Sixteen teams will battle Feb. 27 for the right to play for a state championship as the 35th Annual IHSAA Girls Basketball State Tournament rolls on to the semistate round. Each of the four sites will host a doubleheader, with two of last year’s state champs in position to get back to the state finals to defend their crowns.
Class 4A top-ranked Ben Davis (26-0) would tie the state record for consecutive victories with a win over No. 4 Floyd Central (25-1) in the second game at Southport. The Giants won all 30 games last season, and a victory on Saturday evening would equal the mark of 57 set by Fort Wayne Northrop from 1985-87.
No. 2 Fort Wayne Canterbury (23-2), the two-time defending Class A champion, will have a shot at a third straight title if it can get by fourth-ranked Turkey Run (20-5) at the Warsaw Semistate. Top-ranked Vincennes Rivet (25-0), which fell to Canterbury in last year’s title game, is attempting to get back to the state championship game but will have to fend off No. 7 Waldron (22-3) at Bedford North Lawrence.
Top-ranked Rushville (24-2) will try to end the longest semistate championship drought this weekend when it takes on No. 5 Evansville Memorial (23-3) in Class 3A action at Bedford North Lawrence. The Lions last played in the state finals in 1993, falling in the afternoon semifinal game.
No. 12 Fort Wayne Luers (17-7), which takes on Winamac (19-6) in 2A action at Warsaw, will look to win a state-best seventh semistate crown. The Knights have also won a state-record five championships, the last coming in 2006 in 3A.
Of historical note …
Looking for first semistate title (8 of 16)
4A – Floyd Central, Merrillville
3A – Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran, Griffith
2A – Winamac, Winchester
A – Turkey Run, Waldron
Looking to break semistate championship drought (five or more years)
17: Rushville (1993)
11: Austin (1999)
9: Fort Wayne Snider (2001)
Most consecutive semistate championships
4: Noblesville (1987-90), Fort Wayne Luers (1999-2002), Heritage Christian (2006-09), South Bend Washington (2006-09)
Top 10 all-time semistate championship leaders
6: Fort Wayne Luers
5: Heritage Christian, Kokomo, Valparaiso
4: Bedford North Lawrence, Ben Davis, Columbus East, Crown Point, Noblesville, Shenandoah, South Bend Washington, Warsaw
2008 state champions still alive
4A: Ben Davis
A: Fort Wayne Canterbury
2008 state finals teams still alive
4A: Ben Davis
A: Fort Wayne Canterbury, Vincennes Rivet
Former state champions still alive
4A: Ben Davis (2000, 2001, 2009), Fort Wayne Snider (1988)
3A: None
2A: Fort Wayne Luers (1999 (2A), 2000 (2A), 2001 (2A), 2002 (3A), 2006 (3A))
A: Fort Wayne Canterbury (2008, 2009)
First-time regional champions
4A: Floyd Central, Merrillville
3A: None
2A: Winchester
A: Turkey Run, Waldron
Regional championship drought breakers (five or more years)
17: Winamac (1993)
10: Griffith (2000)
9: Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran, Fort Wayne Snider (2001)
Repeat regional champions
4A: Ben Davis
3A: None
2A: Austin
A: Fort Wayne Canterbury, Vincennes Rivet
Finally, here is the Saturday lineup:
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