Conant, Hinsdale get top seeds in D3 and D4 girls basketball playoffs

The playoffs are here for the girls basketball teams in Division III and IV. Both are scheduled to start the postseason on Tuesday, with Conant the top seed in D3 and Hinsdale the No. 1 team going into the D4 tourney.

Here are the pairings for both divisions:

Division III

Conant (17-1) got the No. 1 seed, despite losing the lone regular-season meeting with Bow (17-1) by three points on Jan. 18. But because the Orioles had a win over Con-Val, a Division II team, they finished with a higher rating than the Falcons, who have won 17 in a row after losing to Bishop Brady in the season opener.

With 27 teams in the division, the NHIAA scrapped the play-in round and went to a 20-team tournament for the division. The top 12 teams received a bye into the second round, while teams 13 through 20 will play in the opening round on Tuesday, with all games scheduled for 7 p.m.

The 13th seed is Fall Mountain (11-7), who will host No. 20 Newport  (5-13). The winner of that game will go on to play No. 4 White Mountains (15-3) on Thursday at 7 p.m.

No. 14 Farmington (9-9) will host No. 19 Franklin (6-12) in the opening round and the winner advances to take on No. 3 Bishop Brady (16-2) in the second round Thursday at 7 p.m.

Fifteenth-seeded Prospoct Mountain (8-10) hosts No. 18 Inter-Lakes (6-12) in the opening round, and the winner of that game moves on to face No. 2 Bow (17-1) at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

In Tuesday's final game, No. 16 Monadnock (7-9) hosts No. 17 Mascenic (6-12), and the winner advances to take on top-seeded Conant (17-1) at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

There are four other second-round games on Thursday, including No. 12 Campbell (11-7) playing at No. 5 Gilford (14-4) at 7 p.m.

No. 8 Mascoma (13-5) will host No. 9 Newfound (12-6) while No. 10 Winnisquam (12-6) heads to No. 7 Laconia (13-5) and No. 11 Hopkinton (12-6) plays at No. 6 Somersworth (14-4).

The winners of Thursday's second-round games advance to the quarterfinals, scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. at the home of the higher seed.

The division semifinals will be held Feb. 27, starting at 6 p.m., at Southern New Hampshire University, while the championship game will be held at 4 p.m. on March 2, also at SNHU.

Division IV

Hinsdale (18-0) enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed and only undefeated team in the division. That includes two wins over No. 2 Sunapee (16-2), the second of which was a 51-47 win last Friday.

The No. 1 Pacers will host No. 16 Epping (5-12) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the preliminary round. The winner of that game will take on either No. 8 Woodsville (12-6) and No. 9 Moultonborough (10-8) in the quarterfinals on Saturday at the home of the higher seed.

No. 4 Groveton (14-4) hosts No. 13 Gorham (7-11), also at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, and the winner of that game will face either No. 5 Pittsfield (14-4) or No. 12 Derryfield (7-11) in the quarterfinals.

No. 2 Sunapee (16-2) will play host to No. 15 Lisbon (6-12) in the preliminary round on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The winner of that game will take on the winner of No. 7 Littleton (12-6) and No. 10 Canaan-Pittsburg (9-9) in the quarterfinals.

No. 11 Wilton-Lyndeborough (7-11) will travel to face No. 6 Newmarket (13-5) in the opening round on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The winner of that game moves on to the quarterfinals to face either No. 3 Colebrook (15-3) or No. 14 Nute (6-12).

All quarterfinal games are scheduled to be played at the home of the higher seed on Friday at 7 p.m.

The semifinals will be held Feb. 25, starting at 5:30 p.m., at Plymouth State University, while the final is scheduled for March 2 at 12 p.m., also at PSU.