Tri-County, Witt-Birn girls get No. 1 seed

WAUSAU - The Tri-County girls basketball team entered the week with the Central Wisconsin Conference-10 championship clinched, ranked in the top five spots in Division 5 in The Associated Press state poll and had moved within a win of matching last season's victory total.

The Penguins (19-1) were also one of two local teams who received a No.1  seed for the WIAA girls basketball postseason when the brackets were released Sunday.

Wittenberg-Birnamwood, the co-leader in the Central Wisconsin Conference-8, received a top seed in Division 4 for the postseason, which begins next week. Tri-County and Wittenberg-Birnamwood were both No. 2 seeds last year in Divisions 5 and 3, respectively.

Girls basketball regional quarterfinals for all five divisions begin Tuesday across the state. Sectional semifinals will be held March 2 and the state tournament is set for March 9-11 at the Resch Center in Green Bay.

Here is a closer look at the opening-round matchups for local programs.

DIVISION 1

D.C. Everest earned the highest local seed in Sectional 1 as the No. 3 Evergreens host sixth-seeded Wausau West in a regional semifinal on Feb. 24. It is the third meeting between the two teams, who entered the week tied with Marshfield for first place in the Wisconsin Valley Confernece. West and Everest split the regular-season series with both programs winning on their home court.

Marshfield is seeded fifth in the sectional and faces No. 4 Chippewa Falls in a regional semifinal. The Tigers won a nonconference matchup at Chippewa Falls 73-64 on Feb. 7.

Stevens Point Area Senior High is seeded sixth and faces No. 3 Neenah, while No. 7 Wisconsin Rapids faces second-seeded Appleton West. Both matchups are the first games of the season between the two programs.

DIVISION 2

Merrill received the highest local seed in Sectional 1 as the No. 4 Bluejays host fifth-seeded Medford in a regional semifinal. The Bluejays beat the Raiders 44-20 on Nov. 29 in the second game of the season for both teams.

Seventh-seeded Mosinee hosts No. 10 Waupaca in a regional quarterfinal on Feb. 14 with the winner moving on to face No. 2 Lakeland. Other opening round matchups in the sectional include No. 9 Antigo at No. 8 Rhinelander and No. 11 Wausau East at No. 6 Shawano

The Antigo-Rhinelander winner faces top-seeded Hortonville in a regional semifinal, while either East or Shawano would travel to No. 3 New London. Ninth-seeded Adams-Friendship opens the postseason at No. 8 Lodi. The winner faces top-seeded Wisconsin Dells in a second-round matchup.

DIVISION 3

Amherst, the Central Wisconsin Conference-8 co-leaders, received a No. 2 seed in Sectional 2 and hosts either No. 7 Northland Pines or No. 10 Clintonville in a regional semifinal.

No. 11 Tomahawk travels to sixth-seeded Xavier for an opening-round matchup in the sectional. The winner faces No. 3 Peshtigo in a regional semifinal.

Nekoosa is seeded sixth in Sectional 3 and hosts No. 11 Westfield in a regional quarterfinal. The winner faces No. 3 Richland Center.

DIVISION 4

Top-seeded Wittenberg-Birnamwood earned a first-round bye in Sectional 2 and faces either No. 8 Crandon or ninth-seeded Auburndale in a regional semifinal.

Marathon reached the state semifinals last season and as a No. 3 this season, also received an opening-round bye. The Raiders host the winner of the game between No. 11 Spencer and No. 6 Crivitz.

Neillsville lost to Marathon in the sectional semifinals last year and is a No. 2 seed this year. The Warriors host either No. 7 Edgar or No. 10 Menominee Indian in a regional semifinal.

No. 4 Stratford opens the postseason against No. 13 Coleman and the winner faces whoever advances from the No.5 Bonduel/No. 12 Wabeno/Laona game

Iola-Scandinavia is seeded eighth and hosts St. Mary Catholic in an opening-round games. The winner faces top-seeded Manitowoc Lutheran. No. 11 Pacelli faces second-seeded Gibraltar with the winner moving on to face No. 3 Shiocton in a regional semifinal.

Abbotsford is seeded fifth in Sectional 1 and hosts Cheqaumegon in a opening-roundup matchup. The winner faces either No. 4 Grantsburg or No. 13 Cumberland in a regional semifinal. Colby received a No. 6 seed and host No. 11 Chetek-Weyerhaeuser. The winner faces No. 3 Washburn.

Tenth-seeded Athens opens the playoffs at No. 7 Ladysmith. The winner moves on to play No. 2 Cameron.

DIVISION 5

Top-seeded Tri-County opens the postseason with a regional quarterfinal game against No. 16 Pittsville.

Loyal, the co-leaders in the Cloverbelt Conference East Division, received a No. 2 seed and faces No. 15 Wisconsin Valley Lutheran. The winner faces either No. 7 Bowler or No. 10 Rosholt in a regional semifinal.

Newman Catholic is seeded third in the section and opens the postseasonn against No. 14 Greenwood. The winner faces either No. 6 Columbus Catholic or No. 11 Marion in the second round

Assumption, the defending Division 5 state champions, is seeded fifth and opens the postseason against No. 12 Tigerton. The winner faces whoever advances from the matchup between No. 4 Wild Rose/No. 13 Northland Lutheran.

Port Edwards is eeded eighth and hosts No. 9 Almond-Bancroft. The winner faces either Tri-County or Pittsville.

Owen-Withee is seeded fifth in Sectional 1 and hosts No. 12 Turtle Lake. The winner advances to face wither No. 4 Prentice or No. 13 Birchwood in a regional semifinal.

Tim Johnson: 715-845-0731, or timothy.johnson@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter @timmyjo11