Saige Stahl
Over the past few years, a little bit of a rivalry has developed between Columbus East and East Central in girls basketball.
The teams regularly meet in December, and the past two years, they have squared off in the sectional. Tonight, the Class 4A No. 8 Olympians and 4A co-No. 11 Trojans will meet in the sectional final for the third time in five years.
“It’s kind of like we’re on a collision course to meet again this year,” East coach Danny Brown said. “Columbus North gave them a really good game (in a 41-38 first-round loss) and had a real good plan. But here we are in the finals again, the two favorites. We’re playing our best basketball, and they’re playing good basketball. They’re the two-time defending champion, and somebody has to knock them off, and that’s our goal. It has been all year.”
A huge key to tonight’s matchup will be the health of Olympians junior forward Saige Stahl. Stahl, who leads East with 18.2 points and 9.3 rebounds a game, had a triple-double in a first-round win against Bloomington North and was on her way to another in Saturday’s semifinal win against Martinsville when she was kicked in the finger after falling to the floor.
Stahl was in the ER until 2 a.m. Sunday after receiving seven stitches for a dislocated pinky finger on her left (non-shooting) hand. She is hoping to be able to play in tonight’s game, which starts at 7 p.m.
The Olympians (19-3) have shown they have other players who can score, though. Senior point guard Koryn Greiwe (16.7) ppg is the school’s all-time leading scorer. Junior forward Leah Bachmann (9.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg) led East with 20 points on Saturday. Senior center Harley Gant (7.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and senior guard Albany Speer (7.0 ppg) have been consistent scorers, as well.
“We’re really hard to beat if we get good balanced scoring,” Brown said. “When we get balanced scoring, it makes us even harder to guard. It just shows the unselfishness of our team the way we move the ball and get everybody involved. We can have a different leading scorer every night. We get a lot of consistency out of our starting lineup, and that’s been a key all season.”
East Central (21-4) still has its top two players that have led it to the past two sectional titles in junior forward Josie Trabel (16.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and senior guard Hope Fox (14.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg). Junior guard Laney Baker adds 9.8 points a game.
“Trabel is such as slasher and penetrator inside the lane and really get to the basket,” Brown said. “Fox controls the show for them and is a good outside shooter, a good 3-point shooter. But they have more than just those two. They’re a talented group.”
After the Olympians beat the Trojans in the 2018 sectional final, East Central beat East four consecutive times, including in the 2020 sectional final and last year’s sectional opener. This season, the Olympians beat the Trojans 55-46 on Nov. 18.
East ranks second in 4A and fourth overall in the state in scoring, averaging 67.0 and giving up 48.8. East Central averages 56.0 and allows 37.2.
“They can play a couple different ways,” Brown said. “They can slow it up and grind it out and have the game in the 40s and 50s or do like they did against Bloomington South and push it. A lot of their games this year have been like that. They’re dangerous either way, and we hope to make them adjust to us.”
