The pairings for the OVAC Girls Basketball Tournament are nearly set, with the pairings meeting set for Tuesday morning.
While all five No. 1 seeds are locked, positions two through four in most classes are still up for grabs, including a few teams that could play their way into, or out of a spot in the semifinals, tonight.
Tonight is the deadline to get games in that count toward OVAC qualification. Per usual here in the Ohio Valley, Mother Nature is throwing some of these teams a wintry curveball. At 7:30 a.m., some schools across the valley had already canceled, and many were on a two-hour delay.
Might a cancelation also mean a cancelation of tonight’s games? Some may be hoping yes. Others, no. LedeNews.com will lay out the scenarios and potential impacts of tonight’s games, along with who is already in, and who may get in. The same will be done with the boys’ pairings next Monday.
Class 5A
Wheeling Park is off tonight but travels to Morgantown on Tuesday in what is a rematch of last year’s 5A OVAC finale and what could be a preview of this year’s.
The Patriots are steamrolling teams this season, with their only loss to University, one they avenged in a big way a few weeks later.
The Park is led by sophomores Alexis Bordas and Lala Woods, both of whom earned all-state honors as freshmen. Bordas, a first-team honoree, is a leading candidate for the Ostrowski Award, given annually to the state’s top girls’ player.
Don’t pencil in the Patriots as team champs just yet. While they own a win against Morgantown already, if there’s one team that’s been a thorn in Park’s championship aspirations the last few seasons, it’s the Mohigans.
Morgantown is currently No. 2 in the standings, with Warren third (15-2), John Marshall fourth (13-4), and Marietta (13-2) in fifth position.
Here’s where things get interesting. Warren is scheduled to travel to Marietta tonight, a matchup the Warriors won earlier this season, 43-36 in overtime.
John Marshall, meanwhile, gets the 19th crack at knocking off undefeated Union Local this season. That game takes place in Morristown.
As Park and Morgantown are off, if Warren and John Marshall both win, the Warriors move up to the No. 2 spot and the Mohigans drop to third. But, if Marietta wins, the Tigers will move to third if JM loses, and fourth if JM wins. Regardless, it’s a win and you’re in for the Tigers.
The only way the Monarchs are out is if they lose and Marietta wins. Now, if Marietta wins, and John Marshall’s game is called off, the Monarchs are in no matter what happens with Marietta and Warren and actually move to third with a Warren loss in that scenario.
Class 4A
Indian Creek has the top seed locked, but Class 4A is one of the more evenly contested classes, next to 2A.
The Redskins, who fell Saturday in the Buckeye 8 championship game in a tough loss to Union Local, host Brooke tonight. They are led by the trio of Kylie Anderson (13.3 ppg), McKenna Scott (12.2), and Tori Robertson (11.3).
They are followed in second place by Harrison Central, a team Creek defeated twice this season, 74-36 in Wintersville and later 54-39 at Cadiz. The Huskies face a tough Malvern team led by Maddie Powers tonight, but win or lose, HC will be the two-seed.
Oak Glen is third and plays Beaver Local, a team the Golden Bears dispatched off 61-24 back on December 22. Win or lose, the Bears are in, but a loss could slip them back to fourth, as could a cancelation, coupled with a win by the current No. 4 team.
That team is Buckeye Local. The 7-11 Panthers faced Steubenville Catholic tonight, a team BL lost to 60-51 on December 5. A win, coupled with an Oak Glen loss or cancelation, would vault the Panthers to the No. 3 spot. But a win guarantees, at minimum, the No. 4 position.
However, a loss and the No. 6 team, Weir, could vault the Red Riders to the No. 4 spot. That’s a big if, however, as Weir plays at Wheeling Central 12-2. The Red Riders lost 80-53 back on December 10 to the Maroon Knights. Weir seems to be playing its best basketball right now, plus Central is coming off a disappointing loss to Frontier that snapped a 12-game win streak.
East Liverpool currently sits at No. 5 but the Potters are off this evening.
Class 3A
There’s a clear favorite in Class 3A as the Union Local Jets, led by Tori Kildow and West Liberty signee Reagan Vinskovich, are 18-0 and the lone unbeaten left in the OVAC.
The team that likely has the best chance of beating UL? That’d be perennial power Fort Frye, a team that the Jets beat 56-34 on December 22. Does that mean head coach Lou “Scooter” Tolzda’s team will breathe any sigh of relief if Dan Lidtke’s Cadets are opposite the Jets on Championship Saturday? Not a chance.
Fort Frye hosts Point Pleasant (4-11) tonight and win, lose, or cancelation, the Cadets will be second.
Martins Ferry is off tonight and will remain third, irrespective of tonight’s happenings.
The one spot that is up for grabs is the fourth and final position. Shenandoah sits 10-7 and faces Philo (7-9) tonight. A win and the Zeps are in, but a loss to the Electrics allows No. 5 seeded Bellaire a chance to sneak in. The Big Reds host a four-win Shadyside team. If Bellaire wins, it will bypass Shenandoah and leapfrog into the No. 4 spot.
A dangerous Linsly team (8-10) is off Monday, so there’s no way for the Cadets to play their way into the tournament. Buckeye Trail actually has the fourth-best record in 3A at 10-6, but the Warriors play a lot of games in their other conference, the IVC, and only wins against OVAC opponents provide bonus points.
Class 2A
This class figures to be the most evenly matched as any of the Top 4 teams has a chance to win it. It’s also one of only two classes where the four teams making the tournament are already decided. It’s just a matter of where.
River (16-1) is the favorite, coming in with its lone loss to unbeaten Division II Fairland. The Pilots are rolling and boast one of the better 1-2 combos around in junior Kelsey Harland and senior Hannah Raper.
The Pilots are first no matter the outcome of tonight’s showdown in Hannibal against Monroe Central, currently the No. 3 seed. River took care of the Seminoles 58-41 earlier this season in Woodsfield.
The No. 2 team Wheeling Central saw its 12-game win streak come to an end with a road loss to Frontier, 49-44. The Cougars are the No. 1 seed for the Class A tournament.
The Maroon Knights face Weir and even with a loss, would still retain the No. 2 seed. Central is an incredibly balanced team, as its top four scorers range from 14.2 down to 10.2, all in double figures.
A Seminoles win, coupled with a Maroon Knights loss, puts Monroe above Central into the second spot. Otherwise, the top three will remain River, Central, and Monroe.
The fourth and final position is going to Southern Local, led by junior scoring machine Ashley Shroades. Shroades, who averages well over 20 points per game, celebrated her 1,000th career point—last season, as a sophomore.
Neither Wellsville (5th) nor Steubenville Catholic (6th) can make up enough ground with a win tonight to overtake Southern.
Class 1A
This may be the one class where the odds-on favorite is not the top seed.
The Cougars (14-4) after the win against Central moved up into first place and secured their top spot over the West Virginia defending Class A champion Cameron Dragons (11-4).
Led by the trio of Ashlynn Van Tassell, Kenzie Clutter, and Maci Neely, the Dragons are battled tested against a tough schedule.
Both Frontier and Cameron are off tonight, and their spots are locked at one and two, respectively.
The upstart Hundred Hornets are third with their 10-3 record. The Hornets won’t receive any points tonight if they win as opponent Jefferson County Christian is not a member of the OHSAA, its home state’s athletic organization. The Hornets’ average is 29.38, which will drop to 27.29 with either a win, or a loss, because of that classification.
Hundred is in, but will remain third unless No. 4 team Morgantown Trinity defeats Caldwell tonight on the Redskins’ home floor. The Lumberjills of Valley are fifth, but even with a win tonight, their average would only bump to 22.38.
