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IHSAA announces sectional pairings for 47th Annual Girls Basketball State Tournament

The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) slotted 389 girls basketball teams Sunday for the 47th annual IHSAA Girls Basketball State Tournament.

Sectional games begin Feb. 1 with champions crowned on Feb. 5. The regional round is Feb. 12 with semistate games following on Feb. 19.

The four state championship games will be played Feb. 26 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the home of the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, in downtown Indianapolis.

Here is a look at the three sectional fields for the five Shelby County girls basketball programs:

Class 4A Franklin Central Sectional

Shelbyville has battled this season to stay at or near .500. With one game left, the Golden Bears could achieve a .500 regular season and carry momentum into the sectional tournament.

Sunday’s draw did not favor Shelbyville, though.

 

 

The Golden Bears (10-11) open the tournament on Feb. 1 at 6 p.m. against Class 4A, No. 2 Franklin (20-1). The winner advances to Friday’s semifinal round to face Center Grove (11-9).

Shelbyville lost to Franklin, 67-28, on Dec. 18.

In the other quarterfinal matchup at Franklin Central, Whiteland (6-14) takes on Greenwood (11-9) with the winner getting the host Flashes (5-14) in the semifinals.

The Franklin Central Sectional champ advances to the Columbus North Regional to take on the Bloomington North Sectional champion.

Class 4A, No. 10 Columbus East (16-3) and 4A No. 13 East Central (18-4) are in the field at Bloomington North.

Class 2A Heritage Christian Sectional

The two state-ranked programs in the sectional will meet in the semifinal round.

Class 2A, No. 8 Triton Central (17-4) opens sectional play against 2A No. 11 Eastern Hancock (14-5) on Feb. 4. Those two teams met on Nov. 13 with Triton Central prevailing 50-41.

 

 

Heritage Christian (12-10) hosts Indianapolis Scecina (8-11) in the only sectional quarterfinal game on Feb. 1. The winner advances to face Irvington Prep Academy (1-10) in the semifinals.

Since a sectional realignment in 2016, Triton Central and Eastern Hancock have met in the postseason five of the last six seasons – Triton Central has won four of those meetings and all six regular season meetings during that same time period.

Earlier this season, Triton Central head coach Bryan Graham noted that someone was going to have to go through two tough opponents to win a sectional title. On Sunday, he learned it was his Tigers, who have won four straight sectional titles.

“Honestly, with the teams in the sectional, it will be a toss up,” he said.

With a win over the Royals earlier this season, Graham expects Eastern Hancock to be ready for a rematch.

“I’m sure they are,” he said, “but we are starting to get a little bit hungry again.”

The winner of the Heritage Christian Sectional advances to the Southmont Regional to face the Southmont Sectional champion.

Parke Heritage (16-5) and North Putnam (13-8) are the only two teams in that sectional with winning records. Parke Heritage defeated North Putnam, 65-52, on Dec. 11.

Class A Waldron Sectional

Two top-five programs are on opposite sides of the bracket.

In the opening game Feb. 1, Rising Sun (8-12) takes on Oldenburg Academy (7-12) with the winner advancing to face Class A, No. 1 Waldron (19-1) on its home floor in the semifinal round.

 

 

There are two quarterfinal games on Feb. 2.

In the first one, Hauser (10-10) battles Class A, No. 5 Jac-Cen-Del (16-5). Southwestern (9-10) gets a familiar foe in Morristown (10-9) in the second game.

 

 

The winners meet on Friday in the second semifinal game.

Waldron has beaten every team in the sectional field, including Southwestern twice. The Mohawks defeated Jac-Cen-Del, 51-48, on Dec. 7.

 

 

Morristown defeated Southwestern, 38-32, on Jan. 10.

The winner of the Waldron Sectional moves on to the Southwestern Regional to face the winner of the Clay City Sectional. North Central (Farmersburg) (15-6) and Eminence (10-6) are the only two teams in the sectional field with winning records.

North Central defeated Eminence, 59-45, on Nov. 20.

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