Girls Basketball Regionals: See which 9 SWFL teams reached the FHSAA playoffs
The FHSAA girls basketball state playoff brackets were released Sunday afternoon with regional play tipping off Thursday. Southwest Florida will be represented by five district champions and four at-large teams making the field.
Most area teams will have to go through powerhouse programs in Charlotte and Sarasota to reach the state final in Lakeland. Meanwhile, the road to the Class 2A Final Four will clearly need to pass through Evangelical Christian. Gulf Coast just missed out on one of the eight spots in their Class 7A region and no Class 4A teams reached the postseason.
Here is a look at each region involving a Southwest Florida team, including Thursday's schedule and our picks for the team to emerge from each region.
Teams in bold denote district champions. Teams in italics are local.
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CLASS 6A-REGION 3
(1) Charlotte vs. (5) Tampa Wharton
(4) Tampa Bay Tech vs. (5) Armwood
(2) Bloomingdale vs. (7) Hillsborough
(6) South Fort Myers vs. (3) Fort Myers
Analysis: We get an all-local matchup in the quartfinals with South Fort Myers (18-7) getting to host by virtue of being the District 6A-12 champs, while Fort Myers (18-6) in ranked higher but was the District 6A-11 runner-up. The teams played once during the season, a 59-40 Green Wave win. There are two Final Four teams in this region as Bloomingdale (24-2) reached the 6A Final Four last season as Charlotte (18-6) did in 5A. The Tarpons have played a tougher schedule after moving up a class and flexed on Fort Myers in the District 6A-11 championship.
Champion: Charlotte
Boys basketball: Breaking down the district tournaments, including projected winners
CLASS 5A-REGION 3
(1) Clearwater vs. (8) Naples
(5) Barron Collier vs. (4) St. Petersburg
(2) Port Charlotte vs. (7) Braden River
(3) Parrish vs. (6) Sebring
Analysis: By virtue of being a district champion, Barron Collier (17-11) gets to host higher-seeded St. Petersburg (16-7), which lost to Parrish in their district final. Naples (12-13) gets a date with the region's top seed in Clearwater (15-10). When Port Charlotte (16-11) is on, it can beat anybody, but the Pirates have been a bit inconsistent. Clearwater is coming out of an easy district and lost to Charlotte last season in the regional final so it does have playoff experience.
Champion: Port Charlotte
CLASS 3A-REGION 3
(1) Cardinal Mooney vs. (8) Bishop Verot
(4) Tampa Catholic vs. (5) Calvary Christian
(2) Brooks DeBartolo vs. (7) Bradenton Christian
(3) Tampa Prep vs. (6) Carrollwood
Analysis: Bishop Verot (16-9) had a great resurgence after going 5-17 last season, winning a district title, but is rewarded with a trip to the top seed. Cardinal Mooney (17-5) lost to Westminster by three points in last year's championship game so the Cougars have unfinished business to attend. Brooks DBartolo (15-10) beat Mooney by 3 during the season, but lost the district title game to Tampa Prep, 25-22.
Champion: Cardinal Mooney
Class 2A-Region 3
(1) ECS vs. (8) Universal Academy (Tampa)
(4) Seacrest vs. (5) St. Stephen's
(2) St. John Neumann vs. Sarasota Christian
(3) Keswick Christian vs. (6) Donahue
Analysis: ECS (21-4) is the clear favorite and needs to avoid looking ahead to the state Final Four and focus on each game. Neumann (18-7) may have been a threat, playing the Sentinels tough twice in losses, but with star player Sophia McCartney out with a hand injury, the Celtics don't have the firepower to keep up. The Celtics should end up facing Keswick Christian (20-7) in the semifinals and will need to get past the Crusaders for another shot at ECS. Seacrest (12-10) lost to Neumann in the district final and the regular season by 8 and 7 points, respectively, and should have the first shot at ECS, but lost to the Sentienls twice this season by a combined 70 points.
Champion: ECS
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Girls Basketball Regionals: Nine SWFL teams reached the FHSAA playoffs
