Garfield's quest to repeat as Division III Ravenna District champions begins with a bye.
The third-seeded G-Men (13-4, 8-1 PTC County) will host the winner of No. 6 Berkshire and No. 11 LaBrae Feb 24, both of which Garfield beat by double digits in the regular season.
Should the G-Men make it to the Ravenna District semifinals, they'd likely face Newton Falls, which beat Garfield, 54-45, Dec. 30. Freshman Grace Mills scored 31 of the G-Men's 45 in that game. Garfield coach Aaron Gilbert has often noted that his team is best when it is balanced and not leaning on one star scorer. Newton Falls was led by Izzy Kline, who scored 27 against Garfield on Dec. 30, including nine in the fourth quarter to help the Tigers pull away.
On the same side of the Division III Ravenna District bracket, No. 10 Rootstown travels to No. 7 Conneaut.
The Spartans are capable of mounting an aggressive trapping defense, as they did in a late January win over Edgewood. Fortunately for the Rovers, they have a smooth senior point guard in Torrie Harris to employ against any defensive pressure. Tully Taylor is a dangerous scorer and double-double threat for the Spartans.
On the other side of the Division III Ravenna District bracket, No. 5 Waterloo hosts No. 12 Warrensville Heights in the first round. The Tigers have struggled all season, and the Vikings will be a mighty favorite. The winner gets fourth-seeded Pymatuning Valley, which fell by a large margin in last year's sectional finals.
Overall, the bracket is remarkably even with no far-and-away favorite. The top seed is Champion, which Garfield beat in last year's district title game.
DIVISION II AUSTINTOWN FITCH DISTRICT
Southeast, after making its first district championship game in school history last year, faces an even tougher road this postseason. The ninth-seeded Pirates kick off their playoff run at eighth-seeded Lakeview.
The Bulldogs are one of the region's most improved teams, with Annie Pavlansky scoring 20 in an impressive win over Howland in mid-January and putting up 22 points and 10 boards in an earlier win over Boardman. Then again, the Pirates are always one of the best defensive teams in Portage County, and Andrea Radcliff has been as good as it gets down low.
A win against Lakeview would put Southeast up against top-seeded West Branch. The Warriors beat the Pirates in last year's Division II Austintown Fitch District championship game — and are as good as ever this year, recently beating the Pirates' PTC County rival, the G-Men, 56-28. West Branch is undefeated thus far, clinching its 14th Northeastern Buckeye Conference title in 29 years Saturday. The Warriors' 6-3 post Natalie Zuchowski is one of the best players in Northeast Ohio, including a recent 15-rebound performance against a top team in Hathaway Brown. Kayla Hovorka is a top-notch guard, who scored 17 in that showdown with Hathaway Brown.
Ravenna, which lost 71-36 to Southeast in last year's first round, gets a home game this year against a beatable Niles McKinley squad. A win would set up a fun sectional final against Howland. The battle between Ravenna's Lauren Calhoun and Howland's Alex Ochman down low would be particularly enticing. Ochman had 16 points and 20 rebounds in a recent win over Harding. Calhoun has had more than a few nights like that.
Winless Crestwood makes the trek to Youngstown, where the Red Devils will have to grapple with Dayshanette Harris, just like the G-Men did in last year's regional semifinals. Harris, a prized junior, has been better than ever lately, with 36 points and 11 assists in a rout of Cardinal Mooney.
DIVISION IV NORWAYNE DISTRICT
Mogadore, winners of six of its last eight, earned a first-round bye in the Division IV Norwayne District tournament.
The Wildcats (11-7, 6-4 PTC County) could host East Canton in the sectional finals, a team Mogadore lost to in its second game of the season, 61-46.
But the Wildcats earned their home playoff game with a remarkable turnaround. Their improvement has shown recently in a 64-63 win at Valley Christian, after losing by nine at home to the Eagles earlier in the season, and in a five-point loss at Palmyra Township a month-and-a-half after a 15-point home loss to the Pirates.
Lake Center Christian gets a home game as well, in the first round, against Open Door Christian. The Tigers will be heavy favorites, having won 54-29 at Open Door on Jan. 26. LCC would face Dalton in the sectional finals.
Also in Division IV action, out of the Grand Valley District bracket, No. 12 Windham faces off against No. 5 Chalker, which it lost to 45-26 back on Dec. 4.
DIVISION II UNIONTOWN LAKE DISTRICT
Streetsboro and Coventry meet for the third time Feb. 17 along Route 14. The Rockets swept the regular-season series — by a combined eight points.
Rachel Bolyard has been remarkable all season, but Streetsboro has also gotten some big performances recently from Elizabeth Neff, who had 10 in a loss to Tallmadge and 13 in a win over Coventry. Dawn Dial has also been a key scorer throughout the season.
Eleventh-seeded Field, which snapped a tough losing skid against Woodridge Jan. 31, travels to face No. 6 Northwest Feb. 17.
Second-seeded Norton snagged a bye and a home game, hosting either No. 7 East or No. 10 Norwayne.
DIVISION I EUCLID DISTRICT
Kent Roosevelt travels to Walsh Jesuit in the first round, with a potential sectional championship matchup against neighboring Stow-Munroe Falls.
Aurora, which advanced to the district semifinals last season, hosts Hathaway Brown in the first round.
Hudson and Twinsburg square off in Twinsburg Feb. 17 for the opportunity to take on powerhouse Solon, last year's Euclid District champion and regional runner-up.
DIVISION II ELYRIA DISTRICT
Cloverleaf, with its lone PTC Metro loss coming to Norton, a district champion last year, earned the top seed in the Division II Elyria District and will get No. 8 Padua Franciscan or No. 9 Lincoln West in the sectional finals. Cloverleaf beat Padua Franciscan, 68-47, earlier in the season.
DIVISION II NORDONIA DISTRICT
Tenth-seeded Woodridge gets a convenient first-round battle — at No. 7 CVCA. The Royals won their regular-season matchup, 37-32.