McCaskey and Lancaster Catholic, who meet tonight in the first round of the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs, earned special distinction among local teams in the District 3 girls’ basketball playoff field.
The Red Tornado and the Crusaders earned the highest seedings in their respective playoff brackets.
McCaskey is seeded third in the Quad-A bracket, while Catholic earned a No. 3 seed in the Triple-A field.
McCaskey (20-4), which lost to Cedar Crest in a one-game playoff to determine the L-L League Section 1 championship last Friday, will face the winner of the Conestoga Valley-Red Land pigtail game in the first round on Feb. 20.
Catholic (21-2), which captured the L-L League Section 4 title, will take on the winner of the Delone Catholic-Lancaster Mennonite pigtail game on Feb. 21.
There are 18 local girls teams in the playoffs, though six of them must win pigtail games to qualify for the first round.
Here’s a closer look, bracket by bracket:
QUAD-A
Joining McCaskey in the bracket are five other L-L League teams: Cedar Crest (2), Hempfield (4), Warwick (9), CV (14) and Manheim Township (15).
Like CV, Township must also win a pigtail game to reach the first round.
The Blue Streaks (13-10) host 18th-seeded New Oxford (14-10) and the winner takes on Cedar Crest in the first round.
Hempfield will get the winner of a pigtail game between Reading (13) against Waynesboro (20).
Warwick will meet Central Dauphin (9), with the winner getting the No. 1 seed, reigning Quad-A runner-up Red Lion, which fell to McCaskey in last year’s district finale.
TRIPLE-A
Many local basketball fans did a double take when perennial power Delone Catholic moved from Double-A to Triple-A this season.
Delone Catholic was a district semifinalist and a Double-A Eastern finalist last season.
Lancaster Mennonite (19) will take on Delone (14) in a pigtail game, and the winner gets Lancaster Catholic, the two-time reigning district champion, in the first round.
Meanwhile, Lampeter-Strasburg (8) will take on Dover (9) in the first round on Feb. 21, while three other L-L League teams must win pigtails to advance:
Section 3 champ Lebanon (13) will host Twin Valley, with the winner getting two-time reigning runner-up Palmyra (4).
Manheim Central (17) will host Mechanicsburg (2), with the winner getting the No. 1 seed, Muhlenberg.
And Elco (18) will travel to Fleetwood (15), with the winner getting the No. 2 seed, Boiling Springs.
DOUBLE-A
Just one local team in this bracket: Columbia (14), which faces Schuylkill Valley (3) in a first-round game on Feb. 20.
Trinity is the No. 1 seed.
SINGLE-A
Just 13 teams in this bracket, with first-round byes going to the No. 1 seed, defending champ Reading Central Catholic, the No. 2 seed, Lancaster Country Day, and the No. 3 seed, Lititz Christian.
Lebanon Catholic (5) will take on Steel-High (12) and Lancaster Christian (7) will meet Living Word Academy (10) in first-round games on Feb. 21.
JEFFREY REINHART
