Postseason preview: Plenty of star power is in hunt
The high school girls basketball district tournament often doesn’t lend many opportunities for upsets, with last year’s postseason being the latest example in central Ohio as only seventhseeded Pickerington Central in Division I and third-seeded Africentric in Division III beat higher-seeded teams in finals. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be drama, with the semifinals likely to provide tight games.
And there’s nothing quite like the Division I regional, where the quality of competition is traditionally high and great games often occur among an allarea field.
Here’s a look at what to expect from central Ohio programs in each division:
Division I
The Occ-buckeye Division features top-seeded Reynoldsburg, third-seeded Pickerington Central and fourth-seeded Newark, and the Occ-capital includes five teams with double-digit victories.
The Occ-central, which includes second-seeded Dublin Coffman and three other teams with winning records, also has depth.
Teams outside of the OCC to watch include 12th-seeded Watkins Memorial from the Lcl-buckeye, City Leaguenorth champion and 17th-seeded Northland, City-south runner-up and 22nd-seeded Eastmoor Academy and 14th-seeded Teays Valley from the Mslbuckeye.
• Potential matchups to watch – Fifth-seeded Gahanna could face eighth-seeded Olentangy Liberty in a district semifinal in a rematch of a game the Patriots won 42-39 on Dec. 7.
Seventh-seeded Marysville gives up just a little more than 30 points a game and won the Occ-cardinal, but it must get through a slate of teams that could include 19th-seeded Hilliard Bradley in the second round and either 13th-seeded Upper Arlington or Northland in a semifinal.
Ninth-seeded Watterson likely will have to face 10th-seeded Delaware Hayes, which features one of the area’s top players in senior Chloe Jeffers, or Watkins Memorial if it is to reach a final.
• Final projections – After each was ranked in the top 10 in the state all season, there seems to be little reason to think Reynoldsburg, Coffman and Pickerington Central won’t win their respective brackets.
Newark, last year’s state runner-up, has one of the area’s top defenses, as illustrated by when it edged Gahanna 2423 on Jan. 17, and could get a rematch in a district final against the Lions, who seemingly have adjusted well enough since losing Xavier commit Bella Ward to an early January injury.
Division II
The division has been more prone to upsets than the big-school division, with one of the best examples coming in 2020 when Bloom-carroll won a title as the 14th seed.
One thing that makes this division fascinating is that 10 leagues are represented among the 20 programs spread between the two brackets.
The lack of familiarity teams have with one another could increase the possibility for unpredictability, particularly in the middle rounds of the district tournament.
• Potential matchups to watch – Seventh-seeded Licking Valley plays host to 11th-seeded Lakewood on Friday in the second round, a rematch of a game the Panthers won 55-48 on Nov. 30.
Eighth-seeded Beechcroft again is one of the top teams in the City-north and likely will have to get past sixthseeded Bloom-carroll, which has one of the area’s top sophomores in guard
Emily Bratton, in the second round. The winner should have an interesting matchup in a semifinal against thirdseeded Caledonia River Valley.
The top game to keep an eye on, though, should be a semifinal between fourth-seeded Jonathan Alder and fifth-seeded Bexley. The Pioneers are led by senior Mary Ferrito, who has more than 1,000 career points.
• Final projections – Top-seeded Granville has the experience to make another district title run, with 5-foot-11 senior Ella Wigal leading the way, and second-seeded Hartley has one of the area’s top junior classes featuring 6foot-3 Ella Brandewie and guard Kiarra Mcelrath.
Hartley, which could face Bexley or Jonathan Alder in a final, and Granville, which likely will face River Valley for a title, seem likely to survive their respective brackets.
Division III
• Potential matchups to watch – The obvious answer here is the likely district final between Worthington Christian, which is led by senior forward Blessing King, and Africentric, the perennial City-south power which has a new coach in Janicia Anderson and a talented sophomore in guard Kamryn Grant.
Third-seeded Cardington, featuring senior Beth Hardwick, and fifth-seeded Fairbanks, led by junior Macy Miller, should meet in a semifinal. The other semifinal could be fourth-seeded North Union, which has one of the area’s best sophomore classes led by Aubrey Benedict and Abbey Price, against sixthseeded Amanda-clearcreek, led by junior Emily Buckley.
• Final projections – Africentric has been in position to win a district title for nearly two decades, and this year won’t be an exception. The Nubians, though, will find it tough to get past a Worthington Christian team that has as deep a talent pool as any in the division.
Cardington is the favorite to win the other bracket as its highest seed, but considering that the bracket is stacked there should be plenty of fireworks along the way.
Division IV
• Potential matchups to watch – Tree of Life rarely has been tested this season, but that should change considering it likely will have to get past thirdseeded Newark Catholic in a semifinal. The winner of that matchup likely would face second-seeded Berne Union in a final.
Fifth-seeded Fisher Catholic and Northmor should meet in a semifinal in the other bracket.
• Final projections – There isn’t a more battle-tested team in this division than Newark Catholic, which competes in an Lcl-cardinal that features teams in Divisions II and III, and there might not be a better player in the division than 6-1 junior Sophia Kline of Berne Union.
Fourth-seeded Danville, with a pair of key seniors in Brooklynn Hess and Alenah Boeshart and a talented sophomore in Ella Proper, has everything it needs to win the other district title.