SHELBY — Local girls’ basketball teams learned their tournament destinations and opponents as seedings and placements were announced from district sites throughout the state Sunday afternoon.
Bucyrus, Colonel Crawford, Galion and Seneca East were assigned to the Division III district at Shelby, while Buckeye Central, Wynford, Crestline and Mohawk will play in the Division IV district at Willard.
At Shelby, Margaretta (17-2) received the No. 1 seed and took the bye into the late-game (8 p.m.) sectional final at Willard on Feb. 23. The Polar Bears get the winner of Huron (3-13) and Galion (2-17), who meet on Feb. 20 at 6:15 p.m.
Seneca East (18-1) got the nod for the No. 2 seed and took the 8 p.m. sectional final bye at Lexington, also on Feb. 23. The Tigers will face the winner of New London (5-10) and Plymouth (4-13), which meeting takes place on Feb. 20 at 8 p.m.
Colonel Crawford (11-7) got the sixth seed and was able to take a bye to the 6:15 p.m. sectional final at Willard on Feb. 23. The Eagles will meet the winner of Bucyrus (2-14) and No. 4 seed Western Reserve (12-4), who play at 6:15 p.m. on Feb. 20.
“It went the way I thought it was going to go,” Colonel Crawford coach Kyle Fenner said of the results. “I pretty much knew how it was going to end up and where I was going to end up.”
No. 3 Milan Edison and No. 4 Western Reserve had options to take byes but chose to play first-round games instead.
“The only thing I didn’t know was of Edison or Western Reserve were going to take a bye or were going to elect to play,” Fenner said. “I didn’t know if I was going to play or if I was going to get the bye.”
“We got last (seed),” Bucyrus coach Taylor Tackett said. “I thought we might get second-to-last. Record-wise, we matched up with the last three teams that were there.”
For not having a say, Tackett was not totally unhappy with the Lady Redmen’s placement.
“It’s kind of nice not starting off playing the one or two (seeded) teams,” Tackett said. “You’ve got something to work with, something to try. We look forward to it.”
“We put ourselves in that position,” Fenner said of playing in a sectional final. “We’ll have a week to prepare for it and we’ll see how it goes.”
In the other Division III bracket in the Shelby district, No. 5 seed Ashland Crestview (12-4) got a bye to the 6:15 p.m. sectional final game at Lexington on Feb. 23 at 6:15 p.m. The Lady Cougars take on the Edison versus Monroeville (2-16) winner, who play at 6:15 p.m. on Feb. 20.
At the Willard district, Buckeye Central (15-2) got the No. 1 seed and Wynford (12-5) was voted the No. 2 seed.
The Buckettes took the 8 p.m. bye at Shelby on Feb. 23 where they will take on the winner of Mansfield Christian (1-12) versus Mohawk (3-14). That game will be played on Feb. 19 at 8 p.m.
The Lady Royals took the bye in the sectional final at Norwalk at 6:15 p.m. Feb. 23. The opponent will be the winner of Crestline (6-11) and Danbury (4-12). That game is at 7 p.m. Feb. 20.
No. 3 seed Norwalk St. Paul took the 6:15 p.m. bye at Shelby on Feb. 23. The Fliers will take on the winner of the 6:15 p.m. game on Feb. 19 featuring Mansfield St. Peter’s (9-9) and South Central (9-8).
No. 4 seed Lucas (12-4) will play for a sectional title in the lower bracket, 8 p.m. game at Norwalk on Feb. 23 when the Lady Cubs tangle with Sandusky St. Mary (11-5).