Granville receives top seed in Central District girls basketball

COLUMBUS — The Granville girls basketball team has been among the elite in Ohio all season, and the Blue Aces on Feb. 8 found out their path if they are to continue their reign in the Central District.

Granville earned the top seed in Division III. The Blue Aces, who reached the regional finals a year ago, are pursing a sixth consecutive district championship.

The pairings were set in Divisions III-VII with Division I and Division II to follow Feb. 15. Seedings again this season are based on the RPI formula devised by the Ohio High School Athletic Association in partnership with MaxPreps.

Granville (17-2) hosts No. 9 Marion Harding (9-10) at 7 p.m. Feb. 19. With a win, the Blue Aces would host either No. 8 Beechcroft (11-7) or No. 11 Hamilton Township (6-15) in a district semifinal at 7 p.m. Feb. 23, and the district final would follow Feb. 26 at Ohio Dominican with No. 2 Centennial (15-1) a possible opponent.

The two Division III district champions will stay in central Ohio this season. They would match up in a regional semifinal back at Ohio Dominican on March 5.

Johnstown will attempt to repeat as a district champion in Division V, which might be the most competitive tournament in central Ohio. Fourteen of the 18 teams in the two brackets entered the weekend with a winning record.

Johnstown (15-4) is the No. 6 seed and hosts No. 17 Tree of Life (5-15) at 4 p.m. Feb. 21. A win would send the Johnnies into a district semifinal likely at No. 1 Columbus Academy (19-1) on Feb. 24 with the district final set for 6 p.m. Feb. 27 at Mount Vernon Nazarene possibly against either No. 3 North Union or No. 4 Utica.

Utica (17-3), which enters the week on a 12-game winning streak, hosts No. 8 Centerburg (15-4) at 1 p.m. Feb. 21. A victory sends Utica into a district semifinal either at No. 3 North Union (18-3) or at home against No. 14 Amanda-Clearcreek (8-12).

Lakewood (10-10) is the No. 13 seed and visits No. 5 Madison-Plains (17-0) at 4 p.m. Feb. 21 with the Lancers visiting either No. 7 Fairbanks (16-5) or No. 11 Fredericktown (13-7) should they pull an upset. Heath (4-18) is the No. 18 seed and visits either No. 2 Africentric (15-3) or No. 12 Liberty Union (11-8) at 1 p.m. Feb. 21.

Newark Catholic (6-14), which won a Division VI district championship last season, has dropped to Division VII and is the No. 7 seed. The Green Wave visit No. 3 Fairfield Christian (14-6) at 1 p.m. Feb. 21, and a win would send them into a district semifinal at No. 6 Genoa Christian (10-5) at 7 p.m. Feb. 25.

The district final is set for 1 p.m. Feb. 28 at Mount Vernon Nazarene, and a possible opponent is No. 1 Fisher Catholic. The district champion heads to the regional tournament at Logan.

Granville Christian (7-11) is the No. 10 seed and visits No. 5 Patriot Prep (10-8) at 4 p.m. Feb. 21. The winner visits either No. 1 Fisher Catholic (18-2) or hosts No. 14 Liberty Christian (1-19), who meet at 1 p.m. Feb. 21.

Northridge (13-7) is the No. 3 seed in Division VI and hosts No. 7 Elgin (14-5) at 7 p.m. Feb. 18. With a victory, the Vikings would host No. 4 Wellington (16-6) at 4 p.m. Feb. 21 with potential matchups against No. 2 Grandview Heights (14-8) and No. 1 Harvest Prep waiting in the district semifinals and finals.

Licking Valley (1-20) is the No. 12 seed in Division IV and visits No. 1 Buckeye Valley (20-1) at 7 p.m. Feb. 19.

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Granville receives top seed in Central District girls basketball