The Class 3A-4 district basketball tournament will begin on Saturday at host schools who finished in the bottom half of the conference standings. Home sites were determined by the higher order of finish between the paired opponents. Winners of Saturday’s games will advance to play quarterfinal teams who have byes on Saturday.
Girls quarterfinals games will be played on Monday, and boys quarterfinals will be played on Tuesday. Of course, all of this is dependent on the weather forecast that at this point is pretty bleak for most of next week. The added variable to this year’s tournament is the additional precaution that is being taken to mitigate the risk of COVID spread by playing the games at each schools’ campuses of the higher seeded team in the pairings. So, simply said, that increases the travel requirements for teams when at the same time there is a forecast of snow, ice, and frigid temperatures that could make travel hazardous. For example, teams traveling to and from Cossatot River and to all points in the conference face tough road conditions on state highways. So, the status of the tournament will be a day-to-day proposition as coaches and administrators deal with all of these factors while trying to keep the tournament on schedule for next week’s regional tournament in Bergman.
For Paris, the Lady Eagles will play at 1 p.m. on Saturday versus Waldron. The winner of Saturday’s game will advance to the quarterfinals to play at either Cedarville or Cossatot River. It will not be known until Friday night if Saturday’s winner will play the Lady Pirates or the Cossatot Lady Eagles.
The Paris Eagles senior boys team will play Danville on Saturday at 4 p.m. The winner of this game will advance to the quarterfinal to play at Booneville on Tuesday. The Bearcats are quarterfinalists and have a bye on Saturday and will be awaiting the outcome of Saturday’s game in Paris.
Beyond this information, details are very sketchy. Weather conditions and COVID mitigation have made this year’s district tournament a huge challenge for all of the 3A-4 conference schools. As information becomes available, Resident Press will bring it to you. Stay with Resident Press for the latest on the district tournament, and good luck to all of the teams as they compete for regional seeds to compete for the chance to go to this year’s state tournament!
