The coaches have spoken and the pairings for the upcoming West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission (WVSSAC) girls basketball sectional tournaments have been released.
A pair of Logan County schools, Class AA No. 9 Chapmanville and Class AAA No. 3 Logan, will be the top seed in the respective sectional tournament.
Chapmanville earned the top spot in Class AA Region 3 Section 2 after going 3-0 during the season against sectional and regional competition.
It is easy to see why the coaches would award the top seed to Lady Tigers especially when factor in a grueling schedule that included a pair of wins over Class AA No. 7 Mingo Central and AA No. 6 Summers County.
“We are very pleased to have secured the number one seed,” Chapmanville coach Kristina Gore said. “It guarantees us a chance to play for a championship in front of our fans.”
“They have been great all season,” Gore said. “We are really excited to have the opportunity to play in front of them in the postseason.”
Chapmanville will host either second-seeded Mingo Central (12-7) or third-seeded Liberty (Raleigh) (2-10) on Friday, Feb. 25, at Danny Godby Gymnasium. Win or lose, the Lady Tigers are guaranteed a chance to play for a state tournament berth in one of two Region 4 co-finals the following week.
“No matter what happens next Friday we will still be a game away from Charleston,” Gore said. “It’s our top priority to take care of business and win the sectional championship.”
Chapmanville defeated Mingo Central twice during the season, 60-56 at Mingo Central on Jan. 20 and 49-39 at Chapmanville on Jan. 29. The Lady Tigers did not play Liberty (Raleigh) during the season.
A sectional championship would be the first for the Lady Tigers since the 2018-19 season and would guarantee them a home game for the regional finals against the winner of the Section 1 tournament.
Mingo Central defeated Chapmanville 54-42 in last year’s Class AA Region 3 Section 2 finals at Mingo Central.
“Since last April, we have had a pair of scissors hanging on the wall next to the door leading out of the locker room,” Gore said. “Every time someone walks out, they have to tap those scissors.”
“It’s a daily reminder of our goals for this season, and one of them is for us to use them,” Gore said. “It would be really sweet to get to do that at home next Friday.”
Chapmanville would face either Class AA No. 2 Wyoming East (12-3), AA No. 6 Summers County (14-6) and Bluefield (4-12) in the regional finals. The Lady Tigers defeated Summers County 55-39 on Jan. 15 at Chapmanville but did not play either Wyoming East or Bluefield.
It was Wyoming East, who eliminated Chapmanville from postseason contention last season defeating the Lady Tigers in one of two co-regional finals while Mingo Central defeated Summers County in the other co-regional final.
Lady Wildcats top seed in AAA Region 4 Section 2: Riding a wave of momentum into the postseason, the Logan Lady Wildcats, winners of nine straight games, were voted number one in the Class AAA Region 4 Section 2 tournament.
Tuesday’s release of the seeds was just the beginning of good news that Logan would receive.
During the Cardinal Conference, it was announced that Logan would share the Cardinal Conference with Wayne and be declared co-champs for the 2021-22 season. The debate hinged over a scheduling conflict with Scott.
The Lady Wildcats and Lady Skyhawks were scheduled to play at Scott on Jan. 6, but that game had to be rescheduled due to weather. The game was rescheduled for Jan. 20 but again Mother Nature interfered and postponed the contest once more.
Officials from both schools worked to reschedule the contest but neither side could produce a date that was beneficial for both sides. The game would have huge implications in the standings as Wayne finished 10-1 in conference play with Logan 9-1 in conference games.
The league felt that both sides had made enough progress to reschedule the game and that since Wayne won at Logan and Logan won at Wayne the right to do was to have both schools share the title this season.
Third-ranked Logan, who is 19-2 on the season, will open tournament play on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at home against fourth-seeded Scott. The Lady Wildcats defeated the Lady Skyhawks 72-36 on Dec. 23 at Willie Akers Arena.
The other game in Section 2 pits the fourth-ranked and second-seeded Lady Pioneers of Wayne against the third-seeded Lady Panthers of Lincoln County. That game will be played Feb. 22 at Wayne High School.
The two winners will meet on Friday Feb. 25 with the highest seed hosting the sectional championship and the winner of that game will host one of two Class AAA Region 4 co-finals on March 1.
Logan is 1-1 against Wayne, losing to the Pioneers 49-39 on Jan. 19 at Willie Akers Arena and defeating them 54-46 on Feb. 8 at Wayne.
Logan is 2-0 against Lincoln County, defeating the Lady Panthers 57-37 at Lincoln County High School on Jan. 3 and defeated them 58-57 Monday at Willie Akers Arena.
The Lady Wildcats are the reigning Class AAA Region 4 Section 2 champions after winning the section last season with wins over Lincoln County (47-38) and Huntington St. Joe’s (51-43). Logan then went on to defeat Winfield (61-39) to win one of two Region 4 championships and advance to the state tournament.
If Logan is to advance to the regional tournament, they could face the Lady Generals with a chance to advance to the state tournament for a second consecutive season.
Logan defeated Winfield, 44-34, on Jan. 22 at Willie Akers Arena. The Lady Generals will face second-seeded and fifth-ranked Ripley.
The top seed in Section 1 is reigning AAA champion Nitro. The sixth-ranked Lady Wildcats will host fourth-seeded Point Pleasant.
Logan defeated Nitro 51-37 at Nitro on Jan. 29 and won both meetings with Ripley this season. The Lady Wildcats defeated the Lady Vikings 72-66 at Ripley on Dec. 28 and defeated them 55-35 on Feb. 5 at Logan.
Class AA Region 3 Section 1 Schedule
SATURDAY 2/19/22- 7:00 PM
3) Bluefield at 2) Summers County
WEDNESDAY 2/23/22- 7:00 PM
Winner at 1) Wyoming East
Class AA Region 3 Section 2 Schedule
TUESDAY 2/22/22- 7:00 PM
3) Liberty (Raleigh) at 2) Mingo Central
FRIDAY 2/25/22- 7:00 PM
Winner at 1) Chapmanville Regional
Class AA Region 3 Co-Finals
THURSDAY 3/3/22- 7:00 PM
Section 1 Runner-up at Section 2 winner
Section 2 Runner-up at Section 1 winner
Class AAA Region 4 Section 1
WEDNESDAY 2/23/22- 7:00 PM
4) Point Pleasant at 1) Nitro
3) Winfield at 2) Ripley
FRIDAY 2/25/22- 7:00 PM
Winners at Higher Seed
Class AAA Region 4 Section 2
TUESDAY 2/22/22- 7:00 PM
4) Scott at 1) Logan
3) Lincoln County at 2) Wayne
FRIDAY 2/25/22- 7:00 PM
Winners at Higher Seed
Class AAA Region 4 Co-Finals
TUESDAY 3/1/22- 7:00 PM
Section 1 Runner-up at Section 2 winner
Section 2 Runner-up at Section 1 winner