Chopticon senior Caitlyn Burch, pictured here in a Feb. 7 contest versus Leonardtown, and the Braves host St. Charles in a Class 3A South Region I quarterfinal contest at 5 p.m. today.
Great Mills senior Taylor Dean, pictured here in Wednesday night’s SMAC championship game versus North Point, and the Hornets have the top seed in the Class 3A South Region I playoffs. The Hornets host eighth-seeded Northern at 5:30 p.m. today.
Chopticon senior Caitlyn Burch, pictured here in a Feb. 7 contest versus Leonardtown, and the Braves host St. Charles in a Class 3A South Region I quarterfinal contest at 5 p.m. today.
Staff photo by JOHN NISWANDER
Great Mills senior Taylor Dean, pictured here in Wednesday night’s SMAC championship game versus North Point, and the Hornets have the top seed in the Class 3A South Region I playoffs. The Hornets host eighth-seeded Northern at 5:30 p.m. today.
When the state girls basketball playoff draw was posted on Tuesday afternoon, the numerous Southern Maryland Athletic Conference teams could begin to pencil in their prospective routes to their respective state semifinals at the SECU Arena at Towson University next month.
Great Mills (21-2 overall) and North Point (16-7) clashed in the SMAC championship game on Wednesday night at St. Charles High School. The Eagles upended the Hornets, 55-52, for the conference crown and the two teams could eventually meet in the upcoming Class 3A South Region I playoffs.
Great Mills, the top seed in the region, will begin its quest for the 3A state title by hosting Northern (5-17) in a quarterfinal round contest at 5:30 p.m. today. The Hornets, who defeated the Patriots twice during the regular season, have lost two of their last three games heading into the region tournament.
“We just have to put [the SMAC loss] behind us and get ready for Northern on Friday,” Great Mills coach Matt Wood said following Wednesday’s setback. “It all starts with practice [on Thursday]. We’ve had a couple of close losses lately, but I think we can put those behind us and move forward. But right now we’re not looking past Northern on Friday.”
North Point, the second seed, hosts seventh-seeded Potomac of Prince George’s County (7-12) in a region quarterfinal at 6 tonight. The winner moves on to Monday’s semifinals against either third-seeded Chopticon (15-7) or sixth-seeded St. Charles (16-6). The Braves host the quarterfinal game at 5 p.m. today.
“The girls know they have 12 hours to celebrate [their SMAC title] and then it’s back to work on Thursday at practice,” North Point head coach Mike Serpone said. “We have been playing much better the last month than we did at the start of the season. We’re focused on getting ready for Potomac on Friday. It was nice to win the SMAC title game, but now we have to get focused on our next goal.”
Huntingtown (14-8), the fifth seed, will travel to fourth-seeded Oxon Hill (14-5) for a region quarterfinal at 5:30 p.m. today and the winner of that game taking on the Northern-Great Mills quarterfinal winner in Monday’s semifinals.
In the 2A South Region II playoffs, Calvert (17-5) is the top seed and has a quarterfinal round bye and play in Monday’s region semifinals. The Cavaliers await the winner of a region quarterfinal that has fourth-seeded Gwynn Park (10-9) hosting fifth-seeded Patuxent (5-17) at 7 tonight.
Westlake (12-10), the top seed in the 2A South Region I playoffs, also received a quarterfinal round bye on Friday and play in Monday’s semifinals. The Wolverines will host the winner of a region quarterfinal that has fourth-seeded Southern of Anne Arundel County (5-15) hosting fifth-seeded Thomas Stone (2-19) at 6 tonight.
La Plata (6-14), the third seed, will travel to second-seeded Lackey (6-15) on Monday in another 2A South Region I semifinal contest.
Leonardtown (8-11), the lone SMAC team in the 4A East Region, will get its playoffs started on Monday at Severna Park of Anne Arundel County in a Region II meeting. Another Anne Arundel county squad, South River (17-5) is the top seed in that side of the bracket.
McDonough (5-15), the lone SMAC representative in the 1A South Region II playoffs, will begin postseason play on Monday at Surrattsville of Prince George’s County (13-5).
