MANSFIELD — Lexington and Clear Fork needed double-overtime to decide their first meeting — and the backyard rivals will renew hostilities in the postseason.
Sixth-seeded Lady Lex will meet No. 9 Clear Fork in the opening round of the Division II Ashland district tournament at 6:15 p.m. Feb. 18 at Monroeville High School. No. 8 Mansfield Senior will the on No. 7 Norwalk in the nightcap of the sectional semifinal doubleheader.
Lexington beat Clear Fork 43-42 in double-overtime late last month. That game wasn’t decided until Lady Lex’s Avery Coleman blocked a shot by Clear Fork’s Morgan Galco as the horn sounded.
“It was an entertaining game,” Clear Fork coach Randy Pore said at the time. “Our girls gave themselves a chance to win, which is all you can ask for.”
Lady Lex improved to 10-8 over the weekend and stayed atop the Ohio Cardinal Conference standings with a resounding 57-25 win over Madison on Saturday. Coleman scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds over the Rams, who had won seven of their previous eight games before Saturday.
“This is the best all-around game we’ve put together,” Lady Lex coach Jessica Brokaw said. “If we could put that first-half (effort) for a whole game, we’re going to be a hard team to beat during the tournament.”
Second-seeded Shelby awaits the winner of the Lexington-Clear Fork game in the sectional finals at 6:15 p.m. Feb. 22 at Monroeville. The Whippets put the finishing touches on their second consecutive Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championship with a 60-57 win over River Valley on Saturday.
In the top half of the district bracket, No. 11 seed Galion will play top-seeded Bellevue in the sectional semifinals at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 at Plymouth. No. 5 seed Ontario will meet No. 4 Sandusky Perkins in a sectional championship game at 8 p.m. Feb. 22 at Plymouth.
Division I
Both Madison and Ashland will be in action at the Toledo Start sectional as part of the Division I Millbury district tournament. The 12th-seeded Rams will play No. 10 Toledo Whitmer at 8 p.m. Feb 22 in a sectional championship game. No. 19 Ashland will play No. 18 Holland Springfield in the sectional semifinals at 7 p.m. Feb. 19.
Division III
Crestview earned the No. 3 seed in the Division III Shelby district and will play No. 7 Western Reserve at 8 p.m. Feb. 18 in the sectional semifinals at Willard. A win would send the Cougars into a sectional final showdown with fourth-seeded Wynford at 8 p.m. Feb. 22 at Willard.
On the other side of the Shelby district bracket, No. 12 Bucyrus will play No. 2 Hopewell-Loudon at 6:15 p.m. Feb. 19 in the Old Fort sectional semifinals. No. 5 seed Colonel Crawford took a first-round bye and will play either No. 6 Carey or No. 8 Edison for a sectional title at 8 p.m. Feb. 22 at Old Fort.
In the Division III Wooster district tournament, No. 5 seed Loudonville will host 12th-seeded Northwestern in the sectional semifinals at 7 p.m. Feb. 19. No. 7 seed Mapleton will host No. 10 Fairless at 7 p.m. Feb. 19.
Division IV
The Willard district tournament will feature a pair of all-north central Ohio matchups in the opening round. Second-seeded Lucas will take on No. 13 Plymouth at 6:15 p.m. Feb. 18 in the Crestview sectional semfinals, while No. 8 seed Crestline and ninth-seeded Mansfield Christian will meet at 7 p.m. Feb. 18 at Shelby.
No. 10 seed St. Peter’s will take on No. 5 Monroeville at 8 p.m. Feb. 18 at Crestview. A win would send the Spartans into a sectional final against third-seeded Buckeye Central at 8 p.m. Feb. 22 at Crestview.
Hillsdale will be in action in the Division IV Creston district tournament. The ninth-seeded Falcons will visit No. 8 Mogadore at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 for a sectional semifinal game.
