Division III Girls Basketball Preview

By Mike Parris

February 18, 2008, 5:00PM

Similar to Division II, upsets have been plentiful to date in the Division III tournament, Of the 15 teams represented in the final regular season AP poll, one-third (5) have had quick exits in tournament play. However, the top five ranked teams all remain alive and will put their skills on display this weekend in district semifinal action.

Here are some of the district games on tap to watch.

Casstown Miami East vs. Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy

Both these fine teams have already advanced the Butler district final after narrow semifinal victories. Miami East, ranked fourth in the state, held off Anna HS 44-37 last weekend while CHCA was able to sneak past Middletown Madison 48-46. CHCA is ranked eight in the state and Middletown Madison was ranked sixth.

The CHCA-Madison contest was a fierce one that came down the final seconds. Trailing by one point in the final seconds, CHCA's Courtney Kust buried a 3-pointer with 2.6 remaining to secure the narrow victory. It was the first and only loss of the season for Madison, who bowed out at 21-1.

The Miami East-CHCA contest will take place February 23rd at 7pm.

Regina vs. Columbia Station

The state's second-ranked team, Regina (19-2) will look to advance against a game Columbia Station squad that already has two postseason wins under its belt.

But the going won't be easy against Regina, who boast one of the most electrifying offenses in the state. They have won their first two games in convincing fashion, pummeling the opposition with a ruthless attack. They followed up a 64-point victory over Brooklyn with an incredible 79-point win over Cleveland Horizon Science Academy last week. They averaged nearly 90 points per game in the process.

Much of the reason for the offensive onslaught is the play of guard Shay Selby. The fifth-ranked point guard in the country, Shelby will play at Duke next season. The 5-foot-9 talent was selected to participate in the WCBA National All-Star Game in April.

Versailles vs. Cincinnati Roger Bacon

The state's top ranked team in Division III, Versailles will take on an upstart Roger Bacon team that has seemed to have peaked at the right time.

A youthful Roger Bacon squad found themselves 8-8 nearing the conclusion of their season. However, they won three of their final four regular season games and have cruised thus far through three postseason contests, winning each game by 19 or more points. Leading the way is All-GGCL perfomer Style Harper.

They will have to play even better against Versailles, who remains unbeaten at 23-0 and boast an unforgiving defense. Through three postseason contests, the Tigers have allowed a total of 45 points (15 ppg) including an incredible 89-3 shellacking of Preble Shawnee in sectional play.
Only once this season has a team remained within single digits of the Tigers.

The leader is senior post Justine Raterman, who averages over 19 points per game.