The Div. 5 Hudson sectional

The most significant team in the Hudson sectional is the team that is no longer there.

The dominant McDonell Catholic Central squad moved up to Division 4 this year, leaving an opportunity for those who remain. In the lower half of the sectional, one-seed South Shore sits as the top candidate to reach the March 2 final, but 2-seed Owen-Withee and 3-seed Drummond can’t be counted out.

South Shore is 21-2 and 16-1 in the Northern Lights Conference (formerly the Indianhead). Drummond is the only conference team to give the Cardinals trouble. The Lumberjacks upset South Shore Tuesday 70-63 after falling 47-42 on Feb. 5. Emily Montgomery, a 5-10 senior, averages 28 points per game for the Cardinals, who average 70 points per game.

Right or wrong, however, skeptics wouldn’t view the Northern Lights as a deeply-competitive conference and will certainly keep an eye on how South Shore does when it starts to face better foes. Turtle Lake, the 3-seed on the other side of the sectional, beat South Shore 60-59 on Dec. 27.

The winner of the first-round game between Gilman (9-14) and Lake Holcombe (10-11) will try to test South Shore in the regional semifinal.

Drummond is 18-5 and 15-2 in the Northern Lights with its other loss coming to Hurley. Drummond beat 4-seed Butternut (16-7) 54-51 on Friday and meets the Midgets again tonight, Thursday. Butternut lost 57-43 at home to 7-seed Prentice (9-14) Tuesday.

Owen-Withee made big strides this season in the Eastern Cloverbelt, jumping to 16-6 overall and 10-4 in league play, good for a second-place tie with the league’s other most-improved team, Greenwood, who it split the season series with. The Blackhawks win with pressure defense, rarely giving up more than 40 points per game. That should serve them well in the tournament, though on the flip side, Owen-Withee isn’t always extremely proficient on offensive.

Clear Lake is the top seed on the other side of the sectional. The Warriors are 20-3 overall and have won the West Lakeland Conference outright at 15-2. They swept the Turtle Lake team that beat South Shore. Webster (184) is tied with Grantsburg for second in that league at 13-4 and split with 3-seed Turtle Lake.