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Valley draws W. Noble, Pioneer to face Caston, Argos seeks 3rd win over Triton, Culver draws Lady Bobcats, Winamac gets Knox
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Rochester was the only area girls basketball team to receive a bye, according to the IHSAA draw released Sunday.
However, once they hit the court in the postseason, they will face a team with a winning record.
In addition, rivals Pioneer and Caston drew each other in Class 1A, Sectional 50, and Triton and Argos drew each other in Class 1A, Sectional 51.
Sectionals will run from Feb. 4-8 statewide, regionals are Feb. 15, semistates are Feb. 22, and the state finals are March 1 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
This is the first girls basketball state tournament under the new 20-25-25-30 format, in which the number of Class 4A teams is reduced by five percent and the number of Class 1A teams is increased by five percent.
Altogether, there will be 82 Class 4A, 98 Class 3A, 99 Class 2A and 112 Class 1A teams competing. Rochester has dropped from Class 3A to Class 2A, and Pioneer has dropped from Class 2A to Class 1A.
This is also the 50th girls state tournament, an event that the IHSAA is calling a “golden milestone.”
Sectional tickets are $7 per session. All-sectional “season” tickets are no longer sold.
Here is an area rundown:
Rochester
The Lady Zs, who dropped to 14-6 following a 40-31 loss to Manchester Saturday, will face the winner of the Oak Hill-Wabash quarterfinal in the Class 2A, Sectional 38 semifinals at Lewis Cass at approximately 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7.
The Oak Hill-Wabash game is set for approximately 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4.
Oak Hill defeated Wabash 40-29 on Dec. 18. Rochester lost to Wabash 52-43 on Dec. 14. They will not play Oak Hill (19-2) during the regular season, though they did scrimmage them on Nov. 2. At No. 15, Oak Hill is the only ranked team in the sectional.
Rochester went 1-2 against sectional rivals during the regular season, defeating Lewis Cass in addition to the aforementioned losses to Wabash (17-4) and Manchester (9-11).
Rochester has nine wins over teams with winning records.
Rochester received their first bye since 2008. That year, Rochester was in Class 3A and drew Plymouth and lost 71-15. Plymouth went on to win the state championship.
In the other half of the draw, defending regional champion Lewis Cass will face Eastern (Greentown) with the winner to face Manchester.
Tippecanoe Valley
Coming off perhaps its most impressive win – they beat a Class 4A Kokomo team that has 14 wins on Saturday – the Lady Vikings learned that they will play West Noble at 6 p.m. Feb. 4 at Fairfield in a Class 3A, Sectional 20 quarterfinal.
Valley (10-10) last faced West Noble in a sectional final in 2022 and suffered a 56-51 loss to a Lady Charger team that came in with a 6-17 record. Since that day, West Noble has gone 5-39, including 3-17 this season.
West Noble averages 26 points per game, and they have been held under 30 points 13 times this season.
The West Noble-Valley winner will take on Fairfield in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Feb. 7. Valley has not played Fairfield (15-5) since a 54-33 loss to the Lady Falcons in the 2023 semistate semifinals. Fairfield went on to win the Class 3A state title in 2023.
In the other half of the draw, No. 5 Columbia City will face No. 12 NorthWood in a quarterfinal with the winner to face Wawasee in the semifinals.
Columbia City has won 17 sectionals and eight regionals in its history but none since 2000. NorthWood is a defending regional champion.
Caston, Pioneer
In a rematch of their 40-32 comeback win from Dec. 17, Pioneer will face Caston in a Class 1A, Sectional 50 quarterfinal at West Central in the second game on Feb. 5.
The Pioneer-Caston winner will take on the North White-South Newton winner in the semifinals.
Pioneer (10-10) trailed by 15 points to Caston at halftime in their earlier meeting but outscored the Lady Comets 22-0 in the third quarter.
This game will feature Pioneer’s experienced backcourt of senior Makenna Strycker and junior Mia McKaig against Caston’s youthful backcourt of sophomore Madi Douglass and freshman Grace Colvin.
Caston (7-13) is the defending regional champion. They have never won back-to-back sectionals in their history.
The last time Pioneer faced Caston in a postseason game, the Lady Panthers won 59-32 in a 2021 sectional quarterfinal, kicking off their tournament run that ended with a state title.
North White beat South Newton 48-20 in their earlier meeting on Jan. 11.
In the other half of the draw, No. 7 Tri-County will kick off the sectional with a matchup against North Newton on Feb. 4. The winner will face the winner of the West Central-DeMotte Christian matchup that follows.
Argos, Culver
Argos sneaked by Triton 40-38 in their Hoosier North meeting on Nov. 12, and they rallied from a 12-2 deficit to beat the Lady Trojans again 37-36 Thursday in a Bi-County Tournament consolation game at the LaVille auxiliary gym.
Their third meeting will be a Class 1A, Sectional 51 quarterfinal at Oregon-Davis Feb. 4.
The Triton-Argos winner will take on the Elkhart Christian-Trinity Greenlawn winner in the semifinals Feb. 7.
The game could be a showdown in the post between Argos’ Ellie Bollenbacher and Triton’s Avery Viers.
Ranked No. 14, Elkhart Christian is 15-4 on the season, but they are 4-20 all-time in state tournament games, and they have never won a sectional. Trinity Greenlawn is 0-3 all-time in state tournament games. The teams will also meet Tuesday in their Hoosier Plains Conference meeting.
In the other half of the draw, North Judson will play South Central (Union Mills) and Oregon-Davis will play Culver on Feb. 5.
Culver (12-8) routed O-D 62-37 at John R. Nelson Dec. 10 in their previous meeting. Culver has already tripled their win total from last year, and this could be a showdown between quick point guards Ava McCune of Culver and Gabriella Krause of Oregon-Davis.
Culver and O-D (10-9) will be playing in a sectional game for the first time since a 61-48 Lady Bobcat win at Culver in the 2020 sectional. O-D went on to win the sectional title, but they have not won once since.
At 16-4, North Judson has the best record in the sectional, and they routed South Central 70-32 on Nov. 12.
Winamac
Winamac will face off with sectional host Knox on Feb. 4 in a Class 2A, Sectional 34 quarterfinal.
They will be trying to win their first sectional title since a team that included current assistant coach Ali Kiser won in 2014.
The last time Winamac had an 11-year sectional drought, they broke that drought when they earned a pulsating 53-45 win on their home court over North Judson in 2007.
Winamac has never gone longer than 11 years without a sectional title in its history. They corralled nine sectional titles in a 13-year span from 1984-96 when the tournament was single class.
Winamac (13-8) knocked off Knox 47-35 on Jan. 7 in their regular season meeting. Knox is 4-17, and Winamac has not lost to a team with a losing record.
This will be their first sectional meeting since a 48-31 Winamac win over the Lady Redskins in the 2001 sectional quarterfinals.
The winner will meet South Bend Career Academy (4-12) in the semifinals.
In the other half of the draw, Jimtown will face No. 10 Bremen in a quarterfinal with the winner to face LaVille in the semifinals. Bremen is currently 19-2 and coming off a Bi-County title win over John Glenn Saturday. LaVille is 14-6 overall but 0-2 against Bremen.
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