve beaten Hamilton Southeastern and East Central teams that were ranked in the top 10 in 4A at the time they played them.
“We‘ve started off really strong,” Stahl said. “We’ve had a lot of strong games, and one of our main focuses throughout the season is to keep starting good and keep pushing for it. We look at every game, and that’s our next goal — to win that next game no matter who it is.”
At the moment, that next game is today. Then, it’s on to Ben Davis on Tuesday before the Olympians can turn their attention to Thursday’s rivalry matchup at Columbus North.
Those teams will have to try to find a way to slow down Stahl, who is enjoying a breakout season.
“I kind of just do what the coaches tell me to do,” Stahl said. “I crash the boards a lot to get a lot of rebounds, and I think that helps me score. I want our outside shooters to keep shooting, because we have Maeleigh (Roberts), Koryn and Albany, and they’re great shooters, so if they have the shot, then take it, and I just want them to know that I have their back and that I’ll get the rebound if they don’t make it. It’s kind of just a team effort, and when we all work together, we all score, and that’s the main goal. I’ve really been trying to give the team my all and playing to my best ability, and I know all my teammates are doing the exact same, so I can give them nothing less.””
Stahl is getting it done on the defensive end, as well. She ranks in the top 10 in the state with 5.2 steals a game.
“She is the middle of our press and makes things happen,” Brown said. “She just anticipates everything so well and uses her quickness and speed not only on the offensive end, but the defensive end, as well. She just has a good basketball IQ, and that goes a long way in the game of basketball. If you have a good basketball IQ, you can overcome some areas that maybe you’re deficient in. You can see things that maybe some other players don’t. She’s developed into one of the top players around, and she has a year-and-a-half to go, so she’s only going to get better.”
During the offseason, Stahl played for Indiana Elite Phoenix. She said she has worked on a lot of different moves in the post and shooting.
Stahl is shooting 53 percent from the field and 79 percent from the free-throw line this season.
“You mostly have girls that are bigger than me playing down low, and I like to use my speed as my strength,” Stahl said. “I’ve been working on my outside shot, and I know the coaches definitely want me to be shooting that. I’m still not 100 percent comfortable with it, but I’m still working on it, so hopefully, I can include that in my game later on in the season.”
Brown has noticed the improvement.
“She’s improved in all areas of her game,” Brown said. “She just works so hard at her skills and her craft, and she just keeps getting better and better. She’s working on her outside shot, but her inside game, she’s just so quick, and I think one of the things she takes advantage of more than anything is, she’s a quick jumper. She can get off the ground quick and has a variety of moves inside that you don’t see a lot of.”
In coming up with one word to best describe Stahl, Brown chose “competitive.”
“She wants to win,” Brown said. “She wants to get better and wants to do whatever it takes for the team to win. She’s a team player all the way. She’s just making everybody around her better.”
Stahl also has been a standout volleyball player the past three years and was one of the top hitters on an East team that reached the regional final this fall. She also played softball last spring, but plans to give up that sport to play travel basketball.
Although Stahl still plans to play volleyball again next fall, she said basketball will be the sport she continues in college.
“Basketball is kind of my main sport right now,” Stahl said. “I kind of just play volleyball with my friends just to have fun and make that a part of my high school experience.”
The goal for the Olympians this basketball season is to win a state title.
“I love my team, so that would be an amazing goal for all of us, and we all want that super badly,” Stahl said. “It would be awesome to get up there and play with those big guys at the next level.”
