SIDNEY — Sidney beat Centerville by six points in a regular-season game on Jan. 11. If the squads will face off in the future after a sectional final on Wednesday, it will have to be in regular season.

The OHSAA announced last week it is expanding the number of divisions for postseason play for basketball (and several other sports) from four to seven. The move addresses a complaint long made by small Division I schools like Sidney: the gap in enrollment makes competing in tournaments hard.

Sidney, which has historically been in the largest division or class, will likely be Division III once the expansion goes into effect at the start of the 2024 school year.

The Yellow Jackets will open this season’s tournament against Centerville on Wednesday at Troy High School’s Trojan Activities Center. Centerville has the fifth-largest enrollment of any school in the state, over 2.5 times higher than Sidney’s.

Sidney (17-5) is aiming to earn a district berth. Despite the team’s success — and its regular-season win over the Elks — junior guard Jordan Scully said she’s gotten a typical reaction when talking to people about the matchup.

“It’s another thing to prove people wrong about,” Scully said. “I think a lot of people expect us to lose because they’re a bigger school. Anytime people ask and I tell them we’re playing Centerville, they’re like, ‘Oh.’ But we beat them once, we can beat them again.”

The Elks (14-9) beat Sidney 51-49 in overtime in a district semifinal last year. Both squads lost key players from a year ago and have different makeups this year.

Scully, junior guard Larkyn Vordemark and senior guard Kiara Hudgins have led the team. They were the most experienced returnees, along with junior forward Kelis McNeal.

There have been learning curves throughout the year, but fifth-year coach Jamal Foster said he’s proud of how the squad came together and won its third consecutive Miami Valley League title.

“Walking into the season, we felt there was a shadow of doubt over us,” Foster said. “… It’s been great. Our chemistry has been trending upwards. I like how this group practices week in and week out. They’ve really clicked off the court.”

Scully averages 14.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 1.5 assists per game. Vordemark averages 14.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, two assists and 1.7 steals per game. Hudgins, the team’s point guard, averages 11.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.4 steals and 3.1 assists per game.

All three were named first team all-MVL last week.

The team has had to develop its bench, and its post players. Sophomore Jada Shroyer has become the team’s first guard off the bench, and junior Kendall Dickman, senior Camryn Edwards and freshman Olivia Foy have helped McNeal in the post.

McNeal (5-foot-10), who was a second team all-MVL selection, gave birth at the start of the season and worked her way back into playing shape. Dickman (5-11) starts for the squad most games and averages three rebounds after having played sparingly the last two years; she was named honorable mention all-MVL.

Off the bench, Foy (5-9) averages two rebounds and 2.4 rebounds per game, and Edwards (6-1), who is playing for the first time since middle school, averages 3.3 rebounds per game.

“We’ve never been a huge team ever; we’re kind of undersized,” Foster said. “But our tempo and our defense kind of negates us being small.

“As far as our post players, they have come on all season. It’s been a marathon, not a sprint mentality with them. …Cam has really improved, including at how she guards. Kendall really does well trying to take away the other team’s best interior player. Kelis does whatever we need her to do defensively, whether a guard, wing or post.”

The regular-season matchup between the squads was a bit sloppy; both had played conference games in the two days prior to the matchup.

Centerville shot 12 for 60 (20 percent) from the floor. Sidney committed 16 turnovers and gave up 17 offensive rebounds.

Centerville senior forward Emily Grim leads the squad with an average of 11.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. She scored eight points against Sidney and made just one field goal.

Centerville junior guard Caroline McDowell, who averages nine points, scored 19 points and kept the squad in it after Sidney took an early lead.

“You hear about Grim, McDowell and (sophomore guard Bella) Keeton, but there’s a bunch of girls for them who can make shots,” Foster said. “We’re not going to leave anything up for chance. We’ve got to defend everyone well.”

Vordemark and Hudgins lead Sidney’s fast-break attack, and Scully has been penetrating more as opponents focus on bottling her up on the wing.

All three are under 5-8, and Hudgins is under 5-4. They get knocked around at times in the post — Scully rolled her ankle trying to drive by Grim in regular season — but Vordemark said they’ve gotten better as the season progresses.

“When we get in there, Ki and I have better moves now to get around it, and we always have Jordan behind us,” Vordemark said. “… Rebounding is definitely big too. We’re going to have to box (out) and secure the rebound.”

Vordemark said the team is proud of winning its third consecutive overall MVL title — but nothing would be better than beating Centerville, winning in a district semifinal on Saturday and advancing to a district final next week at Cincinnati Princeton.

“People thought we weren’t going to be as good as we were last year, and we came out and proved them wrong,” Vordemark said. “We struggled some, but I feel like we got together, went through it as a team instead of separating.

“I think we’re (battle-tested). I feel like we’re going to go in there and make it to Cincy.”

Sidney, the Dayton D-I sectional’s No. 5 seed, will tip off against the No. 8 Elks at 6 p.m. in Troy. No. 3 Bellbrook and No. 12 Springfield will play at 7:30. The winners will advance to a district semifinal at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Troy.

SIDNEY VS. CENTERVILLE

What: D-I sectional final

Where: Troy High School

When: 6 p.m., Wednesday

Radio: ScoresBroadcast.com

Reach Bryant Billing at 937-538-4818, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.