Girls basketball sectional previews: Class 3A, Sectionals 24 & 25

By CRAIG ADKINS

For The Reporter

This season marks a special one for girls’ basketball in the state of Indiana. The 2025 state basketball tournament is the 50th annual and looks to be yet another February for the history books.

Girls’ basketball was introduced as an IHSAA sanctioned sport in Indiana and began competitive play in the 1975-76 school year. The Warsaw Tigers (22-0) won the first state championship in 1976 over the Bloomfield Cardinals (20-1), 57-52.

Last February, Hamilton Heights capped off Camryn Runner’s career with a second consecutive appearance in the semi-state. The Huskies fell to 3A state runner-up Norwell, 64-50. Guerin Catholic is in search of its first sectional championship in their short 19-year program history.

Class 3A Sectional 24 at the Spartan Bowl, Connersville:

Yorktown (15-6) vs. New Castle (6-16)

Yorktown is one of the hotter teams in Sectional 24. The Tigers have won nine out of 10 and 10 of 14. Leigh Ann Barga is 78-60 in her sixth year and 163-77 overall in 10 seasons. As a program, they have eight sectional titles, but not since 2011. They’ve done 3-1 versus Sectional 24 and 7-1 against 3A overall.

New Castle has won two of three heading into sectional action, but had lost seven in a row before that. Head coach Bobby Jones is 8-37 in his second year and are 0-4 against the sectional and 0-7 against 3A teams. The Trojans have 19 sectional crowns in program history, the latest in 2019, including winning in the inaugural season in 1976. 

The Tigers won over the Trojans in the regular season on Jan. 24, 46-25. Yorktown has also won two of the three sectional meetings.

Delta (14-7) vs. Hamilton Heights (5-16)

The Eagles got off to a 4-1 start and had a three-game win streak to start December. Delta then won seven in a row, but have lost three straight heading into sectional. Head coach Ty’Ronda Benning is 25-19 in her second season. Delta has won five sectionals, but none since 1993. They are also 3-1 against the sectional and 4-2 against 3A opponents. 

During Erin Trimpe’s first season as head coach, it’s been a learning curve. Trimpe is 54-58 overall with a four-year stint at Carmel from 2019-23. The Huskies started off 0-9, but won four of the next six.

Senior Katie Brown is the leader with 11.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.2 steals. Sophomore Presley Cherry scores 8.6 and has 1.7 steals per contest. Freshman Sarah Sherrill has been steady at 5.3 points and 4.9 boards.

The Huskies have won all three tournament matchups, the last being in the 2022 sectional semifinal, 46-16.

First Bye: Connersville (15-8) vs. Winner of Yorktown/New Castle

The host Spartans are 28-18 in Shana Williams’ second season. They got off to a 3-1 start and were 7-3 through 10 games. Since then, Connersville has had four straight sequences of two wins to one loss to get where they are. The Spartans are 2-0 against Sectional 24 and 10-1 when playing against 3A competition. Historically, Connersville has 17 sectional championships with four regional crowns.

Second Bye: Jay County (10-12) vs. Winner of Delta/Hamilton Heights

The Patriots are 32-15 in Sherri McIntire’s second season. After a 3-1 start, it’s been an up and down year with a four-game winning streak sandwiched right in mid-season.  Jay Co. is 2-2 against Sectional 24 and 3-5 against 3A foes. Sophomore Hallie Schwieterman paces the Pats with 20.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 4.4 steals per game.

Class 3A Sectional 25 at Rosentihl Gymnasium, Lebanon:

Tri-West (12-9) vs. Frankfort (0-22)

The Bruins are amid their third winning streak of the season. They’ve won four in a row heading into sectional. Lacy Crafton’s in her first season and is 3-2 against the sectional and 4-3 versus 3A. Senior Lauren Bear leads Tri-West at 17.6 points and 4.1 boards. Tri-West won at Frankfort on Dec. 13, 89-15.

The Hot Dogs are coached by Matt Crawford, who is 4-65 in his third season. Overall, Crawford is 50-113 in seven seasons. Frankfort has lost 33 of its last 34 games. They are also 0-4 against Sectional 25 and 0-7 against 3A opponents on their schedule and have three sectional and one regional in their history.

Danville (17-5) vs. Crawfordsville (4-18)

The Warriors started off 6-2 and then rattled off seven wins in their next eight. Winners of the Sagamore Conference, they are 4-0 against sectional 25 and 8-0 versus 3A foes. Head coach Kaley May is in her 12th season with a 222-84 record, having won six sectional and two regional titles.

Danville handled Crawfordsville on Nov. 30, 61-11.

The Athenians opened with a win against Attica, but then lost 13 in a row. Since that point, Crawfordsville has gone 3-5. They also have gone just 1-3 against the sectional and 1-5 against Class 3A. Head coach Joe Ferguson is 4-41 in his second season.

Brebeuf Jesuit (12-9) at Lebanon (9-13)

Head coach Erin Miller is 68-84 in seven seasons with the Braves. Brebeuf is 1-1 against sectional 24 and 3-4 against 3A teams. They have 14 sectional, six regional, four semi-state and two state championships (2004, 2007). 

The host Tigers got off to a 4-2 start to their season, but from there they weren’t able to establish a solid rhythm. Lebanon is 2-2 against the sectional and 4-3 versus 3A opponents. Head coach Aaron Vaughn is in his first season. The Tigers have 16 sectional and four regional titles in program history.

Bye: Guerin Catholic (10-10) vs. Winner of Tri-West/Frankfort

Guerin Catholic was 4-3 through seven games and then lost two. After that, a sequence of four wins in five games got GC back on track and head into sectional at .500. Head coach Danielle Cardinal is 27-39 in her third season. The Golden Eagles are 1-0 against sectional 25 and 5-4 against the 3A field. 

Ava Bills leads with 17.2 points and 5.8 boards. Caroline Ford scores 7.6 and grabs 5.7 rebounds, while Annie Murphy chips in 7.5 points. 

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