Norwell, Bellmont, Fairfield, Whitko, Fremont Claim Regional Titles in Girls Basketball

Norwell turned the Bellmont regional into an offensive clinic, beating Fort Wayne Snider 90-56 at Bellmont High School as Vanessa Rosswurm poured in 36 points and Macie Saalfrank added 25. The Knights sank 13 three-pointers in the win, claimed a regional title for the third straight year and fourth in six seasons, and enter semi-state with a 23-4 record; Journal Gazette notes Norwell won the Class 3A state title last year.

Earlier at Bellmont, the host Braves captured the Class 3A regional with a 63-32 victory over East Noble, improving to 22-3 while East Noble fell to 20-6. Bellmont’s regional crown is its first since 1993, and 21Alive reports the Braves will travel to Logansport High School to face Culver Academy in a semifinal at 10 a.m., with the winner slated to play the Connersville-Fairfield winner in the evening championship at 8 p.m.

Whitko dominated at Warsaw Community, rolling past Eastside 64-28 and leading 39-14 at halftime before triggering a running clock midway through the third quarter. The Wildcats forced 28 turnovers and finished with 15 steals while shooting 23-of-48 (48%). Reese Stonebraker led Whitko with 16 points and teammates Jayma Stonebraker, Jocelyn Luecke and Hazel Leffers each scored 10. Journal Gazette lists Whitko as ICGSA No. 1 with a 25-1 record, and WFFT noted a 23-game win streak; Whitko will travel to Frankfort to face Oak Hill at noon in the semistate.

At the Jimtown regional, Fremont upset top-seeded Marquette Catholic 64-51, rallying from a 31-25 halftime edge to outscore Marquette 22-13 in the fourth quarter. The No. 3 Eagles improved to 26-2 as Mya Turner led Fremont with 26 points and joined the 1,000-point club in the process; Grace Scharlach added 20 and Hailey Heller scored 11. Journal Gazette records this as Fremont’s first regional title since 1999 and only the second in school history. Fremont will travel to Huntington North to meet Monroe Central at noon, with the winner advancing to face either Elkhart Christian or North Miami in the title game at 8 p.m.

Fairfield eked out a 49-47 victory over Kankakee Valley at Winamac Community to secure the 3A regional title; WFFT shared a trophy photo from Fairfield Community Schools’ social feed. WANE’s roundup listed Norwell, Bellmont, Fairfield, Whitko and Fremont among five local teams that brought home regional championships on Saturday.

Semi-state pairings are set to be finalized on the IHSAA Girls Basketball Semi-State Pairings Show, scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m., per WFFT. As WISHTV notes, the 32 regional champions now advance to semi-state and must win two more games to reach the state finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Norwell will travel to LaPorte to face Crown Point (both listed 23-4 by 21Alive), Whitko meets Oak Hill at Frankfort at noon, Bellmont faces Culver Academy at Logansport at 10 a.m., and Fremont meets Monroe Central at Huntington North at noon.