Recap from the last week: Maryland Public School Girls Basketball
Congratulations to all the district championship winners: Gwynn Park, Poly, South River, Catoctin, Frederick, Hammond, Pikesville, Bethesda, North Point, Westminster, Fallston, and Mountain ridge.
We are now in Playoff mode. MPSSA’s version of March Madness. Every team is now one and done. The regular season records do not matter. Programs must take things one game at a time, play sound defense, and don’t beat yourself. Before the season began, I made the final 4 predictions in each region. Please refer to my articles back in November. Most of my predictions have won their conference championship. I will stick with my picks for some regions, it is playoff time. This is your one stop shop for all region previews.
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1A Region Preseason Final 4 Prediction: Forest Park, Mountain Ridge, Pikesville, Patterson Mill
The potential Southern vs Mountain Ridge matchup will be a battle in the 1A West 1 region.
Another good matchup could be South Carroll and Catoctin in the 1A West II region.
The rematch of the Baltimore County Championship between Loch Raven and Pikesville will decide the 1A South I region.
We should finally get the Forest Park vs Pikesville Championship matchup that fans have been waiting for the past 3 years.
My Current Final 4 Prediction for the 1A Region: Pikesville, Forest Park, Mountain Ridge, Catoctin.
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2A Region: Preseason Final 4 Prediction: Hammond, McDonough, New Town, FSK.
It seems like Newtown could be traveling to Hereford in the 1A North II regional. That is a must-see game. Gwynn Park, PG County champion is one of the hottest teams in the state and should get out of their region. They will have to get through Largo. Wicomico comes in as the only undefeated team in the state besides Hammond. They must get through Queen Anne. in the 2A East II region. Fallston, a previous state champion are tough as well as FSK who is new to the 2A. You can even throw Sparrows Point in there to win their region. This is Hammonds Region to lose. They are the top ranked team in my poll; however, anything could happen. To me this is one of the deepest and exciting regions. It would not surprise me to see a Hammond vs Newtown/Hereford winner in the championship game or a Wicomico or FSK matchup. My sleeper is Gwynn Park. Good Luck to Everyone.
My Current Final 4 Prediction for the 2A Region: Hammond, New Town, Wicomico, Gwynn Park
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3A Region: Preseason Final 4 Prediction: Oxon Hill, Poly, River Hill, Dulaney
The 3A West Region 1 offers Westminster, Linganore, Oakdale and ManValley. I am taking Westminster in to win that region. Poly should breeze through their region. Sherwood or Damascus should come out the 3A West region II. Look for Dulaney, Towson, Milford, and Catonsville to battle it out in the 3A North I. Howard with their experience should win their region. The Oakland Mills River Hill showdown should be interesting. Unfortunately, two of AA County’s best (South River and Severna Park) will have to play one another to decide the 3A East I region. The problem with this region is that you have about 8-11 teams with at least eighteen wins. The reseeding for the “Top 8” after the regions will be brutal for the top 2 seeds, this could mean defending state champion Howard could play the top seed in a 1 vs 8 matchup. Defensively Poly are as solid as they come. South River, River Hill and Severna Park will be right there but when it is all said and done the Lady Engineers from Cold Spring Lane should be 3A Champions.
My Current Final 4 Prediction for the 3A Region: South River, River Hill, Poly, Dulaney
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4A Region: Preseason Final 4 Prediction: Western, Bethesda CC, C.H. Flowers, Seneca Valley
Bowie, Broadneck and North Point should battle in out in the 4A East II region. Western and C. H. Flowers should breeze through their regions. Frederick, Clarksburg, and Seneca Valley have a brutal bracket in the 4A West I region. Richard Montgomery, Albert Eistein, and Bethesda will see the same usual Mo. County teams in their brackets. 4A South I and 4A East I are the weaker regions, coin toss. This region is the primary reason the MPSSA should look into ranking the top 8 teams from regular season and then giving them each a region similar to the NCAA tourney. Six of the top 8 teams are in 2 regions. At the beginning of the season, I had Seneca Valley winning the whole thing. They suffered some injuries and had some lapses in the big games. This an unpopular pick but I believe in their program and believe they can get over the Clarksburg hump. They have some seniors that may get them through it. If they cannot make it out the region expect the winner between Bowie and North Point to grab the final spot. I believe Bethesda and C. H. Flowers could be locks for the final 4 as they are the top 2 seeds in the regions and once the reseeding happens, they will get two of the weaker region champs. Clarksburg has the talent to win it all and Frederick has had a stellar year as well. The reseeding in this region could if the key. Watch out for North Point and Broadneck can get out of their region. Western is also a great pick however I believe their potential match up with the 4A east II region of the 4A West I region will hurt their chances at the final four. As for my actual pick. I must go with C. H. Flowers, their press/traps are disruptive, and they don’t let up. I expect them to bounce back from their PG County championship loss with a state title. Good Luck to all teams.
My Current Final 4 Prediction for the 4A Region: C.H. Flowers, Bethesda, Seneca Valley, Bowie
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