6 Marquee Matchups in Northeast Ohio Girls Basketball

Wednesday, Jan. 11 is roughly the midway point of the Northeast Ohio High School Girls Basketball regular season and coincidentally, there are pivotal matches throughout the region this evening, which will go a long way in determining conference championship runs.

Here are six marquee matches that should feature some close contests and have high stakes on the line.

Great Lakes Conference

Elyria Catholic (9-2, 4-0) @ Bay (10-2, 3-1)

The winner of this match will be in first place in the Great Lakes Conference.

EC started the season 7-0, but lost two close games to Walsh Jesuit and Euclid.

Bay started the season 1-2, but has won nine straight games and looks to hand the Panthers their first conference loss.

Greater Cleveland Conference

Solon (8-2, 6-0) @ Mentor (9-2, 6-0)

These two teams each went through all of their GCC schedules unscathed the first time through and now meet to determine who will sit alone in first place in the conference.

The GCC looks to be a two-team race and while Mentor comes in as a bit of an underdog, it can’t hurt the Cardinals’ chances to have the home crowd on their side.

Non-Conference

Padua (10-1, 3-0) @ Lake Ridge (8-3)

This game features two of the most-talented teams in the region.

Lake Ridge has been playing short-handed due to injuries, but has a deep roster and still presents a formidable challenge.

Patriot Athletic Conference: Stars Division

Buckeye (6-4, 5-1) @ Keystone (9-3, 6-0)

These two teams have yet to face off this season and Buckeye has a chance to overtake first place in the PAC with a win on the road.

Keystone, led by McKenah Peters (23.3 ppg), is looking to win the PAC for the third-straight season.

Patriot Athletic Conference: Stripes Division

Columbia (5-5, 5-1) @ Lutheran West (8-3, 5-1)

The winner of this match will take sole possession of first place in the PAC Stripes Division. Lutheran West’s one loss in PAC play came against Keystone, while Columbia was defeated by Buckeye.

Both of these teams have won five-straight conference games after dropping their PAC openers.

Southwestern Conference

Lakewood (8-3, 6-2) @ Westlake (8-2, 6-2)

These two teams are tied for third place out of ten teams in the SWC. Westlake is the only team in the conference to defeat Amherst Steele (9-2, 7-1) and a win over Lakewood would keep the Demons alive and well in the conference title race.

Lakewood has already lost to Amherst and Berea-Midpark (9-1, 7-1) and if the Rangers fall to Westlake, the hunt for the SWC crown becomes a bit more of an uphill battle.

Whichever team can win this one, in what should be a competitive game, the team left standing with two losses in the conference will be in great shape to make a run for first place in the SWC.

We’ll have a full preview coming shortly for the Bay-Elyria Catholic game and also will preview some of Saturday’s great matches later this week.