Eastern District – Division III East 1 Sectional Preview

Division III for the Eastern District is split in two, with the winners of East 1 and East 2 not to meet until the regional semifinal. It’s a top-heavy district with a clear favorite on each side. No. 1 Hiland and No. 2 Fort Frye seemed destined to meet each other in that regional semifinal, though No. 3 Union Local may have something to say about the representative from East 2. The Hawks are poised to make their 18^th state semifinal appearance in the last 32 seasons and are led by a dominant senior class with five players already signed on to play at the next level. The top name on the marquee is post [player_tooltip player_id="91075" first="Zoe" last="Miller"], who earlier cast her lot with Division I Bowling Green. Point-guard [player_tooltip player_id="91139" first="Morgan" last="Yoder"] is off to incoming G-MAC member Ashland University. She will be joined in-conference by teammate [player_tooltip player_id="91113" first="Brynn" last="Mullet"]t, who’s heading to Ohio Dominican. Kyle horn and Kelsey Swihart will remain teammates for another four seasons as they are both off to Malone University. The Hawks are 17-1 with the lone loss coming recently to Napoleon, which is tied with Sheridan for No. 1 in Division II. Hiland pick its spot in the East 1 bracket and seeds two, three, four, and seven all opted for East 2. Barring a major upset, there’s no team that possesses the depth or combined skill level to derail <h5>Section Quarter/Semifinals (All Games start at 7 p.m.)</h5> No. 18 Coshocton at No. 1 Hiland, Feb. 13, 1 p.m. No. 17 Buckeye Local at winner Coshocton/Hiland winner, Feb. 18, 7 p.m. No. 10 Garaway at No. 9 Morgan, Feb. 18, 7 p.m. No. 8 Sandy Valley at No. 5 Harrison Central, Feb. 18, 7 p.m. No. 11 Cambridge at No. 6 Martins Ferry, Feb. 18, 7 p.m. <h5>Seeding</h5> <table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="312">1. Hiland</td> <td width="312">10. Garaway</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="312">2. Fort Frye</td> <td width="312">11. Cambridge</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="312">3. Union Local</td> <td width="312">12. Barnesville</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="312">4. Tuscarawas Valley</td> <td width="312">13. Bellaire</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="312">5. Harrison Central</td> <td width="312">14. Edison</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="312">6. Martins Ferry</td> <td width="312">15. Buckeye Trail</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="312">7. West Muskingum</td> <td width="312">16. Ridgewood</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="312">8. Sandy Valley</td> <td width="312">17. Buckeye Local</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="312">9. Morgan</td> <td width="312">18. Coshocton</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> &nbsp; <h5>Intriguing First-Round Matchup</h5> The most interesting matchup of the first round pits No. 8 Sandy Valley at No. 5 Harrison Central in Cadiz. You generally don’t get too top-half seeds squaring off in the opening round. The Huskies are 13-4 and are riding an eight-game winning streak heading into tonight’s rematch with St. Clairsville. Two of those losses came in blowouts against Union Local. The others were in overtime to Claymont (58-53) to start the season, and the aforementioned Red Devils (45-44). Harrison is led by junior [player_tooltip player_id="159359" first="McKayla" last="Dunkle"] (6-1, 2022) who is averaging a double-double with 16.9 points and 11 rebounds per game. Seniors Britton Positano and Audrey Corder back her with 10.1 and 7.4, respectively. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are led by senior point guard Tori Sickafoose (5-7) and junior post [player_tooltip player_id="214483" first="Abbey" last="Parker"] (6-2). While they can’t match Harrison’s win total, they’ve played a far more strenuous schedule including two apiece with Hiland, Tuscarawas Valley, and a narrow loss to Division II Dover. The Cards also split with Garaway, winning 48-28 while falling 42-35 in the rematch. <h5>Predicted First Round Winners</h5> Hiland (2), Morgan, Sandy Valley, Martins Ferry <h5>Other Players of Note</h5> Morgan: The Raiders are led by a pair of guards in senior Sophia Smith (x-x) and junior Katie Hook. Smith is the flashier of the two with the ball, but Hook has shown an ability to come up big in big moments. Case in point, Hook scored a career-high 32 points in an upset, come-from-behind 53-48 win against Maysville. In fact, Hook scored her team’s final 24 points against the Panthers for the team’s second win against Maysville in the last 32 attempts. Martins Ferry: Purple Riders are paced by a pair of juniors in wing Maria Clark (5-7) and post Allarah Jones (5-7). The tandem average 14.2 and 13.2 points respectively, while freshman Danielle Lude has hit double digits on multiple occasions. Both Clark and Lude have connected on 28 3-pointers and provide the Purple Riders perimeter threats. Cambridge:  The Bobcats are a pretty solid defensive outfit and that, combined with their style of play, lends itself to low-scoring games. A pair of sophomores lead the charge in point guard Braxton King and post McKinzi Linscott (5-11). Linscott can score, but it’s her defense in the paint that’s most valuable, blocking shots and turning away would-be penetration attacks. King has shown the ability to hit from the perimeter and attack off the dribble.