FILE PHOTO
Classical’s Paris Wilkey and Beverly’s Tessa Armbruster will meet again in the first round of the playoffs.
By CONNER GRANT
The MIAA girls’ basketball state tournament brackets were released Friday afternoon, with many local teams set to begin their playoff runs next week. The first round of the tournament will kick off on Tuesday.
The Lynn Classical team (14-8) grabs the No. 9 seed in a tough Division 1, and will set to square off against a familiar opponent, No. 8 seed and Northeastern Conference foe, Beverly.
In their two meetings this year, Classical fell twice to Beverly, once by just a point, and the other by 11 points.
“The key to this game is to get off to a good start” said Rams’ coach Tom Sawyer. “Both games this season we fell behind, and it took a lot of energy to crawl our way back.”
The Rams just missed earning a home game, and will have to take on Beverly on their home court on March 2 at 7 p.m.
Also in the Division 1 bracket is NEC champion, Revere, which landed the No. 4 seed and will take on No. 13 Arlington Catholic at home on Friday. The Patriots lost just two games in league play this season (one of which came against Classical), going 15-5 overall.
One of the highest-seeded local team, St. Mary’s (18-4), drew the No. 3 seed, and will have to wait for the winner of the Saugus and Georgetown tilt in the first round.
With the layoff, Spartans’ coach Jeff Newhall has the challenge of keeping the girls fresh during the wait.
“We scheduled scrimmages against Newburyport and Woburn, and continue to practice hard,” said Newhall.
But that layoff could work in the Spartans’ favor. No. 6 Georgetown (13-9) and No. 11 Saugus (9-11) will play on Wednesday, and the winner will have to take on the powerful Spartans on Friday night.
Saugus, a team that snuck into the playoffs with the lowest seed, will have their work cut out for them against Georgetown, but will look to go on the road and pull off an upset.
St. Mary’s rival Bishop Fenwick earned the second seed in the Division 3 bracket. Both the Spartans and Crusaders went 18-4 on the year and claimed a share of the Catholic Central League title. The two could very well meet again in the semifinals; Fenwick will have to go through the winner of No. 7 Amesbury and No. 10 Charlestown to get there. The Crusaders and Spartans have met twice this season, with Fenwick getting the better of St. Mary’s in both matchups.
In other rivalries, Swampscott and Marblehead both earned mid-level seeds in the Division 2 bracket, with 15-5 Swampscott earning the fifth seed, and 14-6 Marblehead grabbing the seventh.
Swampscott will take on No. 12 Dracut (10-10) in the first round at home on Wednesday, while Marblehead will square off against No. 10 Belmont (11-9) at home on Thursday.
Danvers (12-8) earned the No. 9 seed in Division 2, and will take on No. 8 Chelsea in what could be a tightly contested playoff game. The Falcons will go on the road on Tuesday.