Four area teams in line for No. 1 seeds as draw nears

The girls basketball state tournament bracket draws are less than a week away. Who is going where and who will be facing who will be determined Sunday afternoon. The first tournament games will take place a little over a week later. Different to the tournament this year is grouping of teams. Each school will have the option of two district sites to play at. In the past, district sites were pre-determined and teams only had to select where they wanted to be in that one specific tournament site. This could lead to new, unique matchups among teams in the area. Bellevue, the defending Division IV state champions, are currently ranked No. 1 in the Northwest Group B district. The Lady Red are 16-0 and host Sandusky on Wednesday. Second in the group is Genoa (13-5) while Shelby (10-8), Clyde (11-7) and Vermilion (10-8) round out the top five. Perkins (5-12) is seventh. The top four in Northwest Group A in Division IV are Liberty-Benton (15-4), Napoleon (12-6), Bath (11-7) and Bryan (11-9). In Division VI, Margaretta (17-1) leads the pack in Northwest Group B. They sit ahead of New London (15-3), Gibsonburg (13-4) and Woodmore (11-5). Monroeville (5-13) is seventh. Other current top seeds in Division VI are Group A's Patrick Henry (14-3), Group C's Sherwood Fairview (15-3), Group D's Colonel Crawford (16-2), Group E's Columbus Grove (15-3) and Group F's St. Henry (16-0). Norwalk, fresh off of a win over Bath at the Tourney Tune-Up on Sunday at Margaretta High School, is second in Group C in Division III. The Truckers are 14-5 and trail only Ashland (17-1) in the Group C teams. Ashland defeated the Truckers in a district final last year at Buckeye Central High School. Tiffin Columbian (12-7) is third in the group while Sandusky (3-13) is sixth. Other top seeds in Division III are Group A's Celina (12-7) and Group B's Toledo Central Catholic (12-6). In Division V, Group A is led by Ottawa-Glandorf (19-0) and Group B's Clear Fork (16-3). In Group B, Willard (15-3) is second, Port Clinton (8-10) is fifth, Huron (6-13) is sixth and Edison (6-12) is seventh. St. Paul (9-10) sits second among Group E teams in Division VII. Danbury (9-8) is third while North Baltimore (15-2), which travels to Sandusky on Saturday, is first. Old Fort (8-10) is fourth while St. Mary Central Catholic (9-7) is fifth. Other top seeds in Division VII are Group A's Stryker (15-3), Group B's Miller City (16-2), Group C's Hardin Northern (13-6) and Group D's Seneca East (14-6). Perkins, SMCC boys sit No. 1 The boys basketball tournament draw will take place Feb. 15. Perkins, which suffered its first loss of the season last Friday at Sandusky, still sits No. 1 in the Group A rankings in Division IV. The Pirates are 15-1 and travel to Clyde on Friday. Bellevue (11-6) is fourth in the group while Port Clinton (12-6), Clyde (8-9) and Vermilion (7-9) follow behind. Group B is led by Ontario (14-5) while Group C is topped by Van Wert (14-3). Despite going 4-3 in its last seven games following a 9-0 start, St. Mary Central Catholic is No. 1 in Division VII's Group D. The Panthers are ahead of Old Fort (10-6), Monroeville (8-5), Cardinal Stritch (9-9), St. Paul (8-9) and Danbury (4-12). Other top seeds in Division VII are Group A's Montpelier (15-2), Group B's Miller City (15-3), Group C's Arlington (15-3), Group E's Tiffin Calvert (9-5) and Group F's Delphos St. John's (17-0). Margaretta, which dropped a hotly contested game against Toledo Central Catholic on Saturday at the Tourney Tune-Up, is No. 2 in Division V's Group B. Genoa (15-0) is No. 1 in the group. Earlier Saturday at the Tourney Tune-Up, the Comets defeated Keystone in a high-octane affair at Margaretta High School. Willard (15-2) sits third while Huron (6-12) is seventh and Edison (6-9) is ninth in Group B. The other district in Division V is led by Paulding (14-3), Archbold (11-5), Coldwater (9-7) and Ottawa Hills (11-7). In Division III, Sandusky (10-7) is fourth in Group B. Central Catholic (13-2), Oregon Clay (11-3) and Mansfield Senior (12-7) are ahead of the Blue Streaks. Norwalk (0-16) is 11th in the group of teams. Group A is led by Wapakoneta (13-4), Lima Shawnee (12-5), Toledo Rogers (14-4) and Defiance (13-4).