The brackets for the 38th Annual IHSAA Girls Basketball State Tournament were filled yesterday afternoon with a record number of teams for the ninth consecutive year.

A total of 399 schools, one more than last year, and 5,433 student-athletes are set to participate in the tourney which begins in nine days.

Sectional games are scheduled to begin Tuesday, Feb. 5, and run through Saturday, Feb. 9, with the regional round slated for Feb. 16 and semi-states on Feb. 23. The four state championship games that make up the state finals will be played at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute for the second year on Saturday, March 2.

Columbus North, the top-ranked team in the Class 4A poll from the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association, as well as the single class poll from the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association, drew a bye in Sectional 14 at Columbus East and will face the East Central-Bloomington North winner in the semifinals.

In Class 3A, No. 1 Hamilton Heights will host Muncie Southside in Sectional 24.

Class 2A No. 1 Evansville Mater Dei, the defending state champion, takes on South Spencer in the opening game of Sectional 48 at Forest Park.

Fort Wayne Canterbury, the top team in Class A and the defending champion, begins its quest for a fifth title in six seasons when it hosts Fort Wayne Blackhawk in Sectional 52.

Among the other defending state champions, Class 3A’s Fort Wayne Concordia will meet Leo in the Sectional 22 opener at Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger while last year’s 4A winner North Central (Indianapolis) will take on home-standing Westfield in Sectional 8.

Three member schools are eligible for tournament participation and will make their debuts in Class A this year: Faith Christian, Gary Lighthouse and Lakeland Christian Academy.

Northeast Dubois (Class 1A) continues to lead the state with 10 consecutive sectional championships followed closely by Elkhart Memorial and Fort Wayne Canterbury with nine straight.

Printable IHSAA Brackets by Class:

• 4A Sectional Brackets (includes Sagarin ratings in parentheses)
• 3A Sectional Brackets (includes Sagarin ratings in parentheses)
• 2A Sectional Brackets
• 1A Sectional Brackets

About the Draw
To conduct the random drawing for the girls basketball state tournament, the IHSAA places ping-pong balls representing each school in a given sectional into a lottery-style air mix machine. A motorized fan in the bottom of the machine blows the balls around the inside of the transparent container and air then forces each ball up through a tube in random order. For example, the first ball retrieved from the machine will be the visiting team in game one with the second ball representing the home team in game one. The third ball to come out is the visitor in game two and the fourth ball the home team in game two. That same method is followed through all 64 sectionals and 16 regionals.

No. of Schools Entered:  399 teams (state tournament record), 5,433 participants.

By Class: 101 4A teams; 99 3A teams; 100 2A teams; 99 1A teams.

Total No. of Games:  395 games in 26 days.

Defending State Champions
4A: North Central (Indianapolis) (Sectional 8 at Westfield).
3A: Fort Wayne Concordia (Sectional 22 at Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger).
2A: Evansville Mater Dei (Sectional 48 at Forest Park).
A: Fort Wayne Canterbury (Sectional 52 at Fort Wayne Canterbury).

Schools Entered for First Time (3)
4A: None.
3A: None.
2A: None.
A: Faith Christian (Sectional 54 at Rossville), Gary Lighthouse (Sectional 49 at Morgan Township), Lakeland Christian Academy (Sectional 52 at Fort Wayne Canterbury).

2012 Sectional Champions
4A: Anderson, Bedford North Lawrence, Ben Davis, Castle, Columbus North, East Chicago Central, Elkhart Memorial, Fort Wayne Snider, Fort Wayne South Side, Greenwood, Lawrence North, McCutcheon, Michigan City, Mooresville, North Central (Indianapolis), Penn.
3A: Edgewood, Fort Wayne Concordia, Gibson Southern, Griffith, Hamilton Heights, Jasper, Knox, Lebanon, Madison, Mt. Vernon (Fortville), NorthWood, Norwell, Scottsburg, South Bend St. Joseph, Tri-West Hendricks, Western.
2A: Bowman Academy, Centerville, Covenant Christian (Indianapolis), Evansville Mater Dei, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Fremont, Paoli, Park Tudor, Seeger, South Ripley, Sullivan, Tipton, Triton Central, Wabash, Winamac, Winchester.
A: Barr-Reeve, Borden, Clay City, Fort Wayne Canterbury, Jac-Cen-Del, Lafayette Central Catholic, Morgan Township, Northeast Dubois, Oregon-Davis, Randolph Southern, Riverton Parke, Southern Wells, Southwestern (Shelbyville), Tecumseh, University, West Central.

Schools that Won First Sectional Championship Last Year
4A: Greenwood.
3A: None.
2A: Centerville.
A: None.

Active Sectional Championship Streaks (Three or more years)
10: Northeast Dubois.
9: Elkhart Memorial, Fort Wayne Canterbury.
7: Lafayette Central Catholic.
6: Ben Davis, Southern Wells, Winchester.
5: Fort Wayne Bishop Luers.
4: Griffith, Jac-Cen-Del, Mooresville, Wabash.
3: Clay City, Fort Wayne Concordia, Fort Wayne Snider, Jasper, McCutcheon, South Ripley.

Most Consecutive Sectional Championships
18 by Rushville, 1980-97.

Top 10 All-Time Sectional Championships
27: Rushville.
24: Ben Davis.
22: NorthWood.
21: Bedford North Lawrence.
20: Kokomo, Valparaiso.
19: Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Sullivan.
18: Huntington North, Jasper.

Schools Seeking First Sectional Championship
4A: Fishers, Northridge, Northview.
3A: Guerin Catholic, Mishawaka Marian, Mount Vernon, Muncie Southside, Whitko.
2A: Central Noble, Churubusco, Cloverdale, Herron, Indianapolis Broad Ripple, Indianapolis Metropolitan, Lake Station Edison, Milan, Providence, River Forest, Sheridan.
A: 21st Century Charter: Gary, Baptist Academy, Cannelton, Christian Academy of Indiana, Covenant Christian (DeMotte), Cowan, Crothersville, Daleville, Elkhart Christian Academy, Faith Christian, Fall Creek Academy, Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, Frontier, Gary Lighthouse, Greenwood Christian, Hamilton, Howe, Indiana School for the Deaf, Indianapolis Marshall, International, Irvington Preparatory Academy, LaCrosse, Lakeland Christian Academy, Lakewood Park Christian, Lanesville, Liberty Christian, Marquette Catholic, Medora, Orleans, Rock Creek Academy, Seton Catholic, Shakamak, Shawe Memorial, Shoals, Trinity Lutheran, Westville.