If No. 2 Marion County makes it to Bowling Green for the Houchens Industries/KHSAA Girls’ State Basketball Tournament in March, it should like its chances of reaching the title game.
The draw for the Sweet Sixteen was held Friday, and it put the 5th Region, where Marion County is the clear-cut favorite, in the lower bracket, away from most of the power-region favorites in the upper bracket.
The 7th Region, home to No. 1 Manual, is matched against the 14th Region, where No. 4 Perry County Central is the team to beat.
The 6th Region, which includes No. 3 Mercy, has a first-round date with the 4th Region, where No. 4 Monroe County is the favorite.
The 9th Region, headed by No. 6 Boone County, No. 9 Notre Dame and No. 10 Ryle, is matched against the 11th Region, home to No. 13 Lexington Catholic and No. 14 Madison Central.
Marion County, whose main competition in the 5th Region is Elizabethtown, wouldn’t be without challengers in the lower bracket of the state tournament. The 5th Region’s first-round game will be against the 8th Region, which includes No. 7 South Oldham and No. 8 Anderson County.
Manual beat Marion County 56-54 in last year’s state semifinals. Manual lost to Rockcastle County in the finals.
