Girls basketball postseason is upon us

Time flies when you’re having fun.

It seems like just yesterday the opening jump ball for the first game of the year was tossed into the air, and yet here we are on the doorstep of the first tournament games of the season, which will be held this weekend.

After taking a glance at the brackets that involve area teams, here is one man’s prognostications of how things could shake out on the journey toward Columbus for the annual state girls basketball tournament.

Division I

Perry District Favorite: North Darkhorse: Mayfield Don’t forget about: Euclid

Best first-game matchup: Chardon vs. Brush

Kampf’s take: The Rangers are the Western Reserve Conference champions and have one of the tournament’s premier scorers in junior Destiny Leo (30.1 ppg). The addition of Abby Carter this year has made a world of difference both as a scorer and a lengthy defender . ... No area team is playing better than Mayfield right now. In the past two weeks, Coach Ryan Looman’s team gave North its only loss, beat Kenston and then topped Laurel. The Wildcats are a team no one will want to see in tournament time. ... Euclid might have the best 1-2 punch in the area in Constance Chaplin (29 ppg, 12 rpg) and Alexis Reese (18 ppg, 14 rpg). If they stay out of foul trouble, they are a title contender. ... The fourth-seeded Hilltoppers are very dangerous, even if they are missing two leading scorers to knee injuries. Coach DeMarris Winter’s Arcs, the fifth seed, are young. If they catch fire at the right time, look out.

Division I

Ravenna District Favorite: Aurora Darkhorse: AustintownFitch

Don’t forget about: Kenston

Best first-game matchup: Kenston vs. Canfield

Kampf’s take: Yikes. What a move for the Kenston Bombers, the only local team in this district.

Kampf’s take: A year ago, the Bombers were the district champion in Perry, where they would easily be one of the top seeds were they not moved to the rugged Ravenna District.

The Bombers have some dangerous players in senior forward Rayonna Peterson, junior guard/ forward Rachel Apshago and freshman point guard Catara DeJarnette, but this is just a brutal district.

Fourth-seeded Kenston’s first-rounder against fifth-seeded Canfield — a sectional final — could be a doozy.

It would be a surprise if the district final isn’t Aurora (21-1) vs. Stow (19-2).

Division II

Lakeside District Favorite: Gilmour Darkhorse: NDCL Don’t forget about: Perry

Best first-game matchup: Lake Catholic vs. VASJ

Kampf’s take: This is where I pick my first “upset,” taking second-seeded Gilmour as the district champion. The Lancers’ resume is impressive, with signature wins over Laurel, St. Vincent-St. Mary and Cleveland Heights — just to name a few. Their losses included Canton McKinley, Elyria Catholic and Hoban (twice). The Lancers also have the best player in the tournament — Annika Corcoran. .. Perry plays the best team defense in the tournament field. The Pirates have struggled a little down the stretch with three losses in their last seven games. When sophomores Elle Infalvi and Madyson Hacking are hitting, the offense can be very tough to stop . ... NDCL plays a tough schedule in the rugged NCL. Don’t count out Emma Liberatore and the Lions from making a postseason run . ... The LakeVASJ game should be a fun opener. They played a 56-54 overtime thriller a few days ago, so the rematch should be fun to watch.

Division II

Nordonia District Favorite: Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary Darkhorse: Orange Don’t forget about: Laurel

Best first-game matchup: Chagrin Falls vs. (supposedly) Beaumont

Kampf’s take: The only two local teams in this tournament are fourthseeded Chagrin and fifthseeded Beaumont. The Tigers finished the regular season 17-5 and are a young team — so the upside there is huge. Bella Dalessandro (13.6 ppg) and Carolyn Bencko (13.9 ppg) usually lead the scoring charge, though Julia Santamaria can have big games in the paint . ... Beaumont has won eight of its last nine — the only loss being to Hoban — and all eight of those wins have been by double-figures. The Blue Streaks should get past St. Martin de Porres in the opener to set up a great sectional final with Chagrin. Beaumont, led by Carly Perusek and Lydia Gattozzi, can light it up from the 3-point arc, so defense will be a big key for Chagrin . ... St. Vincent-St. Mary is the favorite here, but a team to watch will be Orange, led by 6-foot guard KD Lawson.

Division III

North Ridgeville District

Favorite: Elyria Catholic Darkhorse: Kirtland Don’t forget about: Independence

Kampf’s take: Here is your poster child for creating super-districts, because three teams — maybe four — in this district would be the favorite to win the D3 tournament at Cortland Lakeview. Elyria Catholic is the heads-andshoulders favorite here, though CVC Valley champion Independence will want to have their say in that. E.C. is coming off a week of wins against toughies like Rocky River and Gilmour . ... Kirtland is 17-5 and is the THIRD seed. The Hornets can score in many ways — Jenna Sayle, Lauren Lutz, Grace Wolfe, etc. — but don’t have the height and length of teams like Elyria Catholic . ... Put Kirtland in Cortland and they very well could be regional-bound.

Division III

Lakeview District Favorite: Champion Darkhorse: Cardinal Don’t forget about: LaBrae

Kampf’s take: Eighthseeded Cardinal and 10thseeded Berkshire are the only area teams in this tournament. While topseeded Champion deserves the role as favorite, it would not be a big surprise if Cardinal plays well against them in a sectional final. Granted, the Huskies would have to get past Grand Valley first to do that. The Huskies have stat-box stuffer Camille Cummins (13 points, 17 rebounds per game) a good play-maker in Ashley Gubanyar and a nice inside presence in Brittni Lawrence. That’s why the Huskies are considered a solid ‘darkhorse’ in this tournament . ... Teams in this district must be doing backflips that no one like Elyria Catholic, Independence and Kirtland got sent to Cortland. This could be a wide-open district.

Division IV

Grand Valley District Favorite: Cornerstone Christian

Don’t forget about: Andrews Osborne Darkhorse: Bristol Kampf’s take: It would be such a major surprise if anyone besides Cornerstone and AOA played in the district final here, but if anyone could sneak in it would be Bristol . ... Cornerstone has been missing Michaela Cloonan (injured) for the past handful of games, but with Madison Cloonan, Kailey Tyna, Lauren Harris and Riley Stopp, there is still a ton of firepower here. The Patriots (18-4) have lost four games — Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame, Akron Hoban, Magnificat and Walsh Jesuit — all Division I teams . ... However, don’t forget about coach Brittany Zele’s Phoenix. AOA lost to Cornerstone by 11 this year, so the first-year members of the OHSAA are a dangerous team. Six-footer Nika Humeniuk is a game-changer.