Columbus North’s run of five consecutive girls basketball sectional titles began on its home court in 2012.
But after winning sectional crowns at four other schools the past four years, Bull Dogs coach Pat McKee isn’t caught up on where they’ll be playing this year’s sectional — even though it is back at North.
The Bull Dogs and Columbus East found out at Sunday’s tournament draw that they each will open the postseason with first-round games on Jan. 31. The Olympians (11-7) will play Bloomington South (8-9) at 6 p.m., and North (14-5) will face Shelbyville (3-13) at around 7:30 p.m.
If the Bull Dogs win, they would play East Central (14-6) in the Feb. 3 semifinals. North routed the Trojans 63-37 on Dec. 8, but East Central was without its top guard.
“Hopefully we get out there and play well and can carry over from that (Shelbyville) game from East Central,” McKee said. “If we play slopppily, that could carry over to the next game, and it could be troublesome. You can’t necessarily read into earlier results because not everybody was at those games. We know that people can throw things at us that we haven’t seen.”
The Olympians lost at Bloomington South 51-37 on New Year’s Eve. That was East’s fifth game in a span of 50 hours.
East coach Danny Brown conceded his team didn’t play well that game.
“Larry (Winters’) teams are always defensive minded, and they’re a tough team to play against if you get behind, so we’ll have to jump out on them,” Brown said. “But my concern right now is, we have six games left in the next two weeks. It’s hard to think about (Bloomington South) right now.”
If the Olympians win, they would play Bloomington North (5-13) in the semifinals. East routed the Cougars 60-35 on Nov. 29.
All sectional finals will be Feb. 4.
Also in Class 4A, Jennings County (5-13) will play host Floyd Central (11-9) in the opening round at 6 p.m. Jan. 31. If the Panthers win, they would play New Albany (12-5) in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, in Class A, Hauser (11-6) landed in the opposite bracket as host and defending state champion Jac-Cen-Del (16-3) for the first time in Brad Hamilton’s four years as coach. The Jets will play South Decatur (3-15) in the opening round at 7 p.m. Jan. 31.
Hauser beat South Decatur 42-38 on Dec. 8. The winner will face Oldenburg Academy (13-7) in the semifinals.
“I feel pretty good about it,” Hamilton said. “It’s a tough road, but I think the kids will be ready to play. It’s probably as good as we could have hoped for, especially with Jac-Cen-Del being on the other side.”
Also in Class A, Edinburgh (6-12) drew a first-round bye and will play the winner between Morristown (11-7) and Greenwood Christian Academy (10-7) in the semifinals of the Morristown Sectional at around 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3.
Trinity Lutheran (8-12) will meet Crothersville (13-6) at 6 p.m. Jan. 31 in the opening round of the Class A Orleans Sectional. The winner will play Orleans (4-12) in the semifinals.
In Class 3A, Brown County (5-11) will face host Edgewood (13-8) in the opening round at around 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31. If the Eagles win, they would play Sullivan (7-11) in the semifinals.