Girls basketball: What to watch at district tournament sites

Carroll senior Raegan Reilly looks to drive along the baseline. Carroll defeated Waynesville 50-42 in a non-league game on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, at Waynesville. STEVEN WRIGHT / STAFF

Credit: Steven Wright

Credit: Steven Wright

Carroll senior Raegan Reilly looks to drive along the baseline. Carroll defeated Waynesville 50-42 in a non-league game on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, at Waynesville. STEVEN WRIGHT / STAFF

All seven divisions have conducted their Southwest District draws for the girls tournament after Sunday’s Division I and II brackets were completed.

While action got underway Monday, it’s a light slate until Wednesday as there are only four total first round games in D-III through VII on Monday and Tuesday. The action picks up Saturday with 23 games across the Northern part of the area.

D-I and most of D-II do not play until next week.

Want to know where to go to check out some of the early round action? Here is a guide of what to expect at each site this week.

Springfield

The D-III tournament sets up shop all week as the only site where games take place for four straight days beginning Wednesday.

Two game sessions begin at 6 p.m. each night with Saturday tipping at 1 p.m.

Each of the top-four seeds in the district play each day starting with three league champions, No. 3 Carroll on Wednesday, No. 4 Tippecanoe on Thursday, and No. 1 Bellbrook on Friday. No. 2 Chaminade Julienne plays on Saturday.

Best Game

No. 6 Sidney (9-13) vs. No. 8 Greenville (10-12), 7:30 p.m. Friday

The Miami Valley League teams split two regular season meetings at the start and near the midway point of their respective seasons.

Greenville finished with a winning record in MVL play for the first time since 2020 and ranks in the top half of the league in defense. Sidney enters the tournament on a four-game losing skid after a challenging end of season schedule.

The winner likely plays Bellbrook, which plays No. 14 Fairborn in the first game of Tuesday’s session, at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 24.

Upset watch?

No. 10 Trotwood (8-13) vs. No. 7 Ponitz CTC (9-9), 7:30 p.m. Wednesday

The two played twice in the regular season with Ponitz winning both games by a combined three points. Trotwood went 6-1 against the remainder of the Dayton City League schools it faced this season.

Players to watch

Libby Bunsold, Bellbrook (So.), 17.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 6.7 spg, 49.8 FG%, 79.2 FT%

Ja’Kyiah Cook, CJ (Fr.), 11.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 40.4 FG%

Nalayna Cosby, Ponitz CTC (Sr.), 25.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 6.6 spg, 46.1 FG%

Emma Dady, Butler (Jr.), 15.1 ppg, 13.1 rpg, 2.3 apg, 45.5 FG%, 10 consecutive double-doubles

Kiera Healy, Carroll (Sr.), 17.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, 49.0 FG%, 84.9 FT%

Bellbrook junior Lauren Fabrick and sophomore Libby Bunsold are congratulated by teammates as they come off the court as they beat Waynesville 61-30 in a Southwestern Buckeye League crossover game on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. STEVEN WRIGHT / STAFF

Credit: Steven Wright

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Credit: Steven Wright

Troy

Playing host to the D-IV tournament, the deepest grouping of teams in the North could produce a surprise or two prior to the district finals if some of the top seeds have an off night.

No. 8 Eaton defeated No. 11 Meadowdale on Monday. The action picks back up starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday with No. 1 Alter and No. 4 Urbana in action.

No. 2 Brookville and No. 3 Oakwood are part of Saturday’s quadruple header beginning at 1 p.m.

Best Game

No. 7 Dunbar (12-10) vs. No. 10 Benjamin Logan (12-10), 7:30 p.m. Thursday

Dunbar won the DPS title thanks to dominant play by 5-foot-10 senior Donisha Davis, who has a double-double in all but one game this season.

Ben Logan comes in playing its best this season as winners of five straight and is above .500 against non-CBC opponents.

The winner likely plays Alter, which takes the floor against No. 17 Thurgood Marshall in the first game of the session, at 6 p.m. on Feb. 24.

Upset watch?

No. 12 Indian Lake (13-9) vs. No. 9 Northridge (13-9), 5:30 p.m. Saturday

Two teams entering the tournament heading in opposite directions. The Lakers are led by seniors Kennedy Schwaderer and Carly Strayer and beat Graham late in the season.

Northridge went 2-4 and suffered a pair of tough losses to close the season, but will have the player commanding the most attention in senior Jayah Martin.

Players to watch

Donisha Davis, Dunbar (Sr.), 16.0 ppg, 16.2 rpg, 4.3 spg, 45.8 FG%

Alex Dixon, Urbana (Sr.), 22.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 4.0 spg, 44.1 FG%, 36.4 3pt%

Jolie Gudorf, Brookville (So.), 19.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 4.7 spg, 43.2 FG%, 34.7 3pt%

Jayah Martin, Northridge (Sr.), 23.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 3.4 bpg, 53.7 FG%

Caroline Roelle, Oakwood (Sr.), 16.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 45.4 FG%, 37.0 3pt%, 78.0 FT%

Trotwood

Two sessions of D-V games will take place this week. Wednesday features top-seeded Waynesville, which won the SWBL Buckeye, and No. 4 seed Milton Union.

Saturday is a tripleheader featuring No. 2 Miami East, the TRC champion, and No. 3 Versailles.

Best Game

No. 6 Valley View (13-9) vs. No. 7 Greeneview (10-11), 11 a.m. Saturday

Valley View competed well against a tough SWBL division and has two double-figure scorers in sophomore Paisley Phillips and senior Rivers Lemke.

Greeneview hasn’t lost by double digits in over a month and gave undefeated Madison Plains its closest game in its last 10 contests. Seniors Daylee Sandlin and Monet Vest are a solid guard-forward combo.

The winner likely plays Versailles at 6 p.m. on Feb. 25.

Upset watch?

No. 8 Northwestern (10-12) vs. No. 4 Milton-Union (16-6), 6 p.m. Wednesday

Northwestern struggled against its division going 3-7 in the CBC Mad River, but have won with good defensive play that is always a recipe for upsets in the postseason.

Milton-Union could also be considered a darkhorse district title candidate, but have played in enough close games that they shouldn’t look past any opponent at this time of year.

Players to watch

Katie Berrey, Waynesville (Sr.), 11.1ppg, 3.9 apg, 2.8 spg, 33.6 3pt%

Lilly Bushey, Northwestern (So.), 15.7 ppg, 12.9 rpg, 2.7 apg, 52.3 FG%

Michaela Firks, Milton-Union (Jr.), 16.4 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 4.0 apg, 67.1 FT%

Katey Litten, Versailles (Sr.), 14.4 ppg, 4.3 apg, 75.3 FT%

Maggie Stephenson, Waynesville (Sr.), 13.2 ppg, 4.1 spg, 3.9 apg, 43.4 FG%

Versailles

D-VI and D-VII games will be held in Darke County. D-VI’s top-seed Tri-Village plays winless Dayton Christian on Tuesday. The next set of four games start at 12:30 p.m. Saturday with D-VII No. 3 Fort Loramie in action early and Tri-Village likely again playing later.

Best Game

No. 7 Houston (10-12) vs. No. 8 Tri-County North (9-13), 5 p.m. Saturday

Houston gave Tri-Village a game at the end of January, and only lost by two against Newton two weeks ago. TCN has similarly been heading in the wrong direction down the stretch, but can get it done with defense and is fine playing in lower scoring games.

The winner likely gets Tri-Village at 6 p.m. on Feb. 25.

Southeastern senior Ryland Workman shoots over Emmanuel Christian sophomore Macey Hudson during their game on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2025 at Wittenberg University's Pam Evans Smith Arena. MICHAEL COOPER / STAFF

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Players to watch

Charlotte Barga, Ansonia (So.), 13.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.4 spg, 29.2 3pt%

Bella Cherry, Tri-County North (Sr.), 17.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 6.1 spg, 3.9 apg, 74.4 FT%

Adalynn Hines, Tri-Village (Sr.), 12.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 5.0 spg, 43.1 FG%

Tai Mize, Tri-Village (Sr.), 12.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.9 apg, 42.1 FG%

Liza Poeppelman, Fort Loramie (So.)

Other sites

Just one game will take place at Fairborn between the two lowest seeds in D-II, No. 4 Miamisburg and No. 5 Xenia. The winner plays No. 2 Troy in the district semifinals on Feb. 25.

Sidney hosts two D-VII contest starting at 1 p.m. Saturday and includes WOAC champion and No. 2 seed Mississinawa Valley.

Tecumseh will host four D-VII games starting at 11 a.m. Saturday. No. 1 Russia plays in game two, and the day closes with No. 4 Cedarville facing No. 7 Troy Christian.

Four D-VI games will be played at Covington starting at 11 a.m. Saturday featuring the two through five seeds West Liberty-Salem, Legacy Christian, Arcanum and Newton. Should Ansonia advance, its game against Newton should be one of the best matchups of the day as the first one to tip. WLS senior Ava Astorino averages 16.0 ppg and shoots 44 percent from three as a player to watch.

While D-I teams do not begin their tournaments until Monday, Springboro will host Princeton in its regular season finale Wednesday in a marquee tournament tune-up.

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