Three girls basketball district tournaments will be held in Bay County starting as early as Monday. Including outlying area tournaments, district games will be played on every night of the week except Wednesday and Sunday as each grouping determines which two squads will move into region play.
North Bay Haven hosts the 1-5A tournament beginning Monday with the No. 4 seed Buccaneers hosting No. 5 Pensacola Catholic at 5:30 p.m.
That winner advances to meet top-seeded South Walton on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
The District 1-6A event is an all-Bay County affair and will be played at Rutherford with a pair of semifinals on Tuesday. Rutherford will meet Arnold at 5 p.m. followed by Bay vs. Mosley at 7 p.m. The championship is Friday at 7 p.m.
Mosley, 17-5, enters its semifinal as the dominant favorite. The Dolphins have lost three of their last four against larger classification schools, however, and only turned back Bay 46-37 on Jan. 25. Bay is 6-14.
"Right now we are just concerned with Bay High School on Tuesday as they have improved since the beginning of the season," Mosley coach Jon Mason said. "If we are fortunate enough to win that game we will look to the winner of the improved Arnold Marlins and the experienced Rutherford Rams. Both teams are competitive.
"If we are fortunate to secure the district we will most likely face Godby, which I don’t know much about. Rickards is the favorite in the region, but I believe if we can play how we have been able to play early in the season we can compete."
Rutherford is 16-7 and Arnold 5-16.
North Bay Haven is 9-14 for its tournament opener. Holmes County is 23-1, top seeded and host of the District 2-1A tourney. Bozeman hosts 4-1A and is 12-8. Port St. Joe, 22-2, dominated that district during the regular season and is expected by many to return to Lakeland for the state final four after missing the state semifinals last March.
The Tiger Sharks await the winner of the play-in game at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Bozeman. The host Bucks follow at 7 p.m. against Wewahitchka.
That championship will be Saturday at 7 p.m.
District schedules. Seed in parentheses when available
1-6A, at Rutherford
Tuesday: Rutherford (2) vs. Arnold (3) 5 p.m., Mosley (1) vs. Bay (4) 7 p.m.
Friday: Championship 7 p.m.
1-5A, at North Bay Haven
Monday: Pensacola Catholic (5) at North Bay Haven (4) 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday: West Florida (2) vs. Walton (3) 5:30 p.m. North Bay Haven-Pensacola Catholic winner vs. South Walton (1) 7 p.m.
Friday: Championship 6 p.m.
2-5A, at Marianna
Tuesday: Marianna vs. Gadsden County 5 p.m., Taylor County vs. Florida High 6:30 p.m.
Thursday: Championship 6:30 p.m.
1-1A, semifinals and finals at Paxton
Tuesday: Bethlehem (5) at Central (4) 6 p.m., Laurel Hill (6) at Poplar Springs (3) 6 p.m., Malone (7) at Ponce de Leon (2) 6 p.m.
Thursday: Laurel Hill-Poplar Springs winner vs. Malone-Ponce de Leon winner 6 p.m., Bethlehem-Central winner vs. Paxton (1) 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: Championship 7 p.m.
2-1A, at Holmes County
Tuesday: Blountstown at Cottondale 6 p.m.
Thursday: Sneads vs. Graceville, Blountstown-Cottondale winner vs. Holmes County
Saturday: Championship 7 p.m.
3-1A, at Freeport
Monday: Northview (5) at Freeport (4) 6 p.m.
Tuesday: Jay (3) vs. Chipley (2) 5:30 p.m., Northview-Freeport winner vs. Baker (1) 7 p.m.
Thursday: Championship 7 p.m.
4-1A, at Bozeman
Tuesday: Franklin County (4) vs. Liberty County (5) 7 p.m.
Thursday: Franklin County-Liberty County winner vs. Port St. Joe (1) 5:30 p.m., Wewahitchka (3) vs. Bozeman (2) 7 p.m.
Saturday: Championship 7 p.m.