Which Greater Cincinnati girls basketball teams could win sectional championships?

The Ohio High School Athletic Association held its statewide basketball draw on Feb. 4, one week before the start of the postseason.

Sectional tournaments are set to begin on Feb. 12 at neutral sites across the state. Here is a preview of every sectional tournament in Southwest Ohio that involves teams from Greater Cincinnati.

Vote: Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky high school athlete of the week, Feb. 5

Division I

South 1

First round: Harrison vs. Western Brown; Ross vs. Harrison/ WB winner; Turpin vs. Monroe; Princeton vs. Hamilton

What to watch: Harrison and Western Brown will be a premier first-round matchup. Alli Roberston is now the Wildcats' all-time leading scorer while Olivia Fischer is the best three-point shooter in Western Brown history. Ross awaits the winner of that game. Lanie Lipps could get into a shootout with Fischer or Robertson; she recently became the Ram's all-time leader in made threes.

Princeton, led by Mari Gerton and Kali Fortson, should run through the bottom half. The Vikings beat Hamilton by 51 points earlier this season. Monroe went 1-1 against the Greater Miami Conference while Turpin is scoring 40 points per game this season.

Sectional final prediction: Harrison vs. Princeton

South 2

First round: Sycamore vs. Mount Notre Dame; Western Hills vs. Sycamore/ MND winner; Milford vs. Oak Hills; Fairfield vs. Walnut Hills

More: 'Always been at the top of my list': Drew Fladung is living his dream at Mount Notre Dame

What to watch: Mount Notre Dame should make it back to the sectional final with relative ease as the Cougars will face two of the lowest-seeded teams in the south.

Sycamore sophomore Brooke Burgess is coming off a career-high 35 points against Little Miami.

The bottom half of the bracket will be a battle. Oak Hills plays a low-scoring defensive scheme that could mess with any team. Milford is led by senior Violet Shuluga and freshman Gabby Chadwell. Walnut Hills has already beaten Milford in addition to West Clermont and Lebanon. Fairfield is looking for its first postseason win since 2020.

Sectional final prediction: MND vs. Walnut Hills

South 3

First round: Colerain vs. Mason; Anderson vs. Colerain/ Mason winner; Loveland vs. Lebanon; Goshen vs. Edgewood

What to watch: Mason is on the brink of its fourth straight Greater Miami Conference title and is the third-ranked team in the state. They should cruise to the sectional championship against the two lowest-ranked teams in the south.

Look for a meeting of the Warriors in the bottom half. Lebanon has competed with the top half of the Eastern Cincinnati Conference but is without leading scorer Jordan Mueller. Goshen is the outright Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference-National division champion for the first time since 2017. Senior Peyton Shafer leads the SBAAC in scoring, is second in assists and third in steals.

Sectional final prediction: Mason vs. Goshen

South 4

First round: Middletown vs. West Clermont; Northwest vs. Middletown/ WC winner; St. Ursula vs. Kings; Little Miami vs. Lakota West

What to watch: The combination of Layla Hale, Paige Rodriguez, Maddi Fender, Taylor Schmidt and Meagyn Riffle should propel West Clermont to the final. Taylor Daniels and Jamia Jones lead the Middletown in scoring, about 9 points per game. Northwest is led by Lauryn Brown and her 19.1 points, but no other Rocket contributes more than 5 points per game.

Kings girls face a tough path if they want to make it to back-to-back regional final appearances. They will potentially need to beat Lakota West and Lakota East to make it out of the sectional.

More: For seniors at Kings High School, this one thing is key to multi-sport success

The key for Lakota West is to make shots. The Firebirds have shot less than 35 percent from the field in all four of their losses. A final week that sees them face Mason and Princeton will have them battle-tested.

Sectional final prediction: West Clermont vs. Lakota West

South 5

First round: Withrow vs. Talawanda; Lakota East vs. Withrow/ Talawanda winner; Ursuline vs. Winton Woods; Seton vs. Mt. Healthy

What to watch: Lakota East is the highest-ranked team in the south to receive a first-round bye. The Thunderhawks' top four of Brooke Asher, Celina Blount, Emma Fohl and Katlyn Pham are all capable of taking over a game.

Seton and Mt. Healthy will be an intriguing game in the bottom half. The Owls are filled with talent (LaDasia Carter, Natalie Yelling and Ma'ziyah Hunter) while the Saints play a gritty style of basketball and wear their opponents down. Winton Woods, led by Daniah Trammell's 16.7 ppg and league-leading 9.8 rpg, may have to go through the Girls Greater Catholic League to advance to the sectional final.

More: Winton Woods junior Daniah Trammell named a finalist for Naismith Courage Award

Sectional final prediction: Lakota East vs. Winton Woods

North 1

First round: Stebbins vs. West Carrollton; Butler vs. Stebbins/ WC winner; Piqua vs. Springboro; Fairborn vs. Piqua/ Springboro winner

What to watch: Springboro is the top-ranked team in the north. The Panthers are led by Bryn Martin (20.6 points, 4.1 rebounds) and Aniya Trent (8.2 points, 7.3 rebounds). There's a good chance they'll meet Butler in the final.

The winner of this sectional will meet the winner of the South 5 sectional.

Division II

South 1

First round: Indian Hill vs. Wilmington; Roger Bacon vs. IH/Wilmington winner; Aiken vs. Badin; Mercy McAuley vs. Aiken/Badin winner

What to watch: Indian Hill has fought to stay atop the Cincinnati Hills League all season. Wilmington is just 1-8 against teams that are above .500. Roger Bacon is 9-12 this season and has not won more than two games in a row at any point.

Badin likes to run the ball up and down the court and launch 3-pointers. To beat the Rams, Aiken or Mercy McAuley will have to either slow them down or force a lot of missed shots.

Sectional final prediction: Indian Hill vs. Badin

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South 2

First round: McNicholas vs. Woodward; Taylor vs. McNicholas/ Woodward winner; CHCA vs. Batavia; Wyoming vs. CHCA/Batavia winner

What to watch: The top half of the bracket features two of the best rebounders in the city. Taylor's Jenna Odor grabs 10.2 rebounds per game, while Withrow's Terrah Adams grabs 15 boards per game. Arielle Gee leads the CMAC in scoring and Willow Montag is second in the CHL in scoring.

Batavia is enjoying its second straight winning season. Lucy Thompson leads the Bulldogs in scoring and has posted four double-doubles this season. CHCA went winless in league play but did go 4-0 against SBAAC opponents. Wyoming has had an up-and-down season, but its signature win was knocking off then-undefeated Seven Hills.

Sectional final prediction: Woodward vs. Batavia

South 3

First round: Purcell Marian vs. New Richmond; Hughes vs. PM/NR winner; Clinton-Massie vs. Franklin

What to watch: In all honesty, there's Purcell Marian and then there's everyone else in this bracket. The Cavaliers are on a 19-game winning streak where their closest win was a five-point victory way back on Dec. 12.

Franklin already has a win over Clinton-Massie this season. Kensie Black and Olivia Truesdell combined for 44 points in that game, matching the Falcons' total offensive output.

Sectional final prediction: Purcell Marian vs. Franklin

Division III

South 1

First round: Mariemont vs. East Clinton; Fenwick vs. Mariemont/EC winner; Williamsburg vs. Deer Park; Blanchester vs. Norwood

What to watch: In the top half, Mariemont (12-9) will face a 4-17 East Clinton, and will most likely play a 1-18 Fenwick team in the semifinals. The Falcons went through a rebuilding year after graduating four of their top five scorers from last season.

Williamsburg won the SBAAC-National for the first time since 2021. Peyton Jones and Ava Watts lead the Wildcats in scoring. Norwood has had a few signature moments, beating Cincinnati Country Day, Mt. Healthy and Seven Hills this season. The Indians, led by Ali and Ava Winchester and Kylie Jones, also beat Mariemont, 45-31, on Jan. 15.

Sectional final prediction: Mariemont vs. Norwood

South 2

First round: Cincinnati Country Day vs. North College Hill; Taft vs. CCD/NCH winner; Seven Hills vs. Clermont Northeastern; Georgetown vs. Gamble Montessori

What to watch: Cincinnati Country Day is the top seed in the south and is 10th in the latest AP poll. Thanks to leading scorers Elizabeth and Megan Zimmerman, the Nighthawks are averaging 50 points per game.

North College Hill and Taft have a combined record of 7-32.

Junior Reagan Licata is nearly averaging a double-double for Seven Hills. After enduring a seven-game losing streak early in the season, Clermont Northeastern has won five of its last eight games. Georgetown (10-10) has a 4-5 record in games decided by 10 points or less. Gamble Montessori has five players averaging more than five points per game and two players averaging more than five rebounds per game.

Sectional final prediction: Cincinnati Country Day vs. Seven Hills

South 3

First round: Bethel-Tate vs. Madeira; St. Bernard-Elmwood Place vs. BT/Madeira winner; Summit Country Day vs. Reading; Clark Montessori vs. SCD/Reading winner

What to watch: Madeira is 0-2 this season against the SBAAC with a regular-season finale against Blanchester on Saturday. Can the Amazons overcome that record to beat Bethel-Tate in the first round? St. Bernard has a 5-14 record but has been competitive lately. Each of their last three losses has come by 6 points or less.

The Reading Blue Devils have won 10 games in a season for the first time in seven years. The efforts of Mia Hankerson, Jaidyn Covert and Brooke Androne helped them get there. They'll have to beat two MVC opponents to make it to the sectional final.

Sectional final prediction: Madeira vs. Reading

North 2

First round: Waynesville vs. Bethel; Dunbar vs. Waynesville/Bethel winner; Versailles vs. Preble Shawnee; Dayton Christian vs. Brookville

Waynesville is the one local team in this bracket. They're also undefeated and the No. 2 team in the north. Led by Katie Berrey, Maggie Stephensen, Emme Greely and Tori See, the Spartans have won 20 games for the third season in a row and went undefeated in the regular season for the first time since they went to the state championship in 2019.

Look for the Spartans to meet Versailles in the sectional final.

Division IV

Monroe 1

First round: Fayetteville-Perry vs. MVC; Middletown Christian vs. DePaul Cristo Rey; Cincinnati Christian vs. Fayetteville-Perry/MVCA winner

What to watch: The matchup to watch will be the first semifinal on Feb. 20. Cincinnati Christian split its regular season games with MVCA. If the Cougars and Rockets meet, it could be a defensive battle as both teams allow around 40 points per game.

In its first season in the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference, DePaul Cristo Rey is 15-4 thanks to the efforts of Aundrea Dangerfield, Nyeemah Pickens and Daizya White. The Bruins have seven players that score at least three points per game.

Sectional final prediction: DePaul Cristo Rey vs. Cincinnati Christian

Monroe 2

First round: Cincinnati College Prep vs. Cedarville; New Miami vs. Legacy Christian; Ripley vs. CCP/Cedarville winner; Lockland vs. New Miami/Legacy Christian winner

What to watch: Half of the teams in this bracket are from Greater Cincinnati (Cincinnati College Prep, Lockland and New Miami). All three are under .500 on the season and have a combined record of 12-41. Xenia Legacy Christian is the top-ranked team in this bracket. They are also 10th in the latest Associated Press poll.

Sectional final prediction: Xenia Legacy Christian vs. Cedarville

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: OHSAA basketball: Southwest sectional tournament previews