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F-F 5 things to watch, Feb. 13- 18


We're talking about playoffs.

The first official basketball playoff game of the winter season is slated for Tuesday - follow along with these five things to watch around Franklin-Fulton for all of the postseason action.

MONDAY

Everett girls basketball at McConnellsburg, 7:30: In its last game of the regular season, McConnellsburg hosts Everett, one of the most dangerous teams in District 5 3A, with sights set on securing a first-round bye in the District 5 Class 2A tournament.

After a tough loss to Everett early in the season, the Lady Spartans head into Monday's game after being hit with the flu, on top of an already existing injury bug. But McConnellsburg is working for a first-round bye in order to get some much-needed rest before the work truly begins.

Keep an eye on McKenzie Gelvin, who exploded for 42 points in one game last week, including seven 3-pointers and nine steals. Her sharp-shooting will need to continue if the team hopes to take down Everett.

TUESDAY

Mid Penn Conference tournament, Greencastle-Antrim boys and girls: Greencastle's girls take on Bishop McDevitt in the semifinals of the Mid Penn Conference tournament at 6 p.m. at Big Spring, with the boys game against Mechanicsburg to follow at 7:30.

The boys team has already faced Mechanicsburg once this season at Dunks for Drew, in which the result did not swing in the Blue Devils' favor in a 47-31 loss.

The girls take on a new opponent in Bishop McDevitt, who is ranked third in District 3 Class 4A. The girls are fresh off a tough loss to close out the regular season against Susquehanna Township for their first loss on their home court since 2013. But Tuesday's matchup will hopefully see the return of sophomore starter Madison Sweitzer, who has been out for three games with a high ankle sprain.

Keep an eye on Ben Freeman on the boys team, who has teamed up with Bryan Gembe in the last few games of the regular season as a second-half spark on both sides of the court.

WEDNESDAY

Southern Fulton girls basketball at Fannett-Metal, 7:30: With the regular season quickly winding down, the Fannett-Metal Tigers are working toward a favorable ranking in the District 5 Class 1A bracket, hoping to host a first-round playoff game for the first time in the program's history.

And a win over a top 1A team like Southern Fulton would certainly help.

Last time out, Fannett-Metal fell in an 11-point loss to the Indians, which is a vast improvement from last season, in which Southern Fulton beat the Tigers by an average of 22.5 points in two meetings.

Southern Fulton, however, is also working for a favorable District 5 ranking, with the top two teams receiving a first-round bye.

Watch out for Fannett-Metal's Emily Metcalfe, who had a big night against Forbes Road, putting up a season-high 19 points in a big 1A win, while Southern Fulton's Emily Bradshaw has put up back-to-back double-figure performances for the Indians.

SATURDAY

Inter-County Conference boys basketball championships: After winning the program's first-ever Inter-County Conference South title, the McConnellsburg Spartans have a chance to claim the conference crown in the ICC Championship game against Moshannon Valley on Saturday.

The Spartans are on an unbelievable streak, winning 15 straight with just one game left in the regular season. Before taking on Moshannon Valley, McConnellsburg must first host Everett, which previously beat the Spartans by eight points in the second game of the season.

Moshannon Valley will be no easy challenge for McConnellsburg, however, as the Black Knights are 18-2 and boast a monstrous center in Connor Holobinko, who stands 6-foot-7, 230 pounds.

McConnellsburg will need top performances out of leading scorers Chase Novak (17.2 ppg), Chance Hawbaker (11.7 ppg) and Ethan Barclay (9.7 ppg) to contain some of Moshannon's scoring threats.

Wrestling sectionals: With the PIAA team championships having concluded Saturday, it’s time for wrestling to begin its individual postseason, and that starts with sectionals this Saturday.

Instead of having all five Franklin County teams in one section, they are now split up into three different events.

Chambersburg, Shippensburg and Greencastle-Antrim will make the annual trek to Mechanicsburg for the Class 3A Section III tournament, while Waynesboro will head to South Western for the Section IV event. Both tourneys, which have 14 teams each, begin at 8:30 a.m. and run straight through to conclusion. The top four in each weight qualify for the District 3 Tournament the following weekend at Giant Center.

James Buchanan is now in Class AA and will compete in Section III at Susquenita, along with seven other schools. The top 3 in each weight advance to next weekend’s districts. The tournament begins at 9:30 a.m.