IHSAA Girls Basketball Semistate Pairings Feb. 21; State Finals Feb. 28

Northridge (20-7) opens the semistate slate against McCutcheon (22-5) at LaPorte, with Game 1 set for 10 a.m. CT (11 a.m. ET) Saturday, Feb. 21; Crown Point (23-4) faces Norwell (23-4) at noon CT (1 p.m. ET), and the Class 4A LaPorte championship will tip at 8 p.m. CT (9 p.m. ET). Winners from each semistate advance to the state finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday, Feb. 28.

The IHSAA announced pairings Sunday, Feb. 15, after its live semistate draw. "The pairings were determined by a lottery-style draw," and "The semi-state round next Saturday, Feb. 21, features two semifinal games in the early part of the day, followed by a championship game at night." Each site fields four teams in two semifinal games with the night cap deciding who goes to Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Across Class 4A, Jasper hosts Floyd Central (23-3) vs Lawrence Central (21-4) at 10 a.m. ET and Center Grove (26-0) vs Evansville Reitz (21-2) at noon ET, with the Jasper championship at 8 p.m. ET. Center Grove’s 26-0 record makes it the clear statistical favorite in Jasper, while Crown Point and Norwell, both 23-4, stake their claims in LaPorte’s bracket.

Class 3A semistates put Bellmont (22-3) vs Culver Academies (22-5) at Logansport at 10 a.m. ET and Connersville (20-7) vs Fairfield (20-6) at noon ET, with the Logansport title game at 8 p.m. ET. Southport’s 10 a.m. ET game pairs Washington (22-4) and Jennings County (19-6), followed by Northview (20-6) vs Roncalli (25-3) at noon ET and a Southport championship at 8 p.m. ET.

In Class 2A Frankfort, Lapel (22-4) meets Bremen (23-2) at 10 a.m. ET and Whitko (25-1) faces Oak Hill (22-3) at noon ET, with the nightcap at 8 p.m. ET. Greencastle hosts Heritage Christian (19-8) vs Parke Heritage (19-7) at 10 a.m. ET and Eastern (Pekin) (18-7) vs North Knox (19-6) at noon ET, with its championship at 8 p.m. ET.

Class A/1A semistates send winners into the Gainbridge program as well. Huntington North pairs North Miami (18-8) and Elkhart Christian (22-4) at 10 a.m. ET, followed by Fremont (26-2) vs Monroe Central (21-2) at noon ET; Charlestown opens with Evansville Christian (19-6) vs Borden (22-4) at 10 a.m. ET and Greenwood Christian (16-10) vs Tindley (17-5) at noon ET. All site championship games are scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Feb. 21.

State finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse are set for Saturday, Feb. 28: Class A/1A at 10:30 a.m. ET, Class 2A at 12:45 p.m. ET, Class 3A at 6:00 p.m. ET and Class 4A at 8:15 p.m. ET. With programs such as Center Grove (26-0), Fremont (26-2), Whitko (25-1) and Roncalli (25-3) carrying eye-catching records, the week between semistate and state finals will be a scramble for logistics, scouting and gym time as communities prepare for Gainbridge Fieldhouse exposure.

Note on scheduling: All times are Eastern except at LaPorte, where the IHSAA list is printed in Central Time; LaPorte’s 10 a.m., noon and 8 p.m. CT correspond to 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET. Local northern entries of particular interest include Northridge, Culver Academies, Fairfield, Bremen, Whitko and Elkhart Christian as they chase state-court appearances.