Regional Championship Predictions

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The regular season will be over for some in about a month and we're cruising towards the postseason. With the postseason comes award season and it never hurts to predict who (in strictly my opinion) are the favorites to cut the nets and get to Rupp Arena in March.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>First Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McCracken County - They have one of the most impressive resumes in the state and will be on the short list of teams that can win it all in Rupp.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Second Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Henderson County - It's a little weird that they've only played 3 region games at this point but it looks like they are the class of the Second.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Third Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Meade County - The Lady Waves have played an insane schedule (including Sacred Heart twice) and should have the offensive firepower to fend off Owensboro Catholic.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fourth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bowling Green - The Purples are experienced and deep with the tools to get to the weekend at Rupp if they get the right draw.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fifth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bethlehem - The Banshees are pretty solidly on top of the 5th region. Not saying they can't be beaten but they are clear favorites right now.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sixth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mercy - The KHSAA RPI has Mercy 3rd in the region but they're a clear number one and have dismantled other contenders. [player_tooltip player_id='254279' first='Leah' last='Macy'] is a phenomenal player.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Seventh Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sacred Heart - SHA is going for their 3rd state title in a row and still have the best player in the state in [player_tooltip player_id='254273' first='ZaKiyah' last='Johnson']. They'll be hard to stop at any point in March.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eighth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Anderson County - This is the closest region on the list so far as Anderson and Spencer have traded 5 point wins and could see each other twice more as they are district foes too.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ninth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cooper - This region is a total toss up and will likely make for the best regional tournament if you were going to watch one from start to finish. Holy Cross, Dixie, Ryle and Conner could all make a run at the trophy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tenth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>George Rogers Clark - They are likely to see Montgomery County in the district and region title games (again) but the Byars sisters and GRC should be favored.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eleventh Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Frederick Douglass - This is probably going out on a limb and the region is very hotly contested. [player_tooltip player_id='231488' first='Niah' last='Rhodes'] could be the difference maker in close games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Twelfth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pulaski County - Tough call between them and Danville (and even Danville Christian) but the Maroons get the nod thanks to already holding a win over the Lady Admirals earlier this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Thirteenth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Knox Central - This is another region that seems to be totally wide open. North Laurel and Corbin headline a list of about 8 teams that could win it all. I'll give the nod to Knox thanks to having [player_tooltip player_id='254274' first='Halle' last='Collins'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fourteenth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Perry County Central - With two scorers combining to average almost 35 points per game and a solid supporting cast, I give the edge to Perry Central in a pretty competitive region.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fifteenth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pikeville - It will take a strong effort to deny [player_tooltip player_id='173759' first='Kensley' last='Feltner']'s final attempt to get to Rupp Arena but I think [player_tooltip player_id='167106' first='Trinity' last='Rowe'] and Pikeville have enough to get back to the big stage in March.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sixteenth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rowan County - It took overtime for Rowan to beat Boyd early this season and they could have a rematch at Morehead for the region championship. At the end of the day, I'll take [player_tooltip player_id='164384' first='Haven' last='Ford'] in a big game situation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->