IGHSAU releases 1A, 2A, 3A brackets

The path to the state tournament is known for all of the area's small school girls basketball teams. The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released its 2021 postseason pairings for the smaller three classes on Thursday. Classes 4A and 5A won't come out until Monday.

Two Union area coverage teams were given No. 2 seeds in their respective brackets. In Class 1A, No. 9 Winfield-Mt. Union was given the second seed in Region 6. In Class 2A, Van Buren County was given the second seed in Region 3.

Class 1A Region 6 includes four Union area coverage teams, all in the bottom half of the bracket. In the first round on February 11, WMU hosts Holy Trinty with the winners facing off with either Calamus-Wheatland or Lone Tree. New London will be at No. 10 Notre Dame for a first round matchup, while WACO hosts Highland. The winner of those two games will play in the next round.

WMU is set to host three regional tournament games, including the regional semifinals. Whoever comes out of the bottom of the bracket would likely face No. 8 Springville, who has the top seed in the region. That game would be played at a site to be announced later.

Keota will be playing in Class 1A Region 6, where they will head to Iowa Valley for a first round game. If the Eagles can get past Iowa Valley, they will travel to play at No. 7 Montezuma, the top seed in that region.

Van Buren will face either Cardinal or Louisa-Muscatine in the Region 3 quarterfinals. Comets and Falcons will play at Louisa-Muscatine on February 13, with the winner playing VBC in Keosauqua. Van Buren would also host a regional semifinal against Mediapolis or Iowa City Regina.

The top team in Class 2A Region 3 is No. 3 West Branch. West Branch knocked Van Buren out in the regional finals last season.

The Pekin Panthers might get their shot at top-seeded West Branch, but they have to get past Pella Christian first. Pekin plays at Pella Christian during the quarterfinals with the winner moving on to face the top dog.

If Mid-Prairie is going to make a run, they'll have to go through some tough competition. The Golden Hawks are in Class 3A Region 8, on the same side of the bracket as Central Lee, and No. 8 (3A) West Burlington.

Mid-Prairie will play at Central Lee in the quarterfinals on February 13. The winner will travel to West Burlington to either play the top-seeded Falcons or Albia.

To view all Class 1A, 2A and 3A pairings, visit https://ighsau.org/news/2021-regional-basketball-pairings-class-1a-2a-3a/.