The WPIAL Basketball Committee is crafting six girls playoff brackets with a total if 84 teams, 11 of them from Washington and Greene Counties, with seven of those in the Class 2A bracket. The tournament pairings will be released Monday afternoon. Following is a playoff primer on all six girls brackets.
Class 6A – 8 teams including Canon-McMillan (12-8). Norwin and Upper St. Clair are expected to get the top two seeds, splitting their regular season series. Section 1 champion Seneca Valley should be third. Canon-Mac is in line to get the #4 seed and host a quarterfinal round game.
Class 5A – 16 teams including Peters Township (19-2). The Indians and three-time defending champion South Fayette have been ranked #1 and #2 all season and haven’t lost to any Pennsylvania teams. Penn-Trafford hasn’t lost to anyone this season. Chartiers Valley, Franklin Regional and Indiana should fill in the next three slots.
Class 4A – 17 teams. Blackhawk, North Catholic, Oakland Catholic and Elizabeth-Forward are likely to be the top four seeds. The bracket’s preliminary game will include two of these four teams: Freeport, Highlands, Hopewell and Mt. Pleasant.
Class 3A – 15 teams including McGuffey (13-8), the third-place finisher in Section 3. Shady Side Academy (21-0) is a lock for the top seed. Keystone Oaks, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Greensburg Central Catholic and Seton-La Salle should follow.
Class 2A – 17 teams, 7 from the two-county area. Neshannock (20-2) will be the top seed, coming in on an 11-game winning streak. Winchester Thurston should be #2, aided by a mid-January win over Chartiers-Houston. Aliquippa, Chartiers-Houston, Fort Cherry and South Side Beaver will round out the top six seeds. Carmichaels (3-18), the last team in the field, will play in the bracket’s preliminary, possibly against Section 3 foe Bentworth (7-14), the Bearcats heading into the playoffs with losses in 9 of their last 10 games. Burgettstown (8-13) is also a possible opponent for the Mikes. California and Beth-Center should be in the 8-10 seed range, the Trojans likely getting the higher spot thanks to their win over the Bulldogs on Thursday.
Class 1A – 11 teams including West Greene (15-7). Union (22-0) and Geibel Catholic (21-1) are locks to be #1/#2. Aquinas Academy, Clairton and St. Joseph are likely to be #3 through #5, getting first-round byes along with Union & Geibel. Serra Catholic and West Greene (15-7) should each host first-round games against the Section 1 fifth-place teams, Sewickley Academy and Eden Christian.