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Announcement
Teams now know first opponent on road to state finals
By Jeff Brown
Sports editor
All sectionals lead to Terre Haute.
The path to the girls’ basketball state championships became clear Sunday night for a record 398 schools. Sectionals are scheduled to begin Feb. 6 and run through Feb. 11. Regional and semistate rounds follow with four state champions being crowned on March 3 at the Hulman Center on the campus of Indiana State University in Terre Haute.
Last offseason brought sectional realignment for many programs – Shelbyville included. The Lady Golden Bears go from one of the toughest Class 3A sectionals that included four Hoosier Heritage Conference schools to a Class 4A sectional that may prove tougher to navigate.
The Lady Golden Bears (7-12) open Sectional 14 at Columbus North against Bloomington South (12-6), with the winner taking on the host Lady Bull Dogs (17-3) in the semifinals.
The other half of the six-team bracket has Columbus East (14-6) taking on Bloomington North (8-13) in the quarterfinals. The winner meets East Central (10-9) in the semifinals.
“It definitely is not going to be easy,” said Shelbyville coach Amanda Norris. “We went from a tough sectional to a tough sectional.
“I’m really excited to be playing teams not necessarily familiar to us.”
Triton Central has spent the better part of a decade trying to get out of a Class 2A sectional with state-powerhouse Heritage Christian and Mid-Hoosier Conference rival Indian Creek. That’s the biggest reason the Lady Tigers haven’t won a sectional title since 2002.
That could change this year when realignment moved Indian Creek up to Class 3A, and Heritage Christian and Triton Central have been put into separate sectionals.
Triton Central (17-1), ranked fifth in the latest state coaches poll, is now paired with five Indianapolis schools in Sectional 43, which is hosted by Crispus Attucks.
Triton Central kicks off the sectional against Scecina (7-10) in the opener. The winner gets Washington (1-17) in the semifinals.
The bottom half of the bracket has Crispus Attucks (10-8) facing Metropolitan (4-11), with the winner taking on Ritter (10-8).
“I don’t think the draw could have been any better for us,” said Triton Central coach Bryan Graham. “We won’t be able to go in there sleep walking since we play one of the better teams in the first game.”
Scecina’s challenge is to overturn a 53-20 loss to Triton Central on Dec. 19. The Lady Tigers also have a 65-52 win over Ritter this season.
If Heritage Christian wins the Broad Ripple Sectional, the Lady Eagles and Lady Tigers would meet again in the first semifinal of the Speedway Regional.
Traditionally, Morristown, Edinburgh, Southwestern and Waldron have traded sectional titles at Southwestern. The Sectional 59 host site this year is Morristown, but Southwestern is still the regional host and the Spartans are the favorite to play at least one postseason game on its home floor.
The seven-team sectional begins with a quarterfinal matchup between Edinburgh (6-12) and Irvington Prep (4-13). One night later, four teams meet in two quarterfinal games.
Southwestern (10-7) makes its postseason debut against Greenwood Christian (2-15) – a team it beat by 61 points just last week. The second semifinal features Lutheran (3-15) and Waldron (1-17). The winners meet in the semifinals.
Morristown (5-14) received the bye and faces the winner of the Edinburgh-Irvington Prep contest.
“It’s a concern,” said Southwestern coach Bill Taylor on not hosting the sectional. “I like that Morristown is on the other side of the bracket. We don’t have to start the sectional against the home team on their home floor.”
Southwestern is 5-0 against potential sectional opponents this season and a stellar 9-0 against Class A teams.
Morristown has won two straight and has a season finale to go with Greenwood Christian. That could give the Lady Yellow Jackets added momentum entering the sectional at the Bee Hive.
“I don’t think we could have asked for a better draw,” said Morristown coach Mike Smith.
The path to the girls’ basketball state championships became clear Sunday night for a record 398 schools. Sectionals are scheduled to begin Feb. 6 and run through Feb. 11. Regional and semistate rounds follow with four state champions being crowned on March 3 at the Hulman Center on the campus of Indiana State University in Terre Haute.
Last offseason brought sectional realignment for many programs – Shelbyville included. The Lady Golden Bears go from one of the toughest Class 3A sectionals that included four Hoosier Heritage Conference schools to a Class 4A sectional that may prove tougher to navigate.
The Lady Golden Bears (7-12) open Sectional 14 at Columbus North against Bloomington South (12-6), with the winner taking on the host Lady Bull Dogs (17-3) in the semifinals.
“It definitely is not going to be easy,” said Shelbyville coach Amanda Norris. “We went from a tough sectional to a tough sectional.
“I’m really excited to be playing teams not necessarily familiar to us.”
Triton Central has spent the better part of a decade trying to get out of a Class 2A sectional with state-powerhouse Heritage Christian and Mid-Hoosier Conference rival Indian Creek. That’s the biggest reason the Lady Tigers haven’t won a sectional title since 2002.
That could change this year when realignment moved Indian Creek up to Class 3A, and Heritage Christian and Triton Central have been put into separate sectionals.
Triton Central (17-1), ranked fifth in the latest state coaches poll, is now paired with five Indianapolis schools in Sectional 43, which is hosted by Crispus Attucks.
Triton Central kicks off the sectional against Scecina (7-10) in the opener. The winner gets Washington (1-17) in the semifinals.
The bottom half of the bracket has Crispus Attucks (10-8) facing Metropolitan (4-11), with the winner taking on Ritter (10-8).
“I don’t think the draw could have been any better for us,” said Triton Central coach Bryan Graham. “We won’t be able to go in there sleep walking since we play one of the better teams in the first game.”
Scecina’s challenge is to overturn a 53-20 loss to Triton Central on Dec. 19. The Lady Tigers also have a 65-52 win over Ritter this season.
If Heritage Christian wins the Broad Ripple Sectional, the Lady Eagles and Lady Tigers would meet again in the first semifinal of the Speedway Regional.
Traditionally, Morristown, Edinburgh, Southwestern and Waldron have traded sectional titles at Southwestern. The Sectional 59 host site this year is Morristown, but Southwestern is still the regional host and the Spartans are the favorite to play at least one postseason game on its home floor.
The seven-team sectional begins with a quarterfinal matchup between Edinburgh (6-12) and Irvington Prep (4-13). One night later, four teams meet in two quarterfinal games.
Southwestern (10-7) makes its postseason debut against Greenwood Christian (2-15) – a team it beat by 61 points just last week. The second semifinal features Lutheran (3-15) and Waldron (1-17). The winners meet in the semifinals.
Morristown (5-14) received the bye and faces the winner of the Edinburgh-Irvington Prep contest.
“It’s a concern,” said Southwestern coach Bill Taylor on not hosting the sectional. “I like that Morristown is on the other side of the bracket. We don’t have to start the sectional against the home team on their home floor.”
Southwestern is 5-0 against potential sectional opponents this season and a stellar 9-0 against Class A teams.
Morristown has won two straight and has a season finale to go with Greenwood Christian. That could give the Lady Yellow Jackets added momentum entering the sectional at the Bee Hive.
“I don’t think we could have asked for a better draw,” said Morristown coach Mike Smith.
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