The N.C. High School Athletic Association girls basketball championships begin Tuesday.
In this 1A playoff preview we hand out bracket superlatives, give four favorites and one dark horse for each bracket half, and even make championship predictions (that we're sure nobody will have any problem with and will be shocked if any of them don't pan out, right?).
We also listed the top 10 players in each bracket half. Many of these players are candidates for our all-state teams that are released a few weeks after the regular season. There's a first, second, and third team of 15 players each, plus an honorable mention team of 30.
Before reading, don't miss out on these links to our girls basketball coverage from this year.
1A East breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — It's wild that two co-conference champs are meeting up in the (21) North Edgecombe at (12) East Bladen matchup.
Best chance at a first-round upset — (25) Eno River traveling to (8) Bear Grass Charter is a classic better-than-their-record wild card at a low-RPI conference champ.
The hardest road — (5) Chatham Charter may be the reigning 1A East champ but they've got their work cut out for them. A second-round game against East Bladen wouldn't be easy, nor a potential third-rounder against either Vance Charter or Northside of Beaufort County.
The easiest road — Nothing's truly easy, but (3) East Columbus is set up well.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (1) Falls Lake
Favorite #2 — (2) Perquimans
Favorite #3 — (7) Northampton County
Favorite #4 — (5) Chatham Charter
Dark horse — (9) Chatham Central
Our top 10 players in the bracket
- Emerson Thompson, Falls Lake Academy
- Michaela Hodge, Northampton County
- NeNe Ward, East Bladen
- Laila Smith, East Bladen
- Kamya Coles, Weldon
- London Barber, Gates County
- Ariyona Spearman, Union
- Hannah Headen, Chatham Charter
- Karaleigh Dodson, Chatham Central
- Katie Mann, Roxboro Community
1A West breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — The high-flying Pettus sisters of (22) Bessemer City go to (11) Uwharrie Charter hoping for a road win.
Best chance at a first-round upset —
The hardest road — (4) Albemarle could cross paths with a talented (13) Union Academy and (5) East Wilkes in the second and third rounds.
The easiest road — (2) Bishop McGuinness has a decent path to the fourth round before a possible showdown with (3) Cherokee.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (2) Bishop McGuinness
Favorite #2 — (3) Cherokee
Favorite #3 — (1) Mountain Heritage
Favorite #4 — (4) Albemarle
Dark horse — (13) Union Academy
Top 10 players in the bracket
- Adelaide Jernigan, Bishop McGuinness
- Whitney Rogers, Cherokee
- Dvdaya Swimmer, Cherokee
- Alissa Cheek, Rosman
- Amari Baldwin, Albemarle
- Tionna Pettus, Bessemer City
- Kionna Pettus, Bessemer City
- Kiersten Varner, Bishop McGuinness
- Bailey Staton, Polk County
- Jaiden Thompson, Union Academy
Championship and regional final picks
1A East: Perquimans over Falls Lake
1A West: Bishop McGuinness over Mountain Heritage
1A championship: Bishop McGuinness over Perquimans
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