From the IHSAA –

About the Draw
To conduct the random drawing for the girls basketball state tournament, the IHSAA places ping-pong balls representing each school in each 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.

(1-21-24) Today the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) held the 2024 Girls State Basketball Tournament ‘Blind Draw’.

Sectional games are scheduled to begin Tuesday, Jan. 30, and run through Saturday, Feb. 3 with regionals on Saturday, Feb. 10. For the second year, the regional is a single-game championship, and the semi-state a two-game affair with the winner advancing to the state championship game. Two regional championship games will be played back-to-back at the same site with the winners finding out their next opponent and host site the following day. The semi-state games – scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 17 – will be randomly drawn and announced in a special pairings show via IHSAAtv.org.

The four state championship games that make up the State Finals will be played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis on Saturday, Feb. 24.

Top-ranked Hamilton Southeastern will host Westfield in the Sectional 8 opener. The Royals are the No. 1 team in both the 4A poll of the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association (ICGSA) and the single class poll from the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA).

In Class 3A, the No. 1-ranked Rensselaer Central Bombers drew a bye into the Sectional 22
semifinals played at Twin Lakes. They’ll await the West Lafayette-Frankfort first round winner.
The Class 2A poll shows the North Knox Warriors leading the field. They are set to host Sullivan
in the first round of Sectional 47.

And in Class 1A, the defending state champion Lanesville Eagles top the latest poll and are scheduled to play Christian Academy of Indiana in the Sectional 61 opening game at West Washington.

The Bedford North Lawrence Stars, the defending state champions in Class 4A, will begin their quest toward a sixth straight sectional title when they meet New Albany in the first round of Sectional 15 at Floyd Central.

Last year’s Class 3A state champion, the Fairfield Falcons drew the bye into the semifinals of Sectional 20 played at West Noble and await the Lakeland-Wawasee winner.

And the two-time defending 2A state champion Forest Park Rangers will face home-standing South Spencer in the opening game of Sectional 48

Stateline area brackets….

1A

2A

3A

4A

No. of Schools Entered: 390 teams.

By Class: 102 4A teams; 102 3A teams; 96 2A teams; 90 1A teams.

Total No. of Games: 386 games in 26 days.

Defending State Champions
4A: Bedford North Lawrence (vs. New Albany in Sectional 15 at Floyd Central).
3A: Fairfield (vs. Lakeland-Wawasee winner in Sectional 20 at West Noble).
2A: Forest Park (vs. South Spencer in Sectional 48 at South Spencer).
1A: Lanesville (vs. Christian Academy in Sectional 61 at West Washington).

Schools Entered for First Time (1)
MTI School of Knowledge (vs. Indiana Math & Science in Sectional 58 at Bethesda Christian).

Schools Playing Up One Class due to Tournament Success Factor
4A: South Bend Washington (host Michigan City in Class 4A, Sectional 3).
4A: Silver Creek (vs. Floyd Central in Class 4A, Sectional 15 at Floyd Central).

Most State Championships
7: Heritage Christian.
6: Fort Wayne Bishop Luers.
5: Bedford North Lawrence, Fort Wayne Canterbury.
4: Ben Davis.
3: Crown Point, Kokomo, Lafayette Central Catholic, North Central (Indianapolis), Tri-Central.

All-Time Consecutive State Tournament Victories
31: Heritage Christian, 2006-10.
26: Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, 1999-2002.
25: Fort Wayne Canterbury, 2008-11; Heritage Christian, 2014-17.
24: Kokomo, 1992-94.
23: Tri-Central, 2003-06.
20: Crown Point, 1984-86; Evansville Mater Dei, 2012-14; Fort Wayne Canterbury, 2012-14.
19: Northwestern, 2018-20.
17: Ben Davis, 2009-11.

Active Consecutive State Tournament Win Streaks
14: Forest Park.
7: Bedford North Lawrence.
6: Fairfield, Lanesville.

Active Sectional Championship Streaks (Three or more years)
12: Bedford North Lawrence.
5: Homestead, Lanesville.
4: Andrean, Bethesda Christian, Brownstown Central, Trinity Lutheran.
3: Bloomfield, Fairfield, Forest Park, Franklin Community, Hamilton Heights, Indian Creek,
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, Mt. Vernon (Fortville), Rushville Consolidated, South Bend
Washington, South Ripley, University.

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


Top 10 All-Time Sectional Championships
34: Rushville.
32: Bedford North Lawrence.
28: Ben Davis.
26: Jac-Cen-Del.
25: NorthWood.
24: Benton Central
22: Center Grove, Penn.
21: Castle, Crown Point, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Mooresville, North Knox, Valparaiso.