By Josh Brown
Miami Valley Today
MIAMI COUNTY — The Tippecanoe girls basketball team’s regional tournament streak may have come to an end last season.
But after Sunday’s sectional tournament draw, the Red Devils look to be in good position to keep their district one going this year.
Tippecanoe earned the No. 1 seed in the Division II sectional tournament, the highest ranking of any of Miami County’s girls basketball teams entering the postseason,
A breakdown of each Division’s brackets:
• Division II
At 16-4, the Red Devils were an easy choice for the top seed in the D-II Tecumseh sectional, which they have dominated for the better part of a decade.
Tippecanoe, which had reached the regional tournament four seasons in a row before last year’s district final loss to Franklin, has played in the district final the past six straight years.
This year, the Devils will take on No. 11 Northwestern in the opening round on Feb. 15, with No. 12 Belmont awaiting the winner. With No. 2 Trotwood and No. 3 Eaton going into the other bracket to avoid the Devils, fourth-seeded Greenville (9-10) is the top seed in Tippecanoe’s bracket. The Green Wave take on No. 7 Ben Logan in the first round, with No. 6 Kenton Ridge awaiting the winner in the second round.
Tippecanoe is the lone team in its sectional bracket with a winning record, and it already owns two head-to-head wins over division rival Greenville this year, 49-27 and 45-26.
• Division I
Even with a 15-5 record, Piqua still ended up with a double-digit seed in a loaded D-I sectional.
The Indians drew the No. 10 seed and chose a first-round game against No. 7 Miamisburg (10-10) at Butler. Should the Indians get past the first round, the winner of No. 5 Bellbrook and No. 14 Springfield would await in the second round, with No. 2 Wayne (18-2) the likely opponent in the district semifinal.
Troy (11-8) went on the board shortly after with the No. 12 seed and took a first-round bye. The Trojans will face either No. 6 Beavercreek (12-8) or No. 13 Tecumseh (11-10) in the second round in a game played at Butler High School, with top-seeded Fairmont (18-2) the likely opponent in the district semifinal.
• Division IV
Once top-seeded Tri-Village went onto the board in the D-IV sectional, the next three teams packed into the other bracket — including No. 3 Troy Christian (17-2) and No. 4 Bradford (13-7).
In fact, the Eagles and Railroaders will face each other in a second-round game at Brookville. No. 8 Newton (7-14) took a first-round bye and will likely face No. 2 Franklin Monroe (19-2), which takes on No. 9 Tri-County North (1-20) in the first round. Winners of those second-round matchups will face off in the district semifinal.
Covington (9-10) has a tough road, drawing the No. 7 seed and facing No. 5 Catholic Central (14-6) in the first round. No. 6 Yellow Springs (15-4) awaits the winner, with Tri-Village the likely district semifinal opponent.
In the Sidney sectional, Lehman (14-6) drew the No. 4 seed and will face No. 9 Houston in the opening round, with No. 3 Botkins (13-5) awaiting in the second round. No. 2 Mechanicsburg (18-2) would appear to be the likely opponent in the district semifinal, with the Indians facing No. 5 Russia in the first round.
• Division III
Bethel (12-9) drew the No. 9 seed in the D-III sectional and was able to avoid the top three teams, although the Bees still have a tough road. After a first-round bye in the Northridge sectional, the Bees will face either No. 5 Carlisle (16-3) or No. 13 Preble Shawnee (9-11) in the second round, with a likely matchup against league rival Arcanum (16-5), the No. 4 seed, awaiting in the district semifinal.
Milton-Union (8-12) is the No. 15 seed in the other Northridge sectional and has its tough matchup in the opening round, taking on No. 2 West Liberty-Salem (16-4). No. 16 Indian Lake awaits in the second round, with No. 6 Waynesville the top seed in the other half of the bracket.
And in the Covington sectional, Miami East (9-11) drew the No. 10 seed and, after a first-round bye, has a tough second-round matchup against league rival No. 11 National Trail (11-8). Awaiting the winner in the district semifinal will likely be No. 1 seed, Anna (14-6).
Contact Josh Brown at [email protected], or follow @TroyDailySports on Twitter.
©2020 Miami Valley Today, all rights reserved.
