The last three days of February will lead into March Madness for the area girls basketball teams.

District tournament action tips off the post-season for the ladies next Monday night with first round contests. Wednesday (Mar. 1) provides the semifinal action and Friday (Mar. 2) will crown district winners.

Here's a quick look at Sanilac County teams and there district sites.

Class B at Yale

The Lady Pioneers of Cros-Lex had never won a district title until last year. Now, they are looking for two straight.

Cros-Lex (11-7 ), currently in second place in the BWAC, is one of the favorites at Yale and opens on Tuesday night in a semifinal game against winless North Branch. The Pioneers, though, could get a challenge from any of the three teams - Caro, Yale and Millington - on the other side of the bracket.

Repeating as district champion is certainly the goal for C-L.

"We'd like to try to keep it going," said C-L Coach Darren Bongard, whose squad is just coming off a rough offensive night in a 31-22 loss at Imlay City." But, right now, we just want to work to try to get better and to get ready for the districts."

The Millington Cardinals (10-7), of the Tri-Valley East Conference, are currently the only other team in the district with a winning record. Junior Hailee Hall (5'10", C) and senior Chelsea Luedtke (5'7", G/F) both average over 10 points a game.

Bongard knows about Yale (9-9) from BWAC play, but will be trying to find out more about Millington and Caro.

He did add, though, "To their advantage, the league they play in is tough, especially with Birch Run and Frankenmuth, playing them in crossover games."

The Lady Pioneers have only one senior, forward Taylor Regan, in the starting line-up. Sophomore Kylee Barrett and juniors Lyric Bostick and Cassidy Carpenter are the leading scorers on a team that thinks defense first. C-L has allowed just over 30 points a game this season.

Class C at Marlette

The host Lady Raiders have clinched, at least, a share of their first league title (GTC East) since 2007-08, and now they are seeking their first district championship since 2000.

Marlette (16-3 ) will have a tough first round draw with the Vassar Vulcans of the GTC West, but they will still be tagged as the district favorite.

"We're not looking at it that way," Marlette coach Cathy Storm remarked. "We played Vassar before and we know what they're like. We're taking just one game at a time.

"We only beat (Vassar) by four and they took Reese (18-0) into overtime last week," Storm added. "They're pretty athletic, have a good post player and good guards."

What Marlette has that no one else does, though, is junior guard Jenna Hirsch, who has lived up to her 2010-11 award as All-Thumb Player of the Year. One of the leading scorers in the area, Hirsch has had some cool shooting nights, but she makes things happen on both ends of the floor with her quickness and ball handling. Hirsch has big numbers with steals and assists.

The Lady Raiders also have had some nice help on offense and under the boards from freshman Mackenzie Kelly. Sophomore guard Keara Wilson has added some scoring punch lately and Kylee Dobbelaere, Karly Sauder and Rachel McEwen, if healthy, provide depth under the glass.

Also lingering in the same bracket as Marlette is a chief rival in Brown City. The Lady Green Devils have not been able to handle the Lady Raiders in two outings this year, but are still dangerous with senior guard Sam Gierman.

Class C at USA

In Sandusky girls basketball standards, the Lady Redskins have not quite had the season that Coach Al DeMott always seems to bring about.

They could still get a share of the GTC East title with Marlette but they have suffered five losses this season, albeit to good squads like Marlette, Cros-Lex, Reese and Vassar.

Still, there is something about March Madness that DeMott's teams seem to cherish. They have won 21 district championships in his long tenure, including his first one in 1983. Sandusky has won eight districts in the last nine seasons.

The Lady 'Skins open at home against Bad Axe (6-12) on Monday night. The Hatchets are the lone team in this district Sandusky has not played. They have beaten all the rest, mostly in tight games.

"The good thing about playing Bad Axe is that it's at home," said DeMott. "They're a sneaky team. They've been getting better as the year goes on."

DeMott acknowledges the tradition his teams have had in the post-season, too.

"We have six seniors. Our seniors have stepped up come tournament time. We're hoping to have that happen again.

"If we play well, we think we have a good a chance as anybody," DeMott continued. "We have to play well three straight games. But, we're really pointing to this district."

Sandusky is led by seniors Emily Hale, the team's top scorer, and point guard Kelcey Stauffer. DeMott also usually starts seniors Emily Grabitz, Carly Mausolf and Kristen Krahnke. The bench play, though, has been making valuable contributions in the second half of the campaign.

Class D at CPS

The Deckerville girls are coming off their first league championship (NCTL South) since 1998. Combining that with the fact that the Lady Eagles have won three straight Class D district crowns, it would appear they have a leg up on the rest of the field at CPS next week.

Well, not so fast.

The hottest team in this district just may be the Kingston Cardinals, the Lady Eagles opening draw this Monday night. Deckerville's only loss in the South came just a couple of weeks ago, at Kingston, when they were handed a 21-point setback. Going into the final week of the regular season, they are carrying an 11-game winning streak.

Coach Pat Oswald of Deckerville knows what his team has to do better on the floor than in the last meeting with the Cardinals.

"Shoot well. We didn't shoot well from anywhere on the floor," he pointed out. "Hopefully, we can execute well and get good baskets. (The last game) I think we were pressing and forced shots, and that gave them opportunities at the other end."

Oswald has a strong guard out front in senior Teila Kreiner. Junior Kaleigh Spaetzel and seniors Tiffany Mausolf and Tiffany Rich, and others, provide a solid, and deep, frontcourt group. On most nights, at least, eight players get a lot of court time.

"Kingston is right on fire. They've been getting better every week. Hopefully, we can respond. It'll be a dogfight," added Oswald.

The Lady Eagles will also be coming into the Monday's district game with a long lay-off, not having played since February 16. With a quirk in the schedule, a search to find a team to play in their last week of the regular-season came up empty.

"When you go idle for 10 days, it can mess with you," Oswald said. "It's why we like to play over the Christmas break - I've seen what that can do. Hopefully, though, (this lay-off) will make the girls hungry."

CPS (14-4), likely to finish third in the NCTL behind Deckerville and Kingston, is expected to come out of the opposite bracket to the championship game, likely against the Deckerville/Kingston winner.

The Lady Tigers have lost two close games with Deckerville. They also split with Kingston, but the last game, at home, was a 21-point loss.

CPS does feature one of the most balanced attacks around. All five starters - seniors Merisa Munro (G) and Lucie Sertich (F/C), juniors Erica Lentz (F) and Ashley Nickens (G), and sophomore Sarah Albrecht (F) - are capable of of big scoring nights. Their pressure defense is usually a catalyst in Coach Bob Kolakovich's scheme.

District girls basketball pairings

Class B at Yale Mon., Feb. 27 First round 6:00 p.m. - Caro vs. Yale Wed., Feb. 29 Semifinals 5:30 p.m. - Millington vs. Caro/Yale winner; 7:00 p.m. - North Branch vs. Cros-Lex Fri., Mar. 2 Finals 7:00 p.m. - winner advances to regional at Carrollton

Class C at Marlette Mon., Feb. 27 First round 7:00 p.m. - Mayville vs. New Haven at Mayville; Brown City vs. Dryden at Brown City; Marlette vs. Vassar at Marlette Wed., Feb. 29

Semifinals (at Marlette) 6:00 p.m. - Memphis vs. Mayville/New Haven winner; 7:30 p.m. - Brown City/Dryden winner vs. Marlette/Vassar winner Fri., Mar 2 Finals (at Marlette) 7:00 p.m.; winner advances to regional at Saginaw Valley Lutheran

Class C at USA Mon., Feb. 27 First round 7:00 p.m. - USA vs. Lakers (at USA); Sandusky vs. Bad Axe (at Sandusky); Cass City vs. Ubly (at Cass City Wed., Feb. 29 (at USA) Semifinals 6:00 p.m. - USA/Lakers winner vs. Harbor Beach; 8:00 p.m. - Sandusky/Bad Axe winner vs. Cass

City/Ubly winner Fri., Mar. 2 Finals (at Cass City) 7:00 p.m.; winner advances to regional at Saginaw Valley Lutheran

Class D at CPS Mon., Feb. 27 First round 6:00 p.m. - Kimball-Landmark Academy vs. Peck; 7:30 p.m. - Deckerville vs. Kingston Wed., Feb. 29 Semifinals 6:00 p.m. - CPS vs. Landmark Academy/Peck winner; 7:30 p.m. - Deckerville/Kingston winner vs. Kimball-New Life Christian Finals Fri., Mar. 2 7:00 p.m. - winner advances to regional at Bay City All Saints