Girls tournament week

Last week it was all about the boys, and this week is all about the girls. While there were only a handful of basketball tournaments for the ladies last week, this week is when the bulk of the invites are taking place across the state. Here are some tournaments to follow throughout the next few days.

Monday was the start of play for the Berean Academy Tournament, the SPAA-IAA League Tournament and the Southeast of Saline Round Robin. The SES Invite features the likes of top-ranked Class 4A Concordia. They opened tonight with a 64-23 win over Ellsworth, and the host school, SES, beat Smoky Valley 56-47. The start of the Mulvane Wildcat Classic was postponed until Wednesday due to inclement weather.

Action picks up on Tuesday with the start of the Ell-Saline Mid-Season Tournament, the Sterling Classic and the Sedgwick Invitational, which all feature a bevy of local teams. Thursday is the start of some of the big tournaments and a lot of the state’s best will be participating.

Collegiate (9-0) will play in the Lady Cat Classic out in El Dorado, which begins on Thursday. They open the tournament with a 7:15 p.m. game with the host Wildcats. Collegiate is ranked second in 3A but should be tested if they make it to the championship round. Gardner-Edgerton (6-3) is on the other side of the bracket, and the Trailblazers are a top-10 5A team.

Bishop Carroll and Great Bend are both top teams in 5A and will participate in the Kapaun Invitational. The two wouldn’t meet until the championship game, but have a very good shot at getting there.

Defending 5A state champion McPherson hasn’t had as great a season as the Bullpups would have liked thus far, but have a chance to prove themselves at their own Mid America Classic. Buhler (8-1) looks to be the early favorite as the top seed and could meet Goddard (6-3) in the championship game, which would be a rematch of when they played earlier this season and Buhler came away with a 61-50 win.

The Newton Invitational should be another good one. Liberal (7-0) enters as the second best team in 5A and the top seed and will play the host Railers in the opening round. TMP-Marian (10-2) is one of the top teams in 3A and will open with Beloit (8-2). Rose Hill (9-1) is having a great season and is one of the top teams in 4A. They will face Garden City (5-4). Salina South (8-1) faces Andover Central (8-2) in its opener.

Traveling to Topeka from our area are Derby (4-3) and Wichita Northwest (4-4), where they will face the tough feat of matching up with some of the state’s best 5A and 6A teams in the T-Bird Classic. Washburn Rural (9-0), Shawnee Mission East (6-2) and Junction City (5-3) are all top 10 squads in 6A. Last year’s 6A state champion Lawrence (3-7) will also be there, and so will Shawnee Heights (6-2), who is one of the top 5A teams this year. Derby opens with Junction City, and Northwest plays Shawnee Heights.

Also on the Thursday, Wichita North squares off with Emporia at the Glacier’s Edge Invitational at Emporia. Then there’s the Haven Wildcat Classic where you can find several of the state’s best teams in 2A and 4A. Moundridge (10-) enters the Classic as the top-ranked team in 2A and opens as the top seed against Kingman. Salina Sacred Heart (9-1) is ranked fifth in 2A and could meet up with the fifth-ranked team in 4A, Haven (9-1), in the semifinals.

Check our site throughout the week as we will provide continuous coverage of this week’s tournaments.