Standout Sophie Bussard will look to help Tippecanoe Valley claim a fourth straight sectional championship. The No. 7 Vikings will meet Lakeland in the opener of the Class 3-A Fairfield Sectional on Jan. 30 (File photo by Scott Davidson)

The road to a girls basketball sectional championship will be a long one for both Warsaw and Tippecanoe Valley.

The Tigers and the Vikings, that being said, both have to pretty pleased with how the draw shook out Sunday for postseason play which tips-off on Jan. 30.

The pairings for the 43rd annual state tournament series for the ladies was made by the IHSAA in Indianapolis. A total of 398 teams will begin sectional play with sectional title games set for Feb. 3. Four-team regionals are slated for Feb. 10 with semistates Feb. 17 and the State Finals Feb. 24.

Warsaw will see plenty of familiar foes in a very well-balanced Class 4-A sectional hosted by Concord this year. The Tigers, who have had a fine season at 13-8 under first-year coach Lenny Krebs, will play host Concord in a first-round game. Warsaw just defeated Concord 46-29 Saturday night at Warsaw.

The Tigers are 3-2 versus the sectional field with wins over Concord, Elkhart Memorial and Plymouth and losses to Goshen and Northridge.

No. 13 ranked Northridge is the favorite in the field at Concord, which boasts six teams with winning records. Coach Doug Springer’s Raiders are 20-3 and are 5-0 versus the field. Northridge, which won sectional and regional titles last year, drew the bye in the seven-team field at Concord and will face either Plymouth or Elkhart Central in the semifinals.

The sectional field at Concord this year includes Plymouth, which replaces Penn.

Valley will shoot for its fourth straight sectional crown in a loaded field at Fairfield. The Class 3-A No. 7 Vikings will face Lakeland in the opening game of the six-team tourney in Benton. Valley is 17-3 on the season and 2-0 versus the sectional field with wins over West Noble and NorthWood.

Fairfield, sporting a 17-2 mark and a No. 3 ranking, received a bye. The Falcons will meet the winner of West Noble-NorthWood in a semifinal game. West Noble is 17-5 and ranked No. 18. The Chargers are 5-1 versus the sectional field, including a 61-56 win over Fairfield.

Wawasee also received a bye at Fairfield and will face the winner of the Valley-Lakeland contest. The Warriors sit at 11-9 and will face Valley on Thursday night in Akron.  Wawasee defeated Lakeland 53-43 way back on Nov. 14.

Triton drew a bye in the Class 1-A Oregon-Davis Sectional. The Trojans, who are 10-11, will face the winner of the Oregon-Davis vs. LaCrosse contest. Triton is 3-2 versus the sectional field, including a 45-44 loss to OD on Jan. 3.

The host Bobcats are ranked No. 14 and boast a 4-1 record versus the sectional field. Argos is the defending champion in the OD field.

Lakeland Christian Academy will face host Bethany Christian in the 1-A sectional opener at Bethany. The Cougars, who are 12-8, lost 30-29 to the Bruins on Dec. 5 and 37-28 to them on Dec. 16. Lakewood Park, which is 11-5, is 5-0 versus the sectional field and Bethany is 5-1. Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian is the defending champion at Bethany.

Area sectional winners will compete in regionals at LaPorte (Class 4-A), Columbia City (Class 3-A) and Caston (Class 1-A).  The Concord Sectional winner will play the Penn Sectional champion at LaPorte. The Fairfield Sectional champ will face the Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger winner at Columbia City. At the Caston Regional, the OD winner will face the Morgan Township Sectional winner with the Bethany Christian champ facing the West Central Sectional winner.

Semistate hosts for the North are Valparaiso and Logansport with semistate assignments to be made by the IHSAA on Feb. 11 following regional play.

The State Finals will be contested Feb. 24 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Sectional Pairings
(NOTE: ALL TIMES EST)

Class 4-A
At Concord
Tuesday, Jan. 30: 6 p.m.: Game 1: Plymouth (10-10) vs. Elkhart Central (13-7)
Wednesday, Jan. 31: 6 p.m.: Game 2: Warsaw (13-8) vs. Concord (9-11)
Wednesday, Jan. 31: 7:30 p.m.: Game 3: Goshen (12-9) vs. Elkhart Memorial (10-9)
Friday, Feb. 2: 6 p.m.: Game 4: Northridge (20-3) vs. Game 1 winner
Friday, Feb. 2: 7:30 p.m.: Game 5: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner
Saturday, Feb. 3: 6 p.m.: Game 6: Championship Game

Class 3-A
At Fairfield
Tuesday, Jan. 30: 6 p.m.: Game 1: Tippecanoe Valley (17-3) vs. Lakeland (8-12)
Tuesday, Jan. 30: 7:30 p.m.: Game 2: West Noble (17-5) vs. NorthWood (14-7)
Friday, Feb. 2: 6 p.m.: Game 3: Wawasee (11-9) vs. Game 1 winner
Friday, Feb. 2: 7:30 p.m.: Game 4: Fairfield (17-2) vs. Game 2 winner
Saturday, Feb. 3: 7 p.m.: Game 5: Championship Game

Class 1-A
At Oregon-Davis
Tuesday, Jan. 30: 6:30 p.m.: Game 1: South Central (9-10) vs. Argos (10-8)
Tuesday, Jan. 30: 8 p.m.: Game 2: Oregon-Davis (9-10) vs. LaCrosse (13-6)
Friday, Feb. 2: 6:30 p.m.: Game 3: Culver (2-16) vs. Game 1 winner
Friday, Feb. 2: 8 p.m.: Game 4: Triton (10-11) vs. Game 2 winner
Saturday, Feb. 3: 7 p.m.: Game 5: Championship Game

Class 1-A
At Bethany Christian
Tuesday, Jan. 30: 7 p.m.: Game 1: Lakeland Christian Academy (12-8) vs. Bethany Christian (12-8)
Wednesday, Jan. 31: 6 p.m.: Game 2: Elkhart Christian Academy (8-7) vs. Lakewood Park Christian (11-5)
Wednesday, Jan. 31: 7:30 p.m.: Game 3: Fremont (10-10) vs. Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian (2-18)
Friday, Feb. 2: 6 p.m.: Game 4: Hamilton (0-18) vs. Game 1 winner
Friday, Feb. 2: 7:30 p.m.: Game 5: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner
Saturday, Feb. 3: 7:30 p.m.: Game 6: Championship Game