Columbus East’s Koryn Greiwe brings the ball up the court in the first quarter at Jennings County Thursday Jan. 21, 2022.
The Republic file photo
Columbus East finds itself in an unfamiliar position as it heads into this week’s girls basketball sectional at Bloomington North.
For the first time in more than a decade, the Olympians enter the sectional as the favorite. They’re ranked No. 10 in the state in Class 4A and are 17-3, including 5-0 against the other teams in the sectional.
“We kind of knew the expectations would be high this year,” East coach Danny Brown said. “(Athletics director) Pete (Huse) gave us a demanding schedule, and it’s paid off and made us better as the season has gone on, and that’s prepared us going into the sectional. Sectional basketball in Indiana, boys or girls, it doesn’t matter, anything can happen, and it usually does. We feel good about the regular season we’ve had. We’ve been tested, and we have the never-give-up attitude. We’re experienced, and we’re talented and we’re focused and we’re ready to go.”
The Olympians are led by senior point guard Koryn Greiwe (16.8 ppg, 3.1 apg, 3.6 spg), the school’s all-time leading scorer, and junior forward Saige Stahl (17.4 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 3.9 spg). Junior forward Leah Bachmann (9.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg), senior center Harley Gant (7.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and senior guard Albany Speer (7.2 ppg. 3.0 apg) have provided support.
With 298 steals (14.9 per game), East has 99 more steals this year than it did in its 20 games last year.
“That’s made a big difference,” Brown said.
The Olympians will face host Bloomington North (9-13) in the sectional opener at 6 p.m. Tuesday. East beat the Cougars 59-42 on Nov. 30.
Bloomington North is led by sophomore forward Mia Robbenolt (11.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg). The Cougars are looking for their first 10-win season since 2010-11.
“They’ll have the motivation playing on their home floor and hosting the sectional,” Brown said. “They’ve improved a lot over the last couple of years. Jeff Turmail has done a good job with them. We have to come out with a plan, and we’ll be ready. We didn’t play our best game over there the first time, and we’ve improved as the season has gone along. We’re playing our best basketball, as evidenced by beating Bedford and Jennings County and Silver Creek. But all of that means nothing. We have to be ready come Tuesday.”
In Tuesday’s second game, Columbus North (14-8) will take on East Central (19-4). The Trojans beat the Bull Dogs in last year’s sectional final and beat them 47-31 on Dec. 9.
“We feel like we are in a better spot than we were at that time,” Columbus North coach Brett White said. “We’re healthy. We’ve tweaked some things both offensively and defensively, so we’re ready to compete with them on Tuesday.”
East Central still has junior forward Josie Trabel (17.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and senior guard Hope Fox (13.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.7 apg, 3.1 spg), who have led the Trojans to sectional titles the past two years.
Columbus North is led by junior guard Lauren Barker (12.5 ppg, 2.9 spg) and senior forward Kylah Lawson (11.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg). Senior center Andrea Justis averages 6.3 points and 5.7 rebounds, and junior point guard Emma Long has stabilized the offense since returning after missing nine games with a broken elbow.
“Three victories in a row has given us a little bit of confidence,” White said. “We have everybody back now and healthy. Now that we’ve had everybody together here for a couple of weeks, we feel like we’re starting to hit our stride.”
The East-Bloomington North winner will play Martinsville, and the Columbus North-East Central winner will face Bloomington South in Friday’s semifinals. The sectional final is at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Meanwhile, in Class A, Hauser (10-12) will face a tough test against No. 5 Jac-Cen-Del (17-6) at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Waldron. The Eagles beat the Jets 65-40 on Dec. 1 after breaking open a five-point game with 6 1/2 minutes remaining.
“We got a little tired and started falling apart and turning the ball over,” Hauser coach Chad Evans said. “Hopefully, we can get that cleaned up by Wednesday.”
The Jets are led by sophomore point guard Madelyn Poe (17.3 ppg, 3.8 apg, 1.8 spg), junior guard Kyliegh Parrott (9.8 ppg, 1.8 spg), junior guard Adrianna Musillami (7.4 ppg) and senior forward Gabby Johns (6.7 ppg, 8.6 rpg).
The Eagles are led by senior Annabelle Williams (10.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 4.7 apg, 2.6 spg)
Hauser played one of its best games of the season in last week’s 60-59 loss at North Decatur. The Jets closed the regular seaosn with a 71-38 loss to 4A Shelbyville on Thursday.
“Against North Decatur, we had plenty of opportunites to win that ballgame,” Evans said. “Some of the shots just weren’t falling, and we didn’t hit free throws. Shelbyville, it was kind of like an organized scrimmage. We didn’t want to get anybody hurt again like we did three years ago. Kyliegh rolled her ankle again, but she should be able to play.”
The winner between Hauser and Jac-Cen-Del will play the Southwestern (Shelby-Morristown) winner in Friday’s second semifinal. Class A No. 1 and host Waldron will face the winner of Tuesday’s game between Rising Sun and Oldenburg Academy in Friday’s first semifinal.
