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DAYTON, Ohio — For just the second time since it began in 1976, the OHSAA Girls Basketball State Tournament is being played outside of Columbus. Akron was the host in 1986, and now UD Arena is the site.

The 2020 tournament was just minutes away from starting, when the OHSAA canceled its remaining spring tournaments, due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Those 16 schools didn’t get a chance to compete for a state title, but seven of them have returned in 2021.

Those returning include Fort Loramie, which gets things started Thursday at 11 a.m., taking on Convoy Crestview in a Division IV semifinal. Fort Loramie is making its 11^th state tournament appearance, and is in search of its third state title (2013, 2015). Crestview, meanwhile, is looking for the school’s first girls championship, after winning a boys title just two years ago.

On Thursday, at 2 p.m., in the other Division IV semi, McDonald returns to the state tournament for the first time in 20 years. The Blue Devils face Waterford, which is playing in its fifth state tournament in the last seven years, having last cut down the nets in 2016.

Berlin Hiland is one of the most decorated programs in Ohio basketball history, regardless of gender. The Hawks are playing in their 18^th Final Four, and have taken five state championships back to Holmes County. On the other end of the spectrum is Hiland’s opponent, Cincinnati Purcell Marian, has reached the state tournament for the first time in school history. That Division III match-up takes place Thursday at 5 p.m.

🏀#OHSAA GIRLS BASKETBALL: Congratulations to the 16 schools that will play in this week’s 46th Annual State Tournament! UD Arena awaits you! Schedule and information: https://t.co/ielNvNXNgh pic.twitter.com/54JifpnHK5

— OHSAASports (@OHSAASports) March 9, 2021

Waynedale High School, in Apple Creek, is also a first-time participant. On Thursday at 8 p.m., the Golden Bears meet an Ottawa-Glandorf squad that has been to the state tournament five times since 2015.

On Friday, two Division II schools that are back in the state semifinals for a second straight year square off at 11 a.m. Dayton Carroll makes it the 19^th year since 1998 that one of the Dayton-area Catholic schools (Chaminade-Julienne and Kettering Alter) has reached the state Final Four. Napoleon has won 51 of its past 52 games, but never got to fully celebrate its first ever state tournament last year, due to the cancelation.

Two newcomers to the state stage are opponents in the 2 p.m. game in Division II. Laurel only has nine players on its roster, and only two are seniors. Twins Taylor, an Ohio State signee, and Haley Thierry lead the way for the Gators. Vinton County has never won a team OHSAA title in school history. The only high school in the state’s least-populous county, the Vikings have never had a girls basketball, boys basketball, or football team ever reach a state semifinal.

The Division I semifinal between Newark and Hoban tips off Friday at 5 p.m. The Wildcats are in the semifinals for the fourth time since 2015, but have yet to reach a championship game. Hoban won a state title in 1988, and is coached by Pam Davis, who led Canton McKinley to a state championship in 2010.

Then, at 8 p.m., it’s the main event. Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame brings the third-longest winning streak in OHSAA girls basketball history in, at 70-straight games. A state title would be the school’s eighth, which would be the most of any program in OHSAA history. Toledo’s Notre Dame Academy lost to Mount Notre Dame in the 2017 championship, and is back at the state tournament for the eighth time in nine years.

All semifinals will be shown on Spectrum channel 314, with Saturday’s championships on Spectrum News 1, and the Spectrum News App.

Game times for the finals are:

10:45 a.m. – Division IV
2 p.m. – Division III
5:15 p.m. – Division II
8:30 p.m. – Division I

OHSAA Championship Gameday airs 15 minutes before each game.