Felicity-Franklin’s Ashley Moore is leading the Lady Cardinals on another post-season run.

Felicity-Franklin’s Ashley Moore is leading the Lady Cardinals on another post-season run.
By Chris Chaney
Sun staff

A weather-dictated schedule has left the girls basketball sectional tournament in catch-up mode.

With just two local games able to be completed last week, area high school teams were forced into action under unenviable circumstances, in some cases having not practiced in over a week.

Glen Este and Felicity-Franklin, the two teams able to complete their first-round games last week, did so despite missing a week of school due to treacherous road conditions and sub-zero temperatures.

The Lady Trojans, seeking their first tournament win since 2009, came from behind to avoid an upset in the Division I Cincinnati 5 sectional held at Harrison High School. Seeded No. 8 in DI, GE held off No. 15 Princeton down the stretch, 71-68, to advance to Tuesday, Feb. 24’s sectional semifinal against No. 14 Seton.

Heading into the half tied with the Saints, the Lady Trojans outscored Seton 23-6 in the third quarter to wrap up a sectional final berth. They will play Lakota East on Friday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. at Harrison.

Felicity-Franklin, the defending district champions in Division IV, has coasted to yet another sectional final after dismantling Aiken and Lockland in the first two rounds of the Monroe sectional.

The Lady Cardinals will face Middletown Christian on Feb. 28 at noon for the right to play for back-to-back district titles.

Glen Este’s Eastern Cincinnati Conference counterparts, Milford, avenged a Feb. 11 regular-season loss to Kings in the first round of the Division I Cincinnati 3 sectional at Lakota East.

The Lady Eagles beat the Lady Knights 45-36. Milford played No. 3 Mason on Wednesday, Feb. 25. That result was not available at press time.

The third and final local Division I contestant, Amelia, fell in the first round to top-seed Lakota West, 87-19. The Lady Barons finished the season 6-17.

In Division II, four Clermont County teams were drawn into the bottom half of the Withrow sectional.

New Richmond, the No. 3 seed, played Southern Buckeye Conference rivals Clermont Northeastern in the first round of the sectional on Tuesday, Feb. 24. The familiarity between the two squads led to a defensive struggle that the Lady Lions were able to escape from, 36-29.

New Richmond will play No. 7 Wyoming in the sectional semifinal after Batavia fell to the Lady Cowboys, 40-39 on Feb. 24.

On the other side of the sectional, Goshen, the No. 4 seed chose a first-round bye and will play their first tournament game on Thursday, Feb. 26 against Hughes.

The winner of that game will meet either New Richmond or Wyoming in the sectional final on Monday, March 2.

In Division III, the Bethel-Tate Lady Tigers are seeded second overall. BT got past CHCA in the first round, 35-31 to earn a sectional semifinal date with Waynesville. The results of Wednesday, Feb. 25 match up between the two schools was not available at press time.

In the other Wilmington sectional in Division III, the No. 9-seed Williamsburg Lady Wildcats faced off with Jamestown Greenview on Tuesday, Feb. 24 and lost, 66-42. Burg ended the year 11-11.

Complete brackets, game times and scores for all sectional sites are available on swdab.org.