2005 NCHSAA 4A State Sectionals...

Well ladies and gentlemen, this is the time we all have been waiting for. The 4A state playoffs begin Tuesday evening at 7 pm. I wish everyone the best of luck as we progress through the next three weeks. Here is a link to the brackets via the NCHSAA...

http://www.nchsaa.unc.edu/05 BKB Brackets/0405 4A BKB West Women.pdf

(notice, the brackets are being updated throughout the day as the NCHSAA receives the information for the different conferences throughout the west region.)

I also expect the North Carolina ihigh site to put out a bracket for the entire state later this afternoon once the NCHSAA can confirm all the seedings. I'll post a link when it comes available.

Remember, the winners of the 4 sectionals advance to the west regional in Winston-Salem. There will be a re-seeding of the teams after the sectionals to keep teams from the same conference from playing in a regional semifinal.

Later on in the day when the full brackets become available feel free to make comments and/or predictions on Tuesday's 1st round action. Good luck to everybody :xyzthumbs

 

Well, since the official brackets don't come out until Sunday we took a shot at them on our website. Take a look and see what you think.....

http://www.biggreencountry.com/2005_north_carolina_high_school.htm

 

Nice brackets RR23...

I won't comment on the Triad/Pac 6 teams because I have no clue about them. But I think there are some interesting matchups.

East Burke/North Meck could be really close. North Meck has LaPorsha Lowry who is about 6' 5" but if a team can rally force the issue on her you can get her in foul trouble. Only problem is that East Burke dosen't try to go inside. A lot of what they do is from the outside or at least jumpshots, not layups. East Burke also needs to be able to rebound, if they can keep North Meck one shot and done they'll have a chance. Wouldn't be a huge shock if East Burke wins. Helton needs to be hot from outside.


And Freedom/Garinger...Garinger likely wins and it may be by a fairly large margin, but trust me, Amber Fox will have Freedom prepared to play in that sweatbox that Garinger calls home. A big shooting night for Kristen Kidd would help but Kristen also needs to know to pass the shot up if her shot is not falling. The longer Freedom hangs around, the more interesting it gets. So if I was Garinger, I would want to lay it to the Lady Patriots early.

UPDATE: Vance actually plays Butler tuesday night. If my memory serves right, Butler has a bunch of short girls who just run up and down the court. Not much organization to their offensive scheme. I would be suprised if they beat Vance on Tuesday.

 

Thanks BigDan, I think they are pretty accurate. Looking at them, I think we (AC Reynolds) appear to be in the toughest sectional though. Having to play Hopewelll then South Meck, man there are some good teams in our little sectional. I don't see McDowell having too many problems to be honest with ya getting to Winston-Salem. As for Freedom and East Burke, well you never know which Freedom team will show up, the one that took us to OT, or the one that we blew out by 25 and was leading by 30+. I also look for EB to have a shot if Helton is shooting well, however when all is said and done I suspect AC Reynolds and McDowell will be the only ones playing on Thursday from the NW4A. I hope I am wrong, and I will be cheering for Freedom and EB, but winning on the road will be tough for Freedom, and EB will have their hands full with the big girl.

 

Geez, What's up with the NCHSAA? :huh: This is the slowest bunch of people I have ever seen put out the official playoff brackets. I was reading the online handbook and coaches were required to send in their team info by 8 am this morning. It's now 3 pm and not a word from the NCHSAA.

It dosen't take a genius to know which teams are where in each bracket?

 

Good thing or the NCHSAA would be screwed!

 

The NCHSAA got screwed when Michelle Hillison decided to leave them. She was the heart and soul of the ihigh site.

 

I would agree that the ihigh site hasn't been the same since Michelle left them, but that actually has nothing to do with the NCHSAA being slow getting things published on their own site.

But that's all moot now because they finally has updated it on the NCHSAA site, check the link at the top of the thread. Waddell and Butler are actually opposite from what I thought they were.

 

Can a Meck Co. girls' team break through?

Crop of 4A basketball teams are vying to win county's 2nd title

LANGSTON WERTZ JR.

Staff Writer


In the past 20 years, Mecklenburg County has produced seven N.C. 4A boys' basketball champions, six football champions, five volleyball champions, four soccer champions and 12 track titles.

But, so far, the county can't quite figure out girls' basketball.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has only one 4A title -- North Meck's in 1986. County schools have 17 regional appearances all time, spread out among eight teams, including six by West Charlotte. For comparison, two Northwestern 4A teams, McDowell and Morganton Freedom, have 22 combined regional appearances.

All time, two local teams have reached the N.C. 4A finals: North Meck and Vance, in 2003.

Will 2005 be any different?

Area coaches and officials think it might.

"I told someone about two years ago that I thought that this year someone from Charlotte could do some damage in the playoffs," South Mecklenburg coach Troy Gaston said. "We've been seeing the level of basketball maturity go up with local players. They're just getting better."

As the N.C. girls' playoffs begin tonight, the county has two teams ranked in the top 10 statewide: No. 5 Harding and No. 10 South Mecklenburg.

Three teams are ranked in the top 10 in the Observer's Sweet 16: Harding (4th), South Meck (6th) and Hopewell (8th).

Coaches say one of the biggest reasons they think a local team might be ready to break through is because Charlotte AAU basketball is catching up to the rest of the state.

"AAU has really picked up here," Garinger coach Elmore Brown said. "So have our middle school programs. Girls come to us more skilled now. They're tougher. It's more of what you are used to seeing up in the mountains."

County athletics director Vicki Hamilton -- noting that more than 450,000 high school girls made basketball the most popular sport nationally last year -- said having a WNBA team in Charlotte has helped get more girls interested in the sport. She said CMS has partnered with UNC Charlotte to provide opportunities for area girls' players to attend camps, games and clinics, including next month's Conference USA women's tournament at UNCC.

"It all makes a difference," Hamilton said.

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You know, usually we are the hunters going on the prowl. It sure is nice for once to be the ones with the targets on our backs. It all begins in a matter of 3 hours, I can't wait!!! :xyzthumbs

 

Don't forget about our 4 appearences, here at AC Reynolds!