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Bracket breakdown: D-10 girls basketball

Cochranton sophomore Alissa Dickson (13) and the Region 3 Champion Lady Cardinals look to be one of the teams to beat in Class 2A.

With playoff basketball beginning this weekend, it’s time to take a look at the class-by-class breakdown of this year’s District 10 tournament brackets. Below is a brief look at five of the six classes — as the only District 10 school competing at the PIAA’s largest classification, McDowell will once again begin its postseason in state sub-regional action.

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1A: The Kennedy Catholic girls have their sights set on making a run like their male counterparts did last season. If all goes according to plan, they can count on adding at least a District 10 Championship to their trophy case. At 21-1, the No. 1-ranked Lady Eagles are the top seed in a three-team Class 1A bracket with a 4-0 record against the other two.

Kennedy Catholic trounced Commodore Perry 52-19 and 58-28 while Farrell had slightly better luck, losing by scores of 45-34 and 64-37 in Region 1 action. The Lady Eagles’ only loss came to West Middlesex, one of the favorites in Class 2A. Farrell and Commodore Perry will play a semifinal game with the winner getting Kennedy on March 4.

2A: Cochranton and West Middlesex have been on course for a 2A Championship match-up all season long. Any deviation from that plan would take an upset, but there are a few teams in the field that may be capable of doing just that.

Cambridge Springs and Maplewood were both close to knocking off Cochranton in the regular season while West Middlesex has been beaten five times, albeit against tough opponents from different classes. The Lady Reds finished second in Region 1 behind Kennedy Catholic and Cochranton went undefeated in Region 3 action.

West Middlesex will play the winner of Saegertown and Iroquois while either Eisenhower or Rocky Grove will move on to play Cochranton. Other quarterfinal match-ups feature Reynolds taking on Maplewood and Cambridge Springs meeting Mercer.

3A: Of the six playoff brackets, Class 3A may be the toughest to pick a winner. North East, Wilmington, Lakeview and Seneca can all make a reasonable argument as to why they should be the favorite while upset-minded Sharon and Sharpsville shouldn’t be overlooked.

Action begins in the round of eight with Wilmington vs. Sharpsville, Seneca vs. Greenville, North East vs. Sharon and Lakeview vs. Northwestern slated for a busy February 25. Barring an early upset, the Class 3A semifinals should be one of the more interesting rounds to watch in District 10 this postseason.

4A: With due respect to Oil City, Class 4A in District 10 comes down to Villa Maria and Mercyhurst Prep. Villa earned a pair of wins over Mercyhurst Prep in the regular season — 41-26 and 40-27 — but the Lady Lakers are riding a five-game win streak that includes an impressive victory over Warren this past Wednesday.

Titusville and Franklin chose to opt out of the playoffs, leaving just three teams left to compete for the title. Last year’s state runner-up Villa Maria has a bye all the way to the championship game while Mercyhurst Prep takes on Oil City in semifinal action.

5A: Warren fans saw firsthand how much parity existed in Region 6 during the regular season. Throw in some quality teams from Region 5, and the District 10 Class 5A girls tournament won’t be one to miss.

Harbor Creek won the Region 6 title on the last night of league games while three teams — Warren, Fort LeBoeuf and Central Tech — tied for second. Slippery Rock, Girard and Hickory are the top seeds out of Region 5, and no team looks to have an easy path through the bracket.

First round games include Warren vs. Grove City and General McLane vs. Corry with the winners playing Slippery Rock and Harbor Creek, respectively. Fort LeBoeuf takes on Hickory and Girard meets Central in the other round of eight games scheduled for February 25.

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District 10 teams in the current state rankings: Kennedy Catholic (No. 1 in 1A), Villa Maria (No. 3 in 4A).

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