CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Division III girls basketball postseason begins this week with sectional games, followed by district semifinals and finals. This preview breaks down each area district tournament.
A link to the bracket for each district is included.
NORTH RIDGEVILLE DISTRICT
Teams, ordered by seed: 1. Elyria Catholic; 2. Independence; 3. Kirtland; 4. Trinity; 5. Lutheran West; 6. Wellington; 7. Lutheran East; 8. Keystone; 9. Columbia; 10. Beachwood; 11. Wickliffe; 12. Oberlin; 13. Brooklyn.
Click here for the bracket.
The Field
This district represents a huge geographical area, with teams from both the east and west side, including Cuyahoga, Lake and Lorain counties. Conferences represented are the Chagrin Valley Conference, Great Lakes Conference, Lake Erie League, North Coast League and Patriot Athletic Conference.
The Favorites
Elyria Catholic: With four starters returning from last year's Final Four team, the Panthers are clear favorites. However, one of those returners, Abby Winnen, hasn't played since Christmas. There is still hope that her season isn't over, and her return could be key to returning to Columbus. When healthy, she combines with twin sister Ally to give EC a pair of 6-1 players, a rare commodity on the DIII level. The Panthers have learned to play without Abby, winning their fourth consecutive GLC crown and earning several quality wins, but they obviously would be even better if she could make it back.
Independence: The 19-2 Blue Devils won the Valley Division of the CVC, their first conference title in basketball since 2007. They are young, with only three seniors in the regular rotation. Early in the season Independence had a 13-point victory over Orange and only lost by 11 to Eastlake North, one of the area's better Division I teams. The Blue Devils enter having won 12 consecutive games.
Players to Watch
Haylee Dmitruk, Independence: A true point guard who controls the game with her ball-handling and decision making. The 5-6 junior averaged 10.1 points and 4.0 assists.
Machiaha Irving, Trinity: In leading Trinity to a 14-6 mark and the fourth seed, the freshman averaged 13 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
Faith Williams, Elyria Catholic: The senior point guard scored the 1,000th point in the final regular season game and is committed to playing at Wheeling Jesuit next year. A good ball-handler, she averaged 13.9 points and 4.0 assists.
Riley Wilson, Independence: The 5-9 junior has enough size to be able to score on the inside but has a nice outside shooting stroke as well. Led the team by averaging 16.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.0 steals.
Ally Winnen, Elyria Catholic: At 6-1, the junior is very good at using her size for positioning in the lane. She has a variety of post moves but also has a good mid-range shot. She averaged 13.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.
Grace Wolfe, Kirtland: Just a freshman, she averaged 11.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals for the 17-5 Hornets.
District championship pick: Elyria Catholic over Independence. The Blue Devils have had an outstanding season and certainly have the talent to hang with the Panthers. But the experience factor greatly favors EC, and the Panthers also played a superior schedule. Independence is definitely a team to watch in the next few years.
CORTLAND LAKEVIEW DISTRICT
Teams, ordered by seed: 1. Warren Champion; 2. Newton Falls; 3. Leavittsburg LaBrae; 4. Pymatuning Valley; 5. Garrettsville Garfield; 6. Warrensville Heights; 7. Mineral Ridge; 8. Cardinal; 9. Grand Valley; 10. Berkshire; 11. Conneaut; 12. Girard.
Click here for the bracket.
The Favorite
Warren Champion: The Golden Flashes ended with a 17-5 record and won the Blue Tier of the All-American Conference, the team's first conference title since 2011. Champion has four players who averaged scoring in double figures.
Players to Watch
Camille Cummins, Cardinal: The 5-11 senior is a rebounding machine. In a recent game she needed 20 rebounds to tie her mother Lyndsay's school record for career rebounds, so she went out and got 21. She averaged 17.4 rebounds, 12.4 points and 3.0 steals for the 12-10 Huskies.
Lamya Ford, Warrensville: It's been a turnaround season for Warrensville, which went 15-7 after going winless the previous two years. At the lead has been Ford, who averaged 26.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.1 steals and 3.0 assists. She is the school's all-time leading scorer with more than 1,600 points and had a high of 41 this year.
Grace Mills, Garrettsville Garfield: This sophomore guard is a scoring machine, having reached nearly 800 points in 44 games. She had a triple double earlier in the season and she averaged 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.7 steals.
District championship pick: Warren Champion over Newton Falls.
STRUTHERS DISTRICT
Teams, ordered by seed: 1. Salem; 2. Canfield South Range; 3. Ravenna Southeast; 4. Columbiana; 5. Youngstown Liberty; 6. Columbiana Crestview; 7. East Palestine; 8. Hanoverton United Local; 9. New Middletown Springfield; 10. Rootstown; 11. Atwater Waterloo; 12. Campbell Memorial.
Click here for the bracket.
The Favorite
Salem: The Quakers went 17-5 in the competitive Northeastern Buckeye League. Included in the losses were two-point decisions to strong teams from Poland Seminary and Youngstown Ursuline, the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds, respectively, in the DII Austintown Fitch district.
The Cinderella Candidate
Ravenna Southeast: The Pirates finished with an 18-3 mark and went undefeated in the County Division of the Portage Trail Conference. The three losses were by six to Division I Uniontown Lake, in double overtime to Youngstown Cardinal Mooney (the second seed in the Austintown Fitch DII district) and in overtime to Ravenna. All three losses were on the road. This team is known for its defense and could give the top seeds fits.
Players to Watch
Andrea Radcliffe, Southeast: The senior has scored more than 1,000 points in her career. She averaged 19 points and nine rebounds per game.
District championship pick: Salem over Ravenna Southeast.
WOOSTER DISTRICT
Teams, ordered by seed: 1. Doylestown Chippewa; 2. Orrville; 3. Loudonville; 4. Massillon Tuslaw; 5. Apple Creek Waynedale; 6. Manchester; 7. Smithville; 8. Wooster Triway; 9. West Salem Northwestern; 10. Navarre Fairless; 11. Louisville St. Thomas Aquinas; 12. Black River; 13. Canton Central Catholic.
Click here for the bracket.
The Favorite
Doylestown Chippewa: The Chipps finished the season at 20-1, and the one loss came at the hands of Buchtel way back in early December. In the final Associated Press state poll Chippewa is sixth among Division III schools.
District championship pick: Doylestown Chippewa over Orrville.
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