Columbus East junior Saige Stahl, left, and senior Koryn Greiwe are The Republic Girls Basketball Players of the Year. They are pictured in the studio at The Republic in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Columbus East senior Koryn Greiwe finished off a storybook career, while junior Saige Stahl had one of the biggest breakthrough seasons in Olympians history.
Greiwe finished her career as the leader scorer in program history, and Stahl was a walking double-double, and on some occasions, a triple-double when she stepped on the court.
Greiwe and Stahl were a big part in East having its most wins since 2008 with 19, and a top-10 ranking for part of the season. The 1-2 punch on the court this season earned the duo The Republic Girls Basketball co-Player of the Year honors.
For the past three years, opposing teams really keyed in on Greiwe, who was the Olympians’ leading scorer and biggest offensive threat. Stahl ended up being a perfect complementary piece to Greiwe both offensively and defensively this year. Often times, they made it frustrating to opposing coaches as to who to guard in certain situations.
While Greiwe and Stahl were the two that carried the load together, the other three regular starters — junior Leah Bachmann and seniors Harley Gant and Albany Speer — all had the capability to put up around 20 points on any given night. It was one of many reason that East was a force to reckon with.
“It was hard for teams in knowing who to guard because every game, it was a different person stepping up,” Greiwe said. “We were all making plays and contributing to the game, so I think it was really hard for defenses to know how to guard us, especially Saige. This year, it was really successful because everyone played a big role, and the (opponents’) defense didn’t know what to do.”
Stahl added, “Playing with Koryn has helped out a lot because I think we read each other really well. We kind of have the same headset on what we’re going to do. Our team really helped through this season.”
When Greiwe came onto the scene as a freshman, she had no idea what she was going to be capable of what she was going to accomplish with the Olympians, but she gave fans a sneak peek on what was to come.
In the second game of her freshman campaign against Bloomington South, Greiwe finished with 31 points. It was then that coach Danny Brown knew he was going to have something special the next few years and a chance that Greiwe could approach Maria Stack’s career scoring record, and he was right.
During this season against Eastern (Pekin), Greiwe had one of her best first halves of her career with 26 points, going 8 for 8 from the 3-point line for the game to finish with 32 points. Her first bucket of the second half broke the all-time scoring record. The 5-foot-7 point guard eventually finished her career with 1,656 points.
“The night she broke the record against Eastern (Pekin), we weren’t really well prepared to thinking she would get it. We have to be honest because she came out and had one of the greatest first halves I’ve ever seen a high school player have,” East coach Danny Brown said. “I was like, ‘She’s going to get this, and she got it at home after all. It was an awesome moment. She had it in her mindset she was going to get it done that night and help us win the game.”
A multi-sport athlete, Stahl played volleyball and softball last year. She played volleyball again last fall, but has decided to not pursue softball this year to focus on her basketball career.
In the offseason last year, Stahl played travel basketball with Indiana Elite, which was the same organization as Greiwe. Stahl said she spent time honing her skills down low in the post in order to build speed and become much faster than the other girls in the post. This offseason, she is playing with a different team, the Nike Gym Rats.
Stahl also has been her own biggest critic. One of the things she mentioned that she needed to improve on in the offseason was her shooting. Even then, the 6-1 forward had a knack for reading opposing teams this season. Whenever East went to the press, Stahl seemed to always be there to intercept the pass and lead to transition offense.
“I can read their movement really well. I’m able to tell where they’re going to pass the ball, and I think that helps a lot and I have my long arms and I think that helps on my defense,” Stahl said. “Playing volleyball, I think that helps with my blocks that I have down low. Just reading and moving in position, moving my feet more, just focusing on their stomach when I guard them. When they move the ball and have fast hands, I think that helps in either getting a good steal or hit it to one my teammates so they can get it.”
Stahl led the team in steals this season at 4.5 per game. She also led the team in points (17.9) and rebounds (9.5). Her best game of the season came in the opening game of the sectional against Bloomington North, where she recorded a career-high 34 points, 10 rebounds and 14 steals, which broke a school record.
“It’s her instincts. She has a nose for the ball. Her anticipation is great. She is a great defensive player and a part of that is seeing where the ball is going to be. She gained confidence in her ability to play the game. She has all the talent, but I think just that confidence in the game that she can do it,” Brown said. “We toughened up the schedule this year. When she realized she could do it against the best in the state, she’s gotten better and better. She gained more confidence as the season went on. She was consistent.”
After going undefeated in the Hoosier Hills Conference for the second straight year, it came as no surprise that the offseason awards this year came aplenty for Stahl and Greiwe.
Stahl was named first-team All-HHC, Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Underclass Large School All-State , Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association first-team All-State and was voted by teammates as the Olympians’ Most Valuable Player. Friday, she was named to the Indiana Junior All-Star Red group team that will join the Core group in taking on the Kentucky Junior All-Stars on June 5 at Bedford North Lawrence.
Greiwe was named first-team All-HHC, IBCA Senior All-State Supreme 15 and was a part of the Hoosier Basketball Magazine’s Top 60 senior workout earlier this month.
Greiwe announced recently that she will continue her basketball career at Indiana Wesleyan.
“To be able to win conference two years in a row, especially beating BNL on their home floor (this year), there has to be someone behind that. Coach Brown led us there, and obviously, we came up really big in that.” Greiwe said. “Coach Brown has done so much for me in my career, especially putting the confidence in me to grow and be the player I am today. I’m so thankful he did have that confidence in me.”
Stahl said she’s going to take some more time to decide about her college decision and likely announce it next year. She’s gotten plenty of college interest, including some schools at the Division I level.
With the departure of three starters, Stahl will be one of the team leaders and captains heading into a huge senior season next year. East should still be a viable team next year, despite the huge losses.
“It’s definitely going to be different. We’ve always had great seniors. I know for us that are getting ready to be seniors, they left it at a pretty high rate, so we’re going to do our best to be as good as them,” Stahl said. “We’re going to try our hardest, and we’ll have to see what is to come. Those same tasks that we’re aiming for, it’s going to be a challenge. We’re going to try to get there.”
Even though the sectional trophy eluded Greiwe during her time with the program, she’s very humbled and blessed to have played for the Olympians.
“It was a great four years. I’m so blessed to have the all-time leading scoring record, and that’s something I didn’t think I was going to be able to accomplish. I didn’t think that I would be able to achieve that milestone, so it’s great also to be able to do that,” Greiwe said. “Coming into East, I wanted to leave a legacy. Hopefully, I left a positive one. I think that my teammates, my coaches, my family, the community has helped me so much. It was a great four years.”
The Republic All-Area Girls Basketball team:
Koryn Greiwe, Columbus East: The senior averaged 16.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 steals and led the Olympians with 3.3 assists per game.
Saige Stahl, Columbus East: The junior led the Olympians with 17.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.5 steals and added 1.9 assists per game.
Leah Bachmann, Columbus East: The junior averaged 9.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.9 steals per game.
Harley Gant, Columbus East: The senior averaged 7.6 points and 6.0 rebounds and led the Olympians with 2.0 blocks per game.
Kylah Lawson, Columbus North: The senior averaged 11.2 points, 1.7 assists and 2.3 steals and led the Bull Dogs with 7.3 rebounds per game.
Lauren Barker, Columbus North: The junior led the Bull Dogs with 12.8 points and 2.9 steals and added 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
Juliann Woodard, Jennings County: The sophomore led the Panthers with 16.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.8 steals and 2.0 blocks per game.
Alivia Elmore, Jennings County: The sophomore averaged 14.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game.
Lily Ernstes, Jennings County: The senior averaged 7.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
Madelyn Poe, Hauser: The sophomore led the Jets with 16.6 points, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals and added 5.1 rebounds per game.
Bailey Tabeling, Trinity Lutheran: The junior led the Cougars with 19.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 3.0 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.
Sarah Lorimor, Columbus Christian: The junior led the Crusaders with 20.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 5.7 steals and added 2.3 assists per game.
Callie Hancock, Edinburgh: The senior led the Lancers with 10.3 points and averaged 3.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
Honorable mention
Brown County: Lexie Austin, Maddie Huff. Columbus East: Albany Speer. Columbus North: Kayla Jones, Andrea Justis, Emma Long. Edinburgh: Gracie Crawhorn. Hauser: Gabby Johns, Kyliegh Parrott. Jennings County: Kali Thompson. South Decatur: Loryn Pate. Trinity Lutheran: Kailene Cockerham, Liza Froedge.
