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Sports

Area Teams Prepare for District Play

Ladue, MICDS face first step in tough road Monday

The start of basketball season doesn’t seem like a distant memory. In fact, holiday tournaments seem like yesterday, so does the beginning of conference play. The season has been a blur over the past three months, but now is the time when things slow down and teams literally take one game at a time. The end of the basketball season approaches and the area teams are trying to hold on and keep advancing to keep their season alive.

For the and the district play begins Monday and the paths for both teams to make it to the Mizzou Arena are treacherous and tough. For both schools it has to be hard not to look ahead. For MICDS, a third meeting with Clayton is one win away and for Ladue, the top ranked team in the state Chaminade would be waiting for the Rams if they were victorious in their district opener. Both districts are filled with quality teams and the opening round matchups are anything but a cake walk. Lets take a look inside the districts for both squads.

Ladue- Class 5, District 3- Hosted by Webster Groves

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No. 1 Chaminade, No. 2 CBC, No. 3 Ladue, No. 4 Webster Groves, No. 5 SLUH, No. 6 Roosevelt

Byes- Chaminade, CBC

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First Round, February 21- Ladue vs. SLUH 6:00 p.m.; Webster Groves vs.. Roosevelt 7:30 p.m.

Outlook for Ladue:

To say that winning this district for Ladue would be an uphill climb would be an understatement. The district itself has to be viewed unanimously as the toughest in the area. Chaminade is undefeated and has the best basketball player in the area in Bradley Beal. CBC and SLUH have played tough schedules including their battles in the Metro Catholic Conference. Webster Groves has recent state championship appearances and it always coached well. Even tough the field is tough, Ladue head coach Chad Anderson doesn't suggest counting his team out.

"We (Ladue) have felt all year that when we step on the floor, we have a chance to beat anyone." Anderson said. "Our players have bought in to the system, and we are excited to take our chances in districts. We know it is a tough one, probably the best in the state, but anything can happen. If we can continue to be solid on the defensive end, we will give it our best shot and go down swinging."

MICDS- Class 4, District 6- Hosted by Clayton

No. 1 Clayton, No. 2 Westminster, No 3. University City, No. 4 MICDS, No. 5 Priory

Bye- Clayton, Westminster, University City

First Round, February 21- MICDS vs. Priory 6:30 p.m.

Outlook for MICDS:

The Rams haven't been playing there best but their district sets up a little nicer than Ladue's. While MICDS has defeated Priory twice this year, they squeaked by with a one point win just last week. The Rams are the better team and should move on. If they do, it's one simple goal...take down Clayton. The Rams have played the Greyhounds close twice, now its just about getting over the hump. If they can accomplish this, a district championship doesn't seem far fetched.

"Heading into districts is always exciting as a new opportunity awaits," MICDS head coach Matt Hixenbaugh said. "Obviously, we hope to be prepared to play our best basketball at the most important time of the season. Overall, our district is very competitive and every game could be a tight game. Each team has things they do very well that will be difficult to stop. For us, we hope that we have put ourselves in a position that we are prepared for anything that may occur. As a team, this is what we work all year for and we are confident that our guys will rise to the occasion and go about our business in a manner reflective of the hard work put in throughout the season."

The John Burroughs Bombers are the No. 2 seed heading into their district tournament that begins on February 28. Check back into Patch for a preview next weekend.

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