Columbus East’s Jenna Guse, left, passes the ball under pressure from Columbus North’s Kaylie Harmon during the annual crosstown rivalry game at Columbus North High School in Columbus on Dec. 14.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
With approximately five weeks to go in the girls basketball regular season, here is an outlook for the three IHSAA-sanctioned Bartholomew County schools heading into the latter half of the season:
Columbus North
The Bull Dogs have a very tough stretch in January after a relatively easy schedule from mid-November to mid-December, when they ran off eight straight victories. Since its last victory against Seymour on Dec. 12, North has lost three in a row to sit at 8-5.
However, the Bull Dogs are still in the hunt for the Conference Indiana title, sitting at 3-0, but they still have to play their biggest competitors for the crown, Bloomington South on Jan. 6 and Bloomington North on Jan. 19.
The biggest question that has plagued Columbus North the past couple years is, “Can they get that statement win?” So far, the Bull Dogs have beaten opponents they’re expected to win against. With Carmel, Center Grove and Silver Creek coming up, Columbus North will likely need to pick up a major upset if they want to be considered a serious challenger to heavy favorite Franklin in the sectional in several weeks. Franklin defeated the Bull Dogs 67-36 in the season opener.
Columbus East
The Olympians have had the biggest roller coaster ride so far this season. They’ve played the toughest schedule of all the county teams thus far in the first half of the year. East sits at 4-11 with quality wins against Hoosier Hills Conference opponent Floyd Central and at crosstown rival Columbus North.
The Olympians are still in the HHC title chase with a 1-1 record. However, they have yet to play the top two contenders, Bedford North Lawrence and Jennings County. East will need to go undefeated, beating both the Stars and Panthers if they want to get in the conference title mix.
Like with the Bull Dogs, the Olympians will likely need to pick up another major upset or two if they want to consider themselves in the mix to challenge Franklin for the sectional title. East will have several opportunities along the way to do it with Bedford, Jennings and Silver Creek in a tough January schedule.
Hauser
This season was likely a year the Jets were going to be facing some growing pains. Hauser sits at 3-12 heading into its own tournament on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Jets have wins against Medora, Southwestern (Shelby) and Columbus Christian. While they are not in the mix to win the Mid-Hoosier Conference this year with a 1-3 MHC record, they have the opportunity to get another conference win against Morristown on Jan. 18.
Hauser has the opportunity to pick up a win or two down the stretch with a favorable schedule against Greenwood Christian Academy, Clarksville and the Yellow Jackets. While the Jets won’t be the favorite to win the sectional title, they do have a matchup with MHC and sectional host North Decatur in the regular season finale on Jan 23. Should Hauser get the upset, it would give them plenty of momentum heading into the sectional.
