Shelbyville Central, Cascade, and Community all begin their postseason roads this week, starting with key District 9 Tournament matchups.
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Basketball postseason time is finally here in Tennessee as District Tournaments all across the state begin to take place this week as spots in the Region Tournaments are on the line. For Shelbyville Central, Cascade, and Community, both the boys' and girls' teams have their eyes on one thing: a District Championship.
DISTRICT 9-AAAA GIRLS
3-seed - Shelbyville Central Golden Eaglettes (WLIJ 98.7 & AM 1580)
For Shelbyville Central (14-9, 6-4), the 3-seed in District 9-AAAA, Keshia Jarrett's Eaglettes will host the 6-seed, Columbia Central (5-18, 1-9), on Monday, February 17, in a win-or-go-home quarterfinal game that also includes a spot in the Region 5-AAAA Tournament on the line.
This will be the third meeting between the two, and a rematch from Shelbyville's dominant 52-24 win on Thursday to close out the regular season.
As the 3-seed, Shelbyville avoids having to play #1-ranked Coffee County (28-0, 10-0) until potentially the District Championship, although the formidable Lincoln County Lady Falcons (21-5, 8-2) finished as the 2-seed. Most people expect the top-two seeds to meet up in the Final, but inside of Rick Insell Gymnasium, anything can happen.
DISTRICT 9-AAAA BOYS
2-seed - Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles (WLIJ 98.7 & AM 1580)
Meanwhile, on the boys side, Shelbyville Central (12-14, 7-3) finished as the 2-seed in District 9-AAAA, receiving a bye into the semi-finals that will be held on Saturday, February 24, inside of Rick Insell Gymnasium. Shane Young's Golden Eagles will host Tuesday's winner between 3-seed Coffee County Red Raiders (10-15, 4-4) and the 6-seed Spring Hill Raiders (2-19, 0-10) in the district quarterfinal from Manchester.
Shelbyville swept Spring Hill this season, but they split a pair of extremely tight matchups with Coffee County. The first meeting was a 55-48 (OT) win at home to open district play on January 14th, but the second game between these two was a 44-43 Coffee County victory on January 31st in Manchester.
Warren County (20-5, 8-1) finished as the top-seed in the district, but if they win their semi-final game, the Pioneers will have to travel to Rick Insell Gymnasium on Tuesday night in a potential rematch with their only district loss this season in the Golden Eagles.
DISTRICT 9-AA GIRLS
2-seed - CASCADE LADY CHAMPIONS (The Zinger 100.9 & AM 1400)
The Cascade Lady Champions (12-12, 4-4) wrapped up their regular season with an emphatic 72-12 win against region foe, Mt. Pleasant, on Thursday. By virtue of their tiebreaker over Grundy County (10-13, 4-4), Janie Demonbreum's Lady Champs clinched the 2-seed back on February 7th with a 49-44 win on the road against 5th-seeded Chapel Hill. After dropping their final District 9-AA contest against the 4th-seeded Community Viqueens, Cascade set their eyes on a rematch with Grundy County on Tuesday, February 18th.
Grundy County was awarded the right to host before the season, but they will be wearing their road uniforms in the District 9-AA Semi-final on Tuesday night. Cannon County wrapped up the top-seed weeks ago, and they will open at 6:00 p.m. against the winner of Chapel Hill and Community before Cascade and Grundy County take the court.
The Lady Yellow Jackets and the Lady Champions split the season series, with Cascade dismantling Grundy County at home, 56-29, on January 31 in response to blowing a 14-point halftime lead in a 72-62 loss in Coalmont on January 27th.
4-seed - COMMUNITY VIQUEENS
The Community Viqueens (11-16, 3-5) finished as the 4-seed after dismantling Chapel Hill (14-12, 2-6) , 56-40, to close out the regular season on Friday night. Their reward? A rematch against those same Lady Rockets, this time in a win-or-go-home play-in game on Monday night at 6:00 p.m. in Coalmont for the right to take on the top-seeded Cannon County Lionettes (17-6 7-1).
Cody Pierce's Viqueens swept the Lady Rockets this season, but Chapel Hill does hold a 56-54 win over the District 9-AA regular season champions for the Lionettes only district loss of the season on January 31.
Community took down Chapel Hill in the first meeting, 56-41, in Unionville back on January 24. The winner will move on to play against Cannon County the following night, Tuesday, February 18th, at 6:00 p.m. in Coalmont.
DISTRICT 9-AA BOYS
3-seed - CASCADE CHAMPIONS (The Zinger 100.9 & AM 1400)
The Cascade Champions (15-11, 5-3) will face off in the highly-anticipated rubber match against the hometown Grundy County Yellow Jackets (18-5, 6-2) on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. for the right to go to the District 9-AA Championship game.
The last time these two teams faced off, Chris Lawson's Cascade Champions closed on a 10-0 run in the final 90 seconds to hand Grundy County their second and final District 9-AA loss of the season, 65-49, at The Stable on January 31. Grundy County won the first meeting, 63-54, on January 27th at home despite trailing entering the fourth quarter.
Grundy County's senior superstar, Sam Parson, eclipsed the 2,000-point mark for his career against Community on February 7th, and he is trying to lead Grundy County to their second-consecutive District Title Game appearance.
4-seed - COMMUNITY VIKINGS
The Community Vikings (13-14, 2-6) had high hopes coming into this season, but so far have not lived up to those expectations. Closing out the regular season with a 68-63 win on the road against Chapel Hill (7-16, 0-8), the Vikings reward is to play the Rockets for a third time this season in a win-or-go-home District 9-AA play-in game on Monday night in Coalmont at 7:30 p.m. for the right to take on Cannon County (19-8, 7-1) on Thursday night at 6:00 p.m.
Robbie Davis' Vikings swept the Rockets this season with the first win coming in Unionville on January 24th, 71-62. Both games were close, so expect this do-or-die matchup to be an exhilarating bout as well as the Vikings look to punch their ticket to the Region 5-AA Tournament once again.
