A look at upcoming high school girls basketball sectional-district tournaments involving area teams.
Division I
Northeast 1 — Perry
Top seeds: 5 Brush, 11 Boardman, 12 North Ridgeville
Other area teams: 28 Rocky River
Up next: District champion advances to a Division I Medina Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northeast 4.
Outlook: Rocky River and North Ridgeville could meet again in a second-round showdown. The Pirates elected to have the first round bye, as the Rangers will take on No. 65 North Canton Hoover. North Ridgeville defeated Rocky River, 44-39. Grace Kingery scored 32 points in the championship game of the Rocky River Travel Basketball Girls Hoops Classic, 26 of which came in the first half. Rocky River rallied from a 30-20 halftime deficit to make it 36-34 at the end of the third quarter. Whoever makes it to Perry will face either Boardman, (46) Massillon Perry or (45) Richfield Revere in a district semifinal. Brush is by far the highest seed on the other end of the bracket, with the second-closest being (33) Walsh Jesuit.
Northeast 2 — Massillon
Top seeds: 2 Uniontown Lake, 4 Stow-Munroe Falls, 17 Austintown-Fitch, 19 Medina Highland
Other area teams: 29 Amherst, 69 Elyria
Up next: District champion advances to a Division I Medina Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northeast 3
Outlook: Amherst’s first-round game against (40) Canton GlenOak could spell trouble. Though the Golden Eagles will enter with a losing record, they played close games with (2) Uniontown Lake, (23) Green and (9) Massillon Jackson, which are at the top of the Federal League. GlenOak even defeated (24) Massillon Washington. The good news for Amherst is that it will have home court advantage on Feb. 17. The survivor will take on the winner of (64) Euclid and Highland. A Highland victory would give it home court for the sectional final. Lake is also on the same side of the district bracket and would most likely be the opponent for any of those four in a district semifinal. Elyria has a first-round bye, and is likely to face Stow, which plays (73) Ashtabula Lakeside in the first round.
Northeast 3 — Ravenna
Top seeds: 1 Akron Hoban, 8 Medina, 14 Madison
Other area teams: 27 Avon
Up next: District champion advances to a Division I Medina Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northeast 2.
Outlook: Avon and Hoban squared off in the playoffs for football and volleyball this year. Could there be a round three on the hardwood? In order to make it a reality on Feb. 27, Avon must first defeat (61) Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin in the first round and Akron Ellet on the road in the second round. Ellet won the Akron City Series with a 10-0 conference record. It also played Hoban close in a 49-45 loss. The Orangemen are almost entirely led by underclassmen, with point guard Caitlyn Holmes and Dacai Singletary. As the top seed, Hoban must also win two games, against (70) Barberton and (74) Valley Forge.
Northeast 4 — Valley Forge
Top seeds: 7 Magnificat, 16 Louisville, 18 Mentor
Other area teams: 36 Westlake
Up next: District champion advances to a Division I, Medina Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northeast 1.
Northeast 5 — Medina
Top seeds: 9 Massillon Jackson, 6 Avon Lake, 13 Solon, 10 Strongsville
Other area teams: 48 Lorain, North Olmsted 51
Up next: District champion advances to a Division I Sandusky Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northwest 1.
Outlook: Avon Lake made it to a district final last year. To return, it will have to defeat the winner of Lorain and (54) Cleveland Garrett Morgan at home in a sectional final. The Shoregals defeated the Titans, 59-21, in the season opener. Jackson is also on the same side of the bracket. The Polar Bears were one of the top Federal League teams along with second seed Lake. North Olmsted goes on the road against Normandy. The Eagles beat Normandy, 44-40, at home late in the regular season. This matchup came after the release of the brackets on Feb. 4. The winner will play at Solon.
Avon Lake girls basketball: Olivia Tobin’s marksmanship, defense fuel dominant win over Lorain
Northeast 6 — Elyria
Top seeds: 3 Olmsted Falls, 15 Wadsworth
Other area teams: 38 Midview
Up next: District champion advances to a Division I Sandusky Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northwest 2.
Outlook: One half of the bracket features two teams that were in the Division I state tournament last year in Midview and Olmsted Falls. The downside is that the Middies have been without injured star Olivia DiFranco. They will go on the road against (35) Mayfield in the first round and the winner will then play Brunswick on the road. The Wildcats were one of the better teams in the Western Reserve Conference, but were ousted by Riverside for the league championship.
Division II
Northeast 1 — Peninsula
Top seeds: 3 Ashtabula Edgewood, 5 Gilmour Academy, 15 Aurora, 16 Lutheran East
Other area teams: 45 Fairview
Up next: District champion advances to a Division II Barberton Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northeast 2.
Northeast 2 — Macedonia
Top seeds: 4 Beloit West Branch, 10 Laurel, 18 Canton South, 20 Chagrin Falls
Up next: District champion advances to a Division II Barberton Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northeast 1.
Northeast 3 — Uniontown Lake
Top seeds: 1 Akron St.-Vincent St. Mary, 12 Canfield
Other area teams: 52 Brookside
Up next: District champion advances to a Division II Barberton Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northeast 5.
Northeast 4 — Elyria
Top seeds: 6 Geneva, Tallmadge 19, 8 Warren Howland, 2 Copley
Other area teams: 23 Firelands, 41 Bay
Up next: District championship advances to a Division II Mansfield Senior Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northwest 2.
Outlook: Firelands and Bay will square off in a Lorain County League vs. Great Lakes Conference first-round showdown. The Falcons are gritty, led by sharpshooter Kendra Hardwick on the perimeter and Jordyn Copley in the paint. Bay has two impact players inside, with Lucy Bisson (12 points per game) on offense and Anna Weingart (2.4 steals and 1.4 blocks) on defense. The winner plays (29) Peninsula Woodridge. Firelands would host a second-playoff game if it wins, but the same would not be said if Bay advances. Copley is on the same side of the bracket, with (63) Medina Buckeye and (64) Akron East as potential foes in the first two rounds.
Northeast 5 — Normandy
Top seeds: 9 Streetsboro, 7 CVCA, 11 Beaumont, 13 Elyria Catholic, 17 Norton,
Other area teams: 53 Clearview
Up next: District champion advances to a Division II Barberton Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northeast 3.
Outlook: Elyria Catholic and Clearview will play for the first time since 2017, when the Panthers won, 69-20. They’ve won all five matchups since 2008. CVCA and Elyria Catholic could be on a crash course for a district final rematch. The winner of Elyria Catholic and Clearview will face (36) Orange or (40) Akron Springfield. Streetsboro is in Elyria Catholic’s side of the bracket. The Rockets and Norton are at the top of the Metro Athletic Conference. Streetsboro has four players who average at least 6.5 points per game. Naomi Benson leads at 16.7 points per game, 11.7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3.3 steals and 1.3 blocks. If CVCA makes it to Normandy, it doesn’t have to face Norton or Beaumont.
Elyria Catholic vs. CVCA girls basketball: Panthers’ season ends in district final
Division III
Northeast 1 — Cortland Lakeview
Top seeds: 2 Keystone, 3 Columbiana Crestview, 4 Rootstown, 7 Columbia, 13 Massillon Tuslaw,
Other area teams: (46) Lake Ridge Academy
Up next: District champion advances to a Division III, Stow Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northeast 3.
Outlook: Could Columbia and Keystone have a round three? If it were to happen, the game would be in the Lakeview District final. Columbia, with a first-round bye, will host the winner of Tuslaw and (35) Lake Catholic. The Mustangs have juniors Destiny Dulkoski (20.2 points per game, 9.2 rebounds) and Breanna Mccabe (14 points, 9.6 rebounds). They are listed at 6-1 and 5-10, which could pose a problem, considering Columbia’s size disadvantage. However, it held a relatively even rebounding margin against Wellington’s twin towers Brooke Lehmkuhl and Gabby Miller.
Wellington vs. Columbia girls basketball: Raiders overcome size disadvantage, dismantle Dukes, 60-37
Crestview (22-0) finished the regular season undefeated and won the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference. The Rebels are mostly led by underclassmen, such as Addison Rhodes (20.4 points per game) and Luvrain Gaskins (16.1). Gaskins (6-1) also averages 14 rebounds per game with 4.1 blocks. As a team, it averages 15 steals per game and could very well be contenders to win the district.
Keystone, the outright Lorain County League champ, will host (41) Youngstown Liberty and (45) Campbell Memorial, if it beats Liberty. Rootstown would be the favorite to meet the Wildcats in a district semifinal. The Rovers have six players who average at least six points per game. They started their season 11-0 before a 66-42 loss to Chippewa.
Northeast 2 — Struthers
Top seeds: 6 Apple Creek Waynedale, 9 Mineral Ridge, 10 Columbiana, 12 Wooster Triway, 15 Orwell Grand Valley, 16 Warren Champion, 17 Trinity,
Up next: District champion advances to a Division III Stow Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northeast 4.
Northeast 3 — North Ridgeville
Top seeds: 1 Warrensville Heights, 8 Cuyahoga Heights, 14 Leavittsburg LaBrae, 19 Wellington
Up next: District championship advances to Division III, Stow Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northeast 1.
Outlook: Wellington will play (32) Black River. The Dukes swept the Pirates, 42-41, and 48-41. In the second game, Black River did not have start guard Riley Kubitz. It will also be without Kubitz in the Feb. 21 showdown. The winner will play Cuyahoga Heights. LaBrae is also on the same side of the bracket.
Northeast 4 — Wooster
Top seeds: 5 Chippewa, 11 Smithville, 18 Hanoverton United
Up next: District champion advances to a Division III Stow Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northeast 2.
Division IV
Northeast 1 — Orwell Grand Valley
Top seeds: 8 Berlin Center Western Reserve, 10 Cortland Maplewood
Up next: District champion advances to a Division IV Massillon Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northeast 2.
Northeast 2 — Mineral Ridge
Top seeds: 2 Kinsman Badger, 4 Warren JFK, 5 New Middletown Springfield, 7 Cornerstone Christian
Other area teams: 27 Open Door, 34 Oberlin
Up next: District champion advances to a Division IV Massillon Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northeast 1.
Outlook: Oberlin will play Springfield in the first round. The Tigers are co-champions of the Mahoning Valley Conference Scarlet Division. Jameka Brungard is Springsfield’s top scorer at 15.1 points per game. Though Springfield is favored, there is a possibility of an Oberlin vs. Open Door second-round game. The Patriots will have to defeat (16) Columbiana Heartland Christian to get there.
Northeast 3 — Norwayne
Top seeds: 1 Loudonville, 6 Salineville Southern, 9 Mogadore
Up next: District champion advances to a Division IV Massillon Regional semifinal to play the winner of Northwest 1.
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