Pairings for the 2018 girls basketball state tournament were released Sunday afternoon by the IHSAA.
The 43rd annual tournament, which includes 398 teams, begins Jan. 30 and culminates with the state finals on Feb. 24 in Indianapolis.
Among local sectionals, the six-team, Class 3A field at Fairfield High School includes three teams ranked in the top 20 in the state.
No. 7 Tippecanoe Valley, currently 17-3 on the season, is in search of its fourth straight sectional title. The Lady Vikings open tournament play Jan. 30 against Lakeland.
No. 18 West Noble, currently 17-5, will play in the second game on Jan. 30 against NorthWood (14-7).
Semifinal games at Fairfield will pit Wawasee against either Valley or Lakeland, and No. 3 Fairfield (17-2) against West Noble or NorthWood.
Valley is 2-0 against the sectional field, with wins over West Noble and NorthWood. West Noble is 5-1 against the sectional field, including a 61-56 win over Fairfield.
In Class 4A Sectional 4 at Concord, the Warsaw Lady Tigers will play the host Lady Minutemen on Jan. 31. Warsaw beat Concord 46-29 Saturday night and have a 41-game win streak against the Lady Minutemen.
Action at Concord begins on Jan. 30 with Plymouth facing off against Elkhart Central in the only game of the day.
Following Warsaw’s game on Wednesday of next week, Goshen will play Elkhart Memorial.
In the first semifinal on Feb. 2, No. 13 Northridge will play either Plymouth or Central, followed by the Warsaw/Concord winner playing either Goshen or Memorial.
Northridge is the defending sectional champion and currently sports a 20-3 record, which includes a 5-0 mark against the rest of the sectional.
In Class 2A Sectional 35 at Central Noble, action gets underway on Jan. 30 with LaVille playing Westview, followed by Whitko and Prairie Heights.
In the semifinals, Bremen will play the LaVille/Westview winner, followed by No. 10 Central Noble against either Prairie Heights or Whitko.
Central Noble is the defending sectional champion and sports a 15-5 record, including a 6-0 mark against the sectional field.
Top-ranked Oak Hill is hosting Class 2A Sectional 37 and is the favorite in a six-team field that inlcudes just one team with a current losing record.
On Jan. 30, Cass faces off with North Miami, followed by Rochester and Oak Hill.
Wabash plays in the first semifinal against the Cass/North Miami winner, followed by Manchester and either Rochester or Oak Hill.
In Class 1A Sectional 51 at Oregon-Davis, South Central and Argos get things started on Jan. 30, followed by the host Lady Bobcats and LaCrosse.
In the first semifinal on Feb. 2, Culver Community will play the South Central/Argos winner, followed by Triton against either Oregon-Davis or LaCrosse.
Argos is the defending sectional champion. Oregon-Davis is 9-10 but is ranked 16th in the 1A poll. The Lady Bobcats are in search of their 10th sectional title in 12 years. Their last title in 2016 was in the 2A tournament.
In Class 1A Sectional 52 at Bethany Christian, Lakeland Christian Academy and the hosts will open play on Jan. 30. LCA and the Lady Bruins currently have 12 wins each, tops in the sectional.
On Jan. 31, Elkhart Christian and Lakewood Park Christian square off, followed by Fremont and Fort Wayne Blackhawk.
Hamilton will face either LCA or Bethany Christian in the first semifinal, followed by the two winners from Jan. 31.
Blackhawk is the defending sectional champion, but is currently 2-17.
Lakewood Park is 5-0 this season against the sectional field, while Bethany Christian is 5-1.
