If the Columbus East and Columbus North girls basketball teams are going to play each other this season, it will be in the East Central Sectional final.
The Olympians and Bull Dogs, who saw their annual December game canceled when North was in quarantine, were placed on opposite sides of the bracket and will each have to win two games before a potential meeting on Feb. 6.
East (12-5) received perhaps the toughest draw. The Olympians must face host and Class 4A No. 6 East Central (16-3) in the opening round at 6 p.m. Feb. 2 in a rematch of last year’s sectional final. This season, the Trojans won 51-45 at East on Nov. 19.
If the Olympians win, they would play Martinsville (15-4) in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Feb. 5. The Artesians won 73-65 at East on Dec. 8.
“You’re always going to have to win two or three tough games to win our sectional,” East coach Danny Brown said. “You talk about four teams, and you can never count out Bloomington South. Playing East Central on their home floor the first game of the sectional is quite a challenge, but we’re playing our best basketball right now. We’ve have two games Tuesday (vs. Batesville) and Thursday (vs. Cathedral), and if we win those, it will be seven in a row going into the sectional.”
North (8-4) will play Bloomington South (9-6) in the opening round at around 7:30 p.m. Feb. 2. Those two teams will meet tonight in a battle for first place in Conference Indiana.
If the Bull Dogs win, they would face Bloomington North (6-14) in the semifinals at around 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5. Columbus North beat the Cougars 60-39 on Friday.
“The draw is the draw, and they’re all challenges,” Columbus North coach Pat McKee said. “Playing Bloomington South (tonight) should give us some indication of how we should match up with them. But playing them and then turning around and playing them eight days later, I don’t know if that’s a blessing or a curse. Only time will tell.”
Meanwhile, in Class A, Hauser (7-13) will play Rising Sun (3-14) in the first round of the Waldron Sectional at around 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3. The Jets beat the Shiners 59-54 the second game of the season.
If Hauser would win, it would play the Southwestern (Shelby) (12-6) or Class A No. 9 Waldron (16-3) in the semifinal at around 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5. No. 2 Jac-Cen-Del (18-3) is in the upper bracket.
“They all like it. They’re happy,” Hauser coach Chad Evans said of his players while at a watch party for the draw. “We have a conference game Tuesday with North Decatur, and after Tuesday, we’re just focused strictly on Rising Sun.”
Also in Class A, Edinburgh (6-9) will host West Washington (4-13) in the first round of its sectional on Feb. 2. No. 1 Trinity Lutheran (17-4) will meet Shawe Memorial (1-5), and Crothersville (5-10) will take on the Edinburgh-West Washington winner in the semifinals on Feb. 5.
Jennings County (12-6) will face Seymour (8-9) in the opening round of the Class 4A New Albany Sectional at 6 p.m. Feb. 2. The winner will play Floyd Central (6-13) in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Feb. 5. No. 3 Bedford North Lawrence (18-2) is in the lower bracket.
Brown County (6-5) will play West Vigo (7-10) in the opening round of the Class 3A Edgewood Sectional on Feb. 2. The winner will face South Vermillion (4-13) in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Feb. 5.
In Class 2A, South Decatur (5-12) drew a first-round bye in the South Ripley Sectional and will play South Ripley (13-4) or North Decatur (4-9) in the semifinals at around 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5.
All sectional finals are scheduled for the evening of Feb. 6. Regional action will take place on Feb. 13, followed by semistate games on Feb. 20 and the state finals on Feb. 27.
