Brackets set for Northern Section playoffs
The Northern Section released its playoff brackets for basketball on Saturday, and eight local boys teams and seven Mid-valley girls squads will begin their postseason runs next week.
Topping the list of local squads is Gridley High’s boys team, which was rewarded as the No. 1 seed in the Division IV playoffs. The Bulldogs (21-5) have won 12 straight games while cruising to the Butte View League title and will open the postseason with a first-round bye.
Gridley will play in the section quarterfinals on Friday against the winner of Wednesday night’s opener between No. 8 Live Oak (11-11) and No. 9 Yreka (10-6) in Live Oak.
Also on Wednesday, No. 6 Pierce (12-12) will host No. 11 Anderson (10-15) with the winner of that game earning a trip to Redding to take on No. 3 University Prep (15-11).
Another boys team earning a bye in the opening round was Colusa, which earned the No. 2 seed in the Division V bracket. The Redhawks (22-4) enter the playoffs riding an 11-game winning streak and won the Sacramento Valley League title with a perfect record.
They will play in the quarterfinals on Friday against the winner of Wednesday’s game between No. 7 Portola (15-11) and No. 10 Hamilton (11-14).
Division V will also see the area’s only local-vs.-local playoff matchup on Wednesday night when No. 9 Williams (15-10) travels to Trowbridge to take on No. 8 East Nicolaus (11-14) in a battle between Mid-valley League rivals. It will be the fourth matchup this season between the two teams, with East Nic winning two of the previous three games in MVL play.
The winner of the game will make the long trip to play topseeded Mt. Shasta (23-3) in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Maxwell and Biggs’ boys teams also qualified for the playoffs in Division VI and will hit the road for their openers on Tuesday night.
No. 9 Maxwell (11-10) will head to No. 8 Chester (16-10) with the winner meeting top-seeded Redding Christian (24-2), while No. 11 Biggs (6-19) travels to Anderson to take on No. 6 American Christian (22-3) for the right to face No. 3 Los Molinos (15-9) in the quarterfinals.
Like the boys, Gridley’s girls team finished unbeaten in the BVL to take home the league title. The Bulldogs (18-8) were rewarded with the No. 5 seed for their efforts, and will host No. 12 Corning (10-16) in the Division IV opener on Tuesday night.
A win will propel Gridley into Thursday’s quarterfinals against No. 4 Willows (20-5).
Also hosting a firstround game on Tuesday is Live Oak (15-7), which picked up the No. 6 seed in Division IV and a home date against No. 11 Orland (11-15). With a win, the Lions will face No. 3 Oroville (16-10) on Thursday night.
No. 10 Sutter (11-15) will travel to play No. 7 University Prep (12-14) on Tuesday with the winner of that game earning a trip to Susanville to play No. 2 Lassen (20-7) in the Division IV semifinals.
In Division V, No. 4 East Nicolaus (16-9) earned a first-round bye and will start its playoff run in the quarterfinals on Thursday night at home against No. 5 Trinity (15-11).
No. 9 Colusa (8-18) will travel to play No. 8 Quincy (11-11) for a first-round game on Tuesday, with the winner moving on to play top-seeded Durham (21-5) in the quarterfinals.
Rounding out the local teams is Biggs (19-7), which received the No. 3 seed and a home game in the quarterfinals on Friday night against No. 6 Loyalton (14-12).
Championship games will be played on Friday, March 2, and Saturday, March 3, at Butte College in Oroville and Shasta College in Redding.