Basketball playoffs begin for both Catawba Ridge and Fort Mill starting Wednesday.
Some first round match-ups are Wednesday, while other first round games are Thursday. For Fort Mill boys’ and Catawba Ridge girls’ both will tip off Wednesday.
Both teams are hosting first round games, while Fort Mill will play Spring Valley at 7 p.m. and the Catawba Ridge girls will play Irmo in the 4A playoffs also at 7 p.m.
The Jackets, 19-5 on the season, will host a Spring Valley team that finished fourth in Region 4-5A and comes in at 12-14 overall. Fort Mill is back in the playoffs for the first time since the 2018-2019 season. Fort Mill finished the regular season ranked 10th in 5A.
Catawba Ridge enters the first round with a 20-2 record and goes back to the playoffs for the third season in a row. Irmo comes in as a No. 4 seed with a 6-17 record. The previous two seasons the Copperheads haven’t made it past the first round, but have made it to the playoffs all three years of their existence. This is their best chance to advance out of the first round. The Copperheads are ranked third in 4A in the latest poll.
On Thursday, both Fort Mill and Nation Ford girls and the Catawba Ridge boys will all have road playoff games.
The Fort Mill girls will travel to Spring Valley to take on the 15-9 No. 2 seed Vikings. Fort Mill girls finished the regular season at 9-17, but made it back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-2020 season. The two teams met earlier in the season with Spring Valley coming away with a 51-34 win at home.
The Nation Ford girls have the shortest bus ride, but probably the tallest task heading to Rock Hill to take on the Bearcats, who are ranked No. 1 in 5A. Nation Ford finished the regular season at 6-19 and is the fourth seed coming out of Region 3-5A. Rock Hill opens the playoffs at 21-3 overall. Nation Ford girls are back in the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-2020 season.
The Catawba Ridge boys made the playoffs for the first time and will head to AC Flora in Columbia. Catawba Ridge finished the regular season at 20-5 and AC Flora finished their regular season at 20-6, making the game and match-up an intriguing one for both schools. Catawba Ridge finished the regular season ranked eighth in 4A and AC Flora finishing ranked second.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
