Coach Clifford Kirk’s Lady Trojans held a one-game edge on the Lady Mustangs for the season, but Walker Valley could have taken away the top seed with a win and a second win this afternoon at Cleveland.
Instead, the Lady Mustangs suffered a hard-fought 1-0 setback and are forced to defeat the Lady Raiders at 5 p.m. today to clinch the No. 2 seed overall.
If Walker Valley wins today, it and Ooltewah will have matching 9-3 district records. The Lady Mustangs will take the No. 2 tournament spot by virtue of two regular-season wins over the Lady Owls.
The district tournament will begin Friday with seeds 2, 3 and 4 playing at home, and Soddy-Daisy enjoying a first-round bye. The tournament advances to McMinn County High School Saturday, following Friday’s first three games.
If Walker Valley defeats Cleveland today, the Lady Mustangs will host Bradley Central in a first-round game at 10 a.m. Friday morning. The other two first-round games will have Rhea County playing in a 5 p.m. game at McMinn County and Cleveland playing a 6 p.m. game at Ooltewah.
If Cleveland were to upset Walker Valley today, the Lady Mustangs and Ooltewah would switch first-round opponents Friday. The time of the Walker Valley game could also change.
Tournament play is scheduled at McMinn County Saturday with five games with a trio of elimination games and the winner’s bracket semifinals.
Saturday’s schedule (if Walker Valley defeats Cleveland today) will have the Ooltewah-Cleveland loser playing the Walker Valley-Bradley loser at 11 a.m.
At 1 p.m., the Ooltewah-Cleveland winner will take on the Walker Valley-Bradley winner. The 3 p.m. game will have Soddy-Daisy getting its first taste of competition against the Rhea-County-McMinn County winner.
Closing out the day on Saturday will be two loser’s bracket games. At 5 p.m., the Soddy-Daisy-McMinn/Rhea loser will play the survivor of the loser’s bracket opener. At 7 p.m., the McMinn County-Rhea County loser will play the loser of the loser of the Ooltewah-Cleveland winner vs. the Walker Valley-Bradley winner.
Tournament play will continue Monday with a loser’s bracket semifinal at 5 p.m. and the winner’s bracket final at 7 p.m. The loser’s bracket final will be played at 5 p.m. Tuesday, with the winner advancing against the winner’s bracket survivor at 7 p.m. A second championship game, if needed, will be played at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Admission to all tournament sessions at McMinn County will be $5.
