On this week’s The Scorers Table podcast, Courtney weighs in on if middle schoolers should be allowed to play high school and the gang discusses the state tournament format (seeding, sectionals, etc.).

It’s hard to believe but we’re only a few days away from the IHSAA girls basketball sectional draw. So with this week’s Fab 15, we’re previewing the sectional field for each of Central Indiana’s top teams (with a quick recap of their previous week). The Scorers Table will be live on YouTube following Sunday’s sectional draw show. Stay tuned for details.

1. Center Grove (19-1)

Previous ranking: 1

The Trojans cruised to a 53-38 win at Seymour on Friday. They’ll host Heritage Christian on Thursday before traveling to Hamilton Southeastern for a Saturday night clash.

Sectional 18 (at Mooresville) outlook: The Trojans are the favorite here, but Mooresville and Bloomington North (senior Mia Robbennolt is a talented player) will be difficult outs. Best case scenario, CG only has to play one (or neither) of them.

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2. Lawrence Central (20-1)

PR: 2

The Bears picked up a huge win Thursday, grinding out a back-and-forth roller coaster against rival Lawrence North. This is the first time they’ve beaten LN twice in the same season since at least 2000-01 and just the second time they’ve won consecutive games in the series. 

Sectional 10 (at Cathedral) outlook: The Bears have not won a sectional game since 2001. The drought should end this year, but I think they would benefit from being placed in the same side of the bracket as Warren Central, North Central and/or Cathedral. Stack it up and give LC — which plays WC and NC this week — a chance to get its players acclimated with state tournament play and build their confidence against quality opponents.

3. Hamilton Southeastern (17-1)

PR: 3

The Royals ran their win streak to 10 games with a 64-37 win over Westfield. They’re entering the most difficult stretch of their season: at Lawrence North (Tuesday), Zionsville (Friday) and Center Grove (Saturday).

Sectional 8 (at HSE) outlook: The Royals are the favorites here, but it’s unclear by how much. If scripting their dream scenario for the first week of February, it likely ends with a win over rival Fishers in the sectional championship game — the team that’s ended three of HSE’s past four seasons (twice in the sectional final).

4. Fishers (13-5)

PR: 5

The Tigers escaped with a 40-38 win over Brownsburg on Friday. The Bulldogs out-scored Fishers 16-9 in the third quarter to draw within five, then tied it at 37 with 30 seconds left. The Tigers play their final home game Tuesday vs. Carmel, then close out with Avon (Friday), Lawrence North and Franklin Central.

Sectional 8 (at HSE) outlook: A Mudsock rematch would be fun, but there are a few intriguing possibilities for Fishers. Westfield upset the Tigers back in November, then Zionsville hung tough with them a few days later; Fishers-Noblesville has determined the Class 4A North representative in back-to-back seasons. 

5. Franklin (17-2)

PR: 7

This had the potential of being a tricky stretch for the Grizzly Cubs with Mooresville, Plainfield and at Roncalli lined up, but they cleared all three teams with ease — notably a 61-39 win over the Quakers last Wednesday. 

Sectional 14 (at Whiteland) outlook: The Grizzly Cubs are the heavy favorite here. It will be fascinating, though, to see who their sectional is matched up with in the next round with S13 (Center Grove/Mooresville), S15 (Bedford North Lawrence/Jennings County) and S16 (Castle) all in play. 

6. Lawrence North (14-4)

PR: 4

The Wildcats have a couple opportunities left for statement wins: vs. Hamilton Southeastern on Tuesday then vs. Fishers a week later. 

Sectional 10 (Cathedral) outlook: I purposefully left someone out when discussing teams for LC’s side of the bracket and that’s because the Bears and Wildcats belong on opposite sides of the bracket. Give us the possibility of a battle for Lawrence Township in a Saturday night elimination game, IHSAA lottery balls (or bingo balls, or whatever they are).

7. Noblesville (11-8)

PR: 6

The Millers took a tough loss Friday night, falling to Zionsville, 71-66 in overtime. They’ll look to bounce back this week with games against Harrison (West Lafayette) and Franklin Central. 

Sectional 8 (at HSE) outlook: The Millers would likely love an opportunity to avenge that late-November loss to Carmel (8-9). Something to keep in mind: A first-round bye isn’t exactly a good thing in this sectional, because teams typically have to survive a heavyweight bout in the opening round in order to move on. They have momentum going into the second round, facing a team that’s playing for the first time in at least a week. 

8. Zionsville (16-4)

PR: 9

The Eagles let an 18-point lead slip away in the second half against North Central, but bounced back quite nicely against Noblesville.

Sectional 8 (at HSE) outlook: The Eagles are 1-4 since rejoining this sectional in 2020, but have the pieces to even that record and advance to regional for the first time since 2019. They’ve beaten Carmel, lost to Fishers, knocked off Westfield in OT and, most recently, won in overtime vs. Noblesville. Zionsville travels to HSE on Friday.

9. Indian Creek (15-4) 

PR: 8

The Braves fought through for their sixth 4A win of the season Saturday, outlasting Westfield, 60-55, in overtime. They were in Illinois for an MLK Day event on Monday and will host 17-3 Northview on Friday.

Sectional 26 (at Edgewood) outlook: Northview has a nice record, but the Braves remain the odds-on favorite here. The regional draw could create some intrigue with Danville and Bishop Chatard among the possible opponents (if they were to win their sectionals, obviously).

10. Hamilton Heights (18-2)

PR: 10

Hamilton Heights dismantled Western and Tipton ahead of Friday’s Hoosier Conference championship game vs. Class 3A No. 1 Rensselaer Central (18-0). That should be a heck of a tussle.

Sectional 24 (at Yorktown) outlook: Securing a fourth consecutive sectional championship will likely require the Huskies to beat Jay County and if history is any indication, they’ll play early on — which has happened in back-to-back seasons. Avoiding host Yorktown’s side of the bracket may not be the worst thing, either. The Tigers took Hamilton Heights to overtime in last year’s sectional final and are 11-8 this season.

11. Plainfield (14-5)

PR: 11

Bouncing back from that loss to the Grizzly Cubs won’t be easy for the Quakers, who have road games this week against Franklin Central and Mooresville.

Sectional 12 (at Avon) outlook: Standing by my pick of Plainfield as the favorite in this sectional, but man, this field is tough. Brownsburg and Avon seem to be contractually obligated to play at some point during sectionals (I swear, it happens in every sport I cover), so assuming the Quakers avoid intersecting with their pre-destined collision course, they’ll only have to worry about the winner — which is obviously a good thing. Plainfield is 2-0 vs. Brownsburg this year, but it’s tough to beat a team thrice in the same season; Avon handed the Quakers their first loss at the end of November and has sectional Cinderella potential.

12. Danville (17-3)

PR: 12

The Warriors scored a 4A win over Decatur Central on Wednesday, then rolled by conference foe North Montgomery on Friday. They’ll host Lillie Graves and McCutcheon on Tuesday.

Sectional 25 (at Cascade) outlook: This one will probably come down to Danville vs. Tri-West, be it in the championship game or the first round. The Warriors will likely be the favorite, but, again, it’s tough to beat a team (much less a rival) three times in the same season and the Bruins played them tough during the regular season.

13. Bishop Chatard (13-6)

PR: NR

The Trojans won the City championship in thrilling fashion, beating Cathedral in Friday’s final on an overtime buzzer-beater by sophomore Olivia Berzai. 

Sectional 27 (at Chatard) outlook: The three-time defending sectional champion Trojans are the favorite and have beaten fellow frontrunner Heritage Christian twice this season. Both games were close, however, and there are potential challengers beyond those two (Brebeuf Jesuit and Guerin Catholic). Chatard closes out the regular season at Brebeuf.

14. Franklin Central (10-7)

PR: 15

Beware Franklin Central, folks. The youthful Flashes (lineup features a senior, two juniors and three freshmen) ran their win streak to seven games this week, adding Avon and Greenfield-Central to a list that already included Class A No. 3 Borden and rival Roncalli.

Sectional 11 (at Pike) outlook: This sectional — FC, Pike, Roncalli, Ben Davis, Southport and Perry Meridian — is wide-open and ripe for drama. That said, if the Flashes can go 2-2 over its final four games (Plainfield, at Noblesville, at Southport and Fishers), they’ll have some serious momentum heading in.

t-15. Lapel (16-3)

PR: 13

The Bulldogs trailed by eight after a quarter and by five at half vs. Blackford last Tuesday. They out-scored the Bruins, 11-5, in the third quarter to avert disaster and grind out a win despite shooting 33% from the field and 39% at the line. Ugly win, but the only reason Lapel (and Eastern Hancock) moved this week is because of Chatard and Franklin Central.

Sectional 40 (at Lapel) outlook: The road back to Gainbridge begins at home for the 2A runner-up Bulldogs and it’s pretty obvious whose side of the bracket they’d like to avoid: Alexandria-Monroe. The Tigers lost to Lapel twice during the regular season, but boast a high-scoring standout in junior Jacklynn Hosier. Fun fact: The past two winners of this sectional ultimately lost to Forest Park in the state finals (2022 Frankton, 2023 Lapel).

t-15. Eastern Hancock (18-1)

PR: 14

Two more sweat free wins for the Royals, who have held six of their past eight opponents under 40 points. The two exceptions? 4A foes Elkhart and Lawrence North. 

Sectional 42 (at Scecina) outlook: This sectional will more than likely be decided between Eastern Hancock and Triton Central, it’s just a matter of when they play. Random draw willing, it’ll be in the championship game, though that hasn’t happened in three years (boo-hiss).

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.