CLEVELAND, Ohio — The girls basketball postseason begins this weekend with sectional games, followed by district semifinals and finals. This preview breaks down each area district tournament in Division II.
A link to the bracket for each district is included.
ELYRIA DISTRICT
Teams, ordered by seed: 1. Bay; 2. Buckeye; 3. Cloverleaf; 4. Holy Name; 5. Fairview; 6. Padua; 7. East Tech; 8. Rocky River; 9. Firelands; 10. Clearview; 11. Brookside; 12. Lincoln West.
Click here for the bracket.
The Field
This tournament provides a good cross section of teams from the Great Lakes Conference, both divisions of the Patriot Athletic Conference, the North Coast League, the Senate League and the Portage Trail Conference. The teams come from Cuyahoga, Lorain and Medina counties.
The Favorite
Bay: The Rockets still have a makeup game to play against front-runner Elyria Catholic, so they still have a shot at a co-championship in the GLC. Bay had a halftime lead against Division I power Aurora last week, but Shyanne Sellers scored 19 second-half points on her way to 34 as the Greenmen took a 47-41 victory. But it's such results that make Bay the team to beat in this field.
Players to Watch
Maddie Edgerly, Bay: The senior guard led the Rockets by averaging about 14 points and seven rebounds per game. Committed to play next year at Division III Hope College, Edgerly just recently passed the 1,000-point mark for her career.
Gabby Glancy, Buckeye: In averaging 9.5 points, the senior guard is second on the team. She also is a standout on defense, averaging 3.8 steals.
Maeve Johnston, Bay: The defensive-minded Rockets don't score a lot of points, so it's the all-around game of Johnston that makes her stand out. The All-Ohio soccer goalkeeper averaged about eight points, eight rebounds, three steals and three assists per game.
McKenna Jordan, Cloverleaf: The 6-foot senior is a force inside, averaging 13.3 points and 11.2 rebounds.
Madison Ross, Buckeye: The leading scorer for the Bucks, Ross averaged 10.3 points and 4.7 rebounds.
District championship pick: Bay over Buckeye. While the teams have similar scores against common opponents Parma and Valley Forge, the Rockets played the more challenging schedule, which should have them prepared to take the district crown.
LAKESIDE DISTRICT
Teams, ordered by seed: 1. Perry; 2. Gilmour; 3. West Geauga; 4. Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin; 5. Jefferson; 6. Geneva; 7. Lake Catholic; 8. Glenville; 9. Hawken; 10. Villa Angela-St. Joseph; 11. Harvey; 12. Edgewood.
Click here for the bracket.
The Field
This bracket consists of teams from Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties. Teams representing the All-American Conference, Chagrin Valley Conference, North Coast League and Senate League are in the field.
Top-seeded Perry was the co-champion of the Chagrin Division of the CVC, and Gilmour was the runner-up in the North Coast League’s upper tier.
The Favorites
Perry: The top-seeded Pirates have struggled just a bit, losing three of their last seven games. One loss was to Orange, which resulted in a CVC co-championship, one was to Eastlake North, one of the best teams in the area, and one was to Chardon, an above-average DI team. Perry's only other loss in a 19-4 season was a knockdown, drag out affair with Cornerstone Christian, also one of the area's best.
Gilmour: At 13-9, the Lancers don't have the record to match Perry, but they played a more difficult schedule as part of the NCL. They also played a killer non-conference slate. Gilmour struggled early in the season, as the players and first-year coach Julie Solis had to learn to trust one another — Solis is the team's third coach in as many years. Once those issues were ironed out, the Lancers went on a seven-game winning streak before recent losses to powers Hoban and Elyria Catholic.
Players to Watch
Annika Corcoran, Gilmour: A second team All-Ohio selection last year, she has picked right up where she left off. The Detroit-Mercy commit averaged 17.9 points and 4.2 assists while making 56 3-pointers.
Madyson Hacking, Perry: One of two super sophs for the Pirates, she led the team with 14.8 points and 4.4 rebounds. She finished the regular season by scoring 26 points, including six 3-pointers, against Eastlake North.
Nikki Ehrbar, West Geauga: The 5-foot-8 sophomore point guard led the resurgent Wolverines in three categories, 15.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.9 steals.
Elle Infalvi, Perry: The other half of Perry's standout sophomore duo, she averaged 12.4 points while shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc with 59 made 3-pointers.
Emma Liberatore, ND-CL: An exceptional athlete who finished third in the state last year in the long jump, the junior is very good at getting to the basket, finishing with either hand. She averaged just under 15 points.
Maddie Puletti, Gilmour: The junior gets a lot of her points on the inside but also made 50 3-pointers. She averaged 12.4 points and 2.5 steals per game.
District championship pick: Gilmour over Perry. The Lancers have reached the state's Final Four in each of the past three years and recently they have looked primed to take a run at a fourth.
NORDONIA DISTRICT
Teams, ordered by seed: 1. St. Vincent-St. Mary; 2. Laurel; 3. Orange; 4. Chagrin Falls; 5. Beaumont; 6. Revere; 7. Streetsboro; 8. Cleveland Central Catholic; 9. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy; 10. Cleveland JFK; 11. Woodridge; 12. St. Martin De Porres.
Click here for the bracket.
The Field
This is by far the most intriguing Division II district field. Top-seeded St. Vincent-St. Mary is just a few games over .500 but played an incredibly difficult schedule. Laurel, the second seed, also faced a strong, upgraded schedule in order to be better prepared for a hoped-for matchup with the Irish. The Lions from Orange earned the third seed by winning its first conference title. Even looking as deep as the seventh seed, Revere has a recent quality win over Buchtel, the top seed in the Uniontown Lake district.
The Favorites
St. Vincent-St. Mary: One of the tallest teams in the state, the Irish opened by losing five of their first seven. They turned things around in late December as freshman Lanae Riley emerged as a go-to player. This is a deep, scrappy bunch that lost to unbeaten Hoban by a point last week. The Irish reached the regional finals last year and desperately want another shot at making it to Columbus.
Laurel: The first thing that jumps out is that there is only one senior who sees much playing time. The second thing is seemingly everyone who wears a Laurel uniform is capable of hitting from beyond the arc. The Gators play a trapping defense and favor the dribble-drive offense in which a player goes to the basket and either beats the defender for a shot or kicks it out for a 3-pointer.
The Cinderella Candidate
Orange: From having to cancel a season for lack of players less than 10 years ago, the Lions are 18-4 and co-champs of the Chagrin Division of the Chagrin Valley Conference. They have two All-Ohio players in Casey Smith and Kayden Lawson, which means they have the talent necessary to pull an upset or two.
Players to Watch
Mara Dobson, St. Vincent-St. Mary: Her all-around game is strong enough that she has committed to play next year at Tiffin. The team's best defender, the guard averaged 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Kayden Lawson, Orange: At 5-10, the junior is the team's tallest player yet plays point guard. She averaged 16.2 points and can score both inside and out.
Giuliana Marinozzi, Laurel: One of Laurel's sharpshooters, she also is adept at driving to the basket. The junior averaged 13.8 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Carly Perusek, Beaumont: An outstanding all-around player, the junior averaged 15.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 3.3 steals for the fifth-seeded Blue Streaks, who went 15-6.
Lanae Riley, St. Vincent-St. Mary: Although just a freshman, the 6-footer already has an Akron offer. She has a variety of moves in the post but can score from as far as 15 feet, as her 80 percent free-throw percentage can attest. She averaged 17 points and eight rebounds. In a recent loss to Hoban she scored 18 consecutive points.
Casey Smith, Orange: A first team All-Ohio selection last year, Smith is still deciding whether to play next year at Malone or Muskingum. Averaging 15.6 points, she shoots well from the outside, but her strength is using her athleticism to get to the basket.
Taylor Thierry, Laurel: The leading scorer for the Gators, the sophomore had 28 points in a recent victory over Cleveland Heights. She leads the team with averages of 14.2 points and 4.9 rebounds.
District championship pick: St. Vincent-St. Mary over Laurel. As with many of these picks, the team with the experience of going deep into the tournament gets the nod. The Irish should dominate the inside against Laurel, so can the Gators make up for it with defensive pressure and outside shooting? The guess is that Laurel is still a year away, but it should be a great district final.
UNIONTOWN LAKE DISTRICT
Teams, ordered by seed: 1. Buchtel; 2. Norton; 3. Norwayne; 4. Canton South; 5. Ravenna; 6. Canal Fulton Northwest; 7. Field; 8. Tallmadge; 9. Alliance Marlington; 10. Akron East; 11. Akron Springfield; 12. Coventry; 13. Alliance.
Click here for the bracket.
The Favorites
Buchtel: It's difficult to get a good read on the Griffins, who ended the season with consecutive upset losses. The most troubling was in the Akron City League finals to Kenmore-Garfield, a team they had beaten by 31 points. On the other hand, Buchtel's 16-6 mark is among the best the team has posted in 20 years. There were impressive victories over Doylestown Chippewa and Nordonia, and losses to high-quality Aurora and St. Vincent-St. Mary.
Norton: At 18-4 the Panthers just completed their most successful regular season in more than 35 years, winning their third consecutive crown in the Metro Division of the Portage Trail Conference. They also faced a quality non-conference schedule, facing four teams from the Federal League and defeating Kenston and Walsh Jesuit. Norton has an unusual mix of two four-year starters and then a bench comprised of mostly ninth and 10th graders.
Players to Watch
Lauren Calhoun, Ravenna: The 6-foot senior is a strong inside presence for the Ravens. She surpassed 1,000 career points early in the season.
Kelsey Hosey, Norton: The team's leading scorer and rebounder for the past two seasons, she has signed to play at Malone. She passed 1,000 points for her career recently and averaged 12 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 2.3 assists.
Bryanna Housley, Norton: A point guard in the truest sense of the term, she averaged 9.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, six assists and six steals. She holds the school steal record for career, season and game, and she recently broke the career assists record as well. She has signed to play at NAIA school Indiana Wesleyan.
Imani Jackson, Buchtel: In earning First Team All-City honors, the senior averaged 13 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Javaan Rogers, Buchtel: Also a First Team All-City selection, the junior averaged 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists per game.
District championship pick: Norton over Buchtel. This was a very difficult choice and could very easily go the other way. The concern is with how Buchtel ended the season and the Griffins' psyche. If they are completely over it, then they have the talent to win this title. But Norton reached the regional final two years ago and that experience, mainly in the formidable twosome of Hosey and Housley, should be enough to give the edge to the Panthers.
AUSTINTOWN FITCH DISTRICT
Teams, ordered by seed: 1. Poland Seminary; 2. Youngstown Cardinal Mooney; 3. Youngstown Ursuline; 4. Beloit West Branch; 5. Warren Howland; 6. Struthers; 7. Niles McKinley; 8. Youngstown East; 9. Crestwood; 10. Hubbard; 11. Cortland Lakeview; 12. Youngstown Chaney.
Click here for the bracket.
The Favorite
Poland Seminary: Forget the school's unusual name, this team is legit. The Bulldogs are undefeated and were tied for first with Dayton Carroll in the final Associated Press state poll this past week. Located in Mahoning County, Poland won the Northeast 8 Athletic Conference, a new affiliation in its first year of existence.
District championship pick: Poland over West Branch. The Bulldogs haven't been to the Final Four since 2000 and West Branch seems to be in the regional every year. But this appears to be Poland Seminary's year.
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