SW D1 matchups, players to watch and sleepers

It's tournament time throughout the state of Ohio, and over the next few days. I'll take a look at some of the brackets, teams and players in Southwest Ohio as the sectional tournament begins next week in the Buckeye State!   Today I will look at  Division 1 in Southwest Ohio.   OPENING ROUND MATCHUPS   @ Fairfield    2/23- Mason v Oak Hills 6:00   Walnut Hills v Lakota East  7:30   2/24- Sycamore v Western Hills  6:00   @Lakota East   2/23- Princeton v Middletown  6:00   Milford v Fairfield  7:30   2/24- Lakota West v Lebanon  6:00   West Clermont v Hamilton  7:30   @Fairborn   2/23- Fairmont v Springfield 6:00   Beavercreek v Wayne  7:30   2/24- Springboro v Centerville  6:00     POTENTIAL 2nd ROUND MATCHUP   Wayne v Milford   Looking at the bracket, there are so many second round games that are going to be incredible. It was hard just to pick one out. But this matchup is very intriguing.   Wayne has the super sophomore duo of [player_tooltip player_id='975877' first='NaRiya' last='Goddard'] and Dez Thomas. That backcourt is extremely talented, both can score and feed off of each other. [player_tooltip player_id='1094027' first='Makenna' last='Pride'] is also a young lady who's starting to come into her own as she strengthens her game as yet another sophomore.   Later in this preview, you'll hear about [player_tooltip player_id='808865' first='Kylie' last='Perone'] from Milford, but she definitely has some help with her. Love the game of [player_tooltip player_id='808960' first='Gabby' last='Chadwell'], one of the most underappreciated players in the state. This young lady can play! Mikayla Chadwell is another sophomore who is planting herself well at this level!     PLAYERS TO WATCH    What an incredible senior season for this young lady, she spearheads a Fairmont offense that causes a lot of problems. They head into the postseason unbeaten, and Thornton is a major reason why. Great leadership skills and an ability to score the basketball in a variety of ways is a plus for this team. The Akron bound senior looks to spearhead a stretch that leads them to UD Arena.     What a great senior season she has had, her numbers are all at or above the benchmark with her shooting percentages, and a very solid 15 point, 7 rebound per game performance this season. People wonder to how Springboro was going to be this year after losing all that fire power, well let me tell you they're just fine. Jones is a leader, she gets great help from [player_tooltip player_id='1718110' first='Ady' last='Martin']. Don't sleep on the Panthers in the postseason.     Speaking of great numbers the ones that Erin have been putting up have been eye popping. She's a matchup nightmare, for anybody who tries to play her, with her size and the ability to score from the perimeter teams are failing at their attempts to try to defend her. She is shooting 38 from the three point land and 85 from the line this major P4 recruit is getting it done.     With all the crazy injuries happening at Mason this year, Anna has done more than her share to carry this team to a winning season. A great facilitator of the ball, she also now must score more to keep them competitive.  Even with all the defensive attention that she draws, her numbers are fantastic as she shows why she's one of the top seniors in Ohio.     Milford has such a solid lineup in as well coached, and Kylie does a fantastic job leading their offense nearly averaging a double-double on the season. She shoots 61% from the field, well over 70 from the free-throw line.  Solid footwork in the paint, able to score but also can defend the rim. Gets a couple of blocks per game.     If you look at these stats, you think they were a misprint. But her video game like numbers are no joke. Remember she's only a freshman, but she's averaging 39 points per game and she's broken 50 points five times. She does put up a lot of shots, but in all fairness they're 16–4 because she does put up shots. And she shoots 55% from the field. She averages five assists per game and a super solid on the defensive end.      You've read about her before, she's our number one freshman in the state of Ohio, and she has put up numbers to solidify that ranking. She is so effective with the ball, poised and able to score or distribute. She does everything so well and I think she has three years to even get better. Her focus in work ethic our second to none.      3 SLEEPERS TO WATCH    As a freshman in a big quality program like Lakota West, I'm very impressed with her poise and demeanor as she makes an impact with this team. Excited to see her future and as she continues to watch her game grow. This is one you're going to want to keep an eye on.     Outstanding guard and the leader for the Centerville Elks, Bella is a young lady who has the ability to score from multiple ways. She's not flashy, she's just steady. Can knock down the three, get to the line and score. Mature player with a high basketball IQ.      This is the young lady that y'all better be watching! I've had two officials come up to me and tell me about her that had their game this year, said she can shoot the lights out! She might've been under my radar, but no longer, and only being a sophomore. She has a chance to take her game to a different level. She'll need a big summer and I believe she'll work for it!      SLEEPER TEAM WHO COULD SNEAK OUT   A 6th seed or below that COULD sneak out and make it to the district finals   Sycamore #7   By no means am I predicting them to get to the district finals, but I'm also not eliminating the chance that they won't. I believe this is the only 6+ seed that has a shot to advance but they'd have to work to get there. Assuming they would even get past their first game, then they would have to face off against Springboro, who may have lost some fire power last year, but this team is really good.   It all starts for Sycamore with [player_tooltip player_id='1192841' first='Emma' last='Christerson'] who is one of the top pure shooters in the state of Ohio. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='812202' first='Brooke' last='Burgess'] is another player that opponents have to be leery of, as the post player handles her business in the paint. They're going to have their hands full but again, looking at the potential matchups, this is the only hope for a team above a fifth seed that I can see.     MY PREDICTIONS   My predictions are pretty cut and dry in this region. The top bracket shows Fairmont as the heavy favorites to get to the regionals. A completely healthy Mason team would give them a run for their money, but at this point, I look for Fairmont to get to the regionals in Columbus.   A potential Milford/Wayne District final has me leaning toward Milford's outstanding season to advance.   Princeton also has an outstanding chance to get through their district final with their very solid lineup.    In the other two district finals? I'm going to Springboro to get through their bracket into the regionals, along with West Clermont.

It's tournament time throughout the state of Ohio, and over the next few days. I'll take a look at some of the brackets, teams and players in Southwest Ohio as the sectional tournament begins next week in the Buckeye State!