Regional preview: Despite adversity, South Bend Washington girls remain a confident lot

SOUTH BEND — Steve Reynolds said there is no doubt his South Bend Washington girls basketball team can "finish this."

By "this" the Panthers' coach means its quest for a Class 4A state championship.

The undefeated and top-ranked Panthers take the next step in their quest Saturday. Washington, 26-0 and nationally ranked, faces No. 13 Valparaiso (23-2) in the first game of the 4A LaPorte Regional. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. EST at LaPorte High School.

3A regional preview:Shayla Alexander provides personality, skill set for regional-bound Mishawaka Marian girls

Dominating its way to the Class 3A state title in 2022, Washington sits four wins away from its season-long goal after being moved up to 4A due to the IHSAA success factor.

Winners of their last 33 games, the Panthers will have to win the big trophy without star guard Amiyah Reynolds. The senor captain and point guard is out for the season due to a foot injury she suffered in the regular season finale. Reynolds, a Maryland recruit and Miss Basketball candidate, will have surgery Friday.

"There is no doubt in my mind we can win state," coach Reynolds said Tuesday night seated in his lockeroom in the Great Western Forum. "This team is very talented and they have went back to work since Amiyah was injured.

"They know what we need to do. They are all in and we used the sectional last week to work some things out. It was rough Tuesday (in the sectional opener), but you could start to see things jell at practice the next day. And then the way they responded in the semifinals and the final made me feel really good about where we are at."

The Panthers rolled past Mishawaka (85-51), Adams (77-30) and Plymouth (65-30) to win the Plymouth Sectional without Amiyah. Washington now starts one senior in Miss Basketball hopeful Rashunda Jones, along with a stellar sophomore foursome of Kira Reynolds, Ryiah Wilson, Monique Mitchell and Zion Belcher-Arill.

Kira Reynolds, Amiyah's sister, averages a double-double in points and rebounds at 15.5 and 12.1 per game, respectively and ranks among the state's best in blocked shots at 5.9 per game. Wilson averages double figures at 11.7 ppg. and leads the state in steals at 6.4 per game. The much-improved Mitchell averages 13.7 ppg. Belcher-Arill, a 6-1 sophomore who takes Amiyah's starting spot, transferred in from Grand Rapids Christian in Michigan this year and averages 5.5 ppg. and is third with 18 treys.

Washington leads the state in scoring and average margin of victory and will lean heavily on Jones. The electric 5-9 Purdue recruit averages 20.1 ppg. and is third in program history with 1,760 career points. That total is the seventh best in South Bend schools history.

"Spider (Rashunda) really wants to make this work," Reynolds said of his star guard. "She really took another step in the sectional. She was getting everyone involved. She's so locked in now. She's really come so far since her freshman year."

Jones, who totaled 51 points in the three sectional wins, believes her team is still in good shape to claim the ultimate prize.

"I'm so confident in this team," Jones said. "We had a lot of people stepping up in the sectional. I do feel pressure, but with my team backing me up I'm not worried. Amiyah brought so much to our team, but we are still good enough to win state. We can rally around her and win it for her."

The Panthers boast talent, length and athleticism, and have relied on improved play on the defensive end all season. Washington averages almost 19 steals per game. Reynolds also saw Jones average eight assists per game in the three sectional wins, while Mitchell averaged almost 18 ppg. and Kira Reynolds averaged a triple-double with 12 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10 blocked shots per game.

Last season behind the scenes:What led to South Bend Washington's state title. 'We got the job done.'

Coach Reynolds has seen his mega-talented team, whose roster other than Amiyah and Jones is all sophomores and freshmen, persevere all season despite injuries to several key players.

"We've been without or had key players hurt at times all season," Reynolds said. "Kids have been ready and willing to step up every time when that's been the case. That's what we expect to continue to happen during the state tournament."

Washington has impressive wins this season over the likes of Noblesville, Fort Wayne Northrop, Columbia City, Lake Central and Crown Point, as well as top-ranked teams West Bloomfield from Michigan and Bolingbrook from Illinois. The 69-63 win over Bolingbrook is the only single-digit win all season.

Reynolds, whose team was 3A state runner-up in 2021, also knows that five of the top 10 ranked teams in Class 4A lost in last week's sectional round. That list includes No. 2 and defending 4A state champion Noblesville, No. 4 Hamilton Southeastern, No. 5 Zionsville, No. 6 Columbia City and No. 8 Fort Wayne Northrop.

Valparaiso will bring tough defense

Valparaiso won the Lowell Sectional with victories over Crown Point (40-34), Chesterton (60-46) and Portage (47-33). They went 6-1 to finish as runner-up in the Duneland Athletic Conference to champion Lake Central. Valpo has lost to Penn (56-36) and Lake Central (57-53) this season, two teams Washington has defeated.

Valparaiso is in the regional for the first time since 2005. The Vikings allow just 31 ppg., the 10th best defensive average in the state. They boast a per game winning margin of 26 ppg., which is ninth best in Indiana. Valparaiso is led by the trio of 5-10 freshman Lillian Barnes (17.4), junior Becca Gerdt (13.7) and senior guard Kristin Bukata (11.0).

The winner of the Washington-Valparaiso game moves on to the semistate round on Feb. 18 which will include four teams. Semistate pairings will be drawn by the IHSAA on Sunday at 3 p.m. Hosts for North Semistate play are LaPorte, Logansport, Huntington North and Frankfort.

"We have never shied away from the pressure," Reynolds said of being the favorite to win the 4A title. "We carry a chip on our shoulder because of the talk out there."

"Maturity, or lack of it, is what could stand in our way. That could stop us when you are talking about 15 and 16 year old kids.

"But it's there for our taking."

Girls basketball area team regional pairings

Saturday, Feb. 11 All times EST

CLASS 4A

At LaPorte

2 p.m.: No. 1 South Bend Washington (26-0) vs. Valparaiso (23-2)

5 p.m.: Northridge (22-5) vs. Lake Central (21-5)

CLASS 3A

At Jimtown

1 p.m.: No. 8 Mishawaka Marian vs. Tippecanoe Valley (21-3)

4 p.m.: No. 6 Fairfield vs. Highland (17-6)

CLASS 2A

At Winamac

1 p.m.: No. 3 Central Noble (24-2) vs. South Central (23-3)

CLASS 1A

At Caston

1 p.m.: Tri-County (14-11) vs. No. 7 Bethany Christian (21-3)

4 p.m.: No. 6 Washington Township (19-6) vs. Argos (13-12)

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: girls basketball LaPorte regional South Bend Washington vs. Valparaiso