Greater Western Ohio Conference teams have dominated the Division I girls sectional since the Miami Valley League reformed two years ago.
This year, there will be at least one non-GWOC team that earns a district final berth.
Sidney will face Southwestern Buckeye League power Bellbrook in a Div. I district semifinal on Monday at Troy High School.
ScoresBroadcast.com will provide coverage of the contest. Airtime is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m.; the game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30. A radio simulcast will be provided by WMVR, 105.5 TAM FM, in Sidney.
All three of the Dayton D-I district final berths were claimed by GWOC teams in 2020 and 2021. The eight current GWOC members also captured all three Dayton D-I district final berths between 2017 and 2019.
The trend will stop Monday, as either the Yellow Jackets or Eagles will earn a district berth.
Sidney was one of 10 GWOC schools that left to reform the Miami Valley League before the 2019-2020 school year. This year’s tournament berth is the program’s longest since it won two games and advanced to a third-round game in 2016.
The Eagles played in Division II up until the 2020 tournament. They last advanced to a third-round game while playing in Division II in 2019. The program earned a D-II state berth in 2018.
Bellbrook enters Monday’s district semifinal with a 22-2 record. The Eagles, which were ranked No. 8 in D-I in the final Associated Press state poll of the season, won the Southwestern Buckeye League East Division with a 13-0 record.
The Eagles average 59.3 points per game and are holding an opponents to an average of 37.1 points per game.
Sophomore guard Taylor Scohy averages 14.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and three assists per game for Bellbrook.
Five players average between 6.8 and 9.9 points per game. Junior forward Olivia Trusty (9.9 points per game) averages 5.5 rebounds per game while junior guard Ashley Frantz (6.8 ppg) averages 5.5 rebounds. Junior guard Kelley Griffin averages 8.6 points and 8.3 assists per game.
After close first-round tournament losses the last two years, Sidney (19-5) has made a run this season despite playing only five players for most of its tournament games, with only one player coming off the bench for any amount of time.
Junior guard Allie Stockton, who recently surpassed 1,000 career points, averages 16.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.8 steals per game. Sophomore guard Kiara Hudgins averages seven points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and three steals per game. Both were first team all-MVL selections.
Three freshmen start in guards Jordan Scully and Larkyn Vordemark and forward Kelis McNeal. Scully averages 11.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. Vordemark averages 9.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals. McNeal averages 8.1 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game.
Monday’s contest will be the first of a busy week on SCORES, the Shelby County Online Radio Entertainment System.
The website will broadcast Jackson Center vs. Ansonia and Fort Loramie vs. Troy Christian in D-IV boys sectional finals on Tuesday from Piqua’s Garbry Gymnasium. On Thursday, SCORES will broadcast Anna vs. Springfield Greenon in a D-III boys sectional final from Northmont’s Thunderdome.
