The path for a return trip to the Circle City will start right at home for the Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball team.

It will also start with the opening game.

The Vikings, who had a historic season a year ago, will open postseason play versus Wawasee on Feb. 2 in the opening game of their own Class 3-A sectional in Akron.

The IHSAA held its annual state tournament pairings draw tonight in Indianapolis.  Sectional action begins in the area Feb. 2 with sectional championship games Feb. 6. Regionals are Feb. 13 with semi states Feb. 20 and the State Finals Feb. 27.

Valley, which won the program’s first-ever regional and semistate titles a year ago, sits at 19-1 on the season. The Class 3-A No. 4 Vikings, who are 3-0 versus the sectional field, host Wawasee Tuesday night.  Valley would face West Noble in a semifinal game with a first-round win. The Vikings beat the Chargers 58-42 on Jan. 2 and also own a 43-28 victory over NorthWood last week. The Panthers (13-9) face Lakeland (2-18) in a first-round sectional game at Valley.

The road for the Vikings back to Indianapolis, where they lost 72-44 to Princeton in the Class 3-A state title game in 2015, will be much tougher this time around. The Columbia City Regional, which the Vikings would feed into, will include No. 2 Heritage Christian (18-3) and No. 5 Norwell (18-2) barring any huge sectional upsets. Heritage Christian, owners of six state titles (including a pair the last two years) moved up to 3-A this year from 2-A. The good news for Valley is that they would not face Heritage Christian or Norwell until a regional title game. The Valley Sectional winner will face the Garrett Sectional champion in the regional semifinals at Columbia City.

Warsaw received a very favorable draw in a tough field at the Class 4-A Goshen Sectional. The Tigers (8-13) will play Elkhart Central (7-14) in the opening game of the seven-team field on Feb. 2. Warsaw did not face Central during the regular season.

The Tigers, who are 8-4 since starting the year 0-9 versus a brutal schedule, would play Concord (4-16) in a semifinal with a win over Central. Warsaw just beat Concord 82-38 at home on Saturday night. Warsaw is 3-2 overall versus the sectional field with wins over Goshen, Memorial and Concord and losses to Northridge and Penn. Warsaw lost 61-37 at home to Penn back on Nov. 24. The Tigers are the defending sectional champion at Goshen.

No. 4 Penn, which drew Memorial (10-11) in a first-round sectional game, is the huge favorite at Goshen. The Kingsmen are 20-2 and have won five straight sectional titles, including last year at Plymouth. Penn is 3-0 versus the sectional field with wins over Memorial, Warsaw and Northridge. No. 14 Northridge (19-3) will meet host Goshen (17-4) in one sectional semifinal game. The Raiders beat Goshen 54-34 back on Dec. 18 in Middlebury.

At Central Noble

It will be a long road to the sectional title for Whitko in Albion.

The Wildcats will face Bremen (9-11) in the opener of the seven-team Class 2-A Central Noble Sectional. Whitko is 4-5 in its last nine games after starting the year at 10-1.

Whitko has played just one team in the sectional field as they topped Central Noble 47-31 in Albion on Nov. 10. The winner of the Whitko-Bremen contest advances to play host Central Noble (17-5) in one semifinal.

At Culver

Triton will face North Miami in a first-round matchup at the Class 1-A Culver Sectional. The Trojans have not played the Warriors this season. Triton is 8-5 after starting the year at 1-7, while North Miami is 10-11. Triton would face No. 7 South Central (17-5) with a win over North Miami. The Trojans lost to South Central 42-24 at home on Nov. 13.

Argos, ranked No. 5 in 1-A, faces host Culver in the opener. The Dragons are 16-3, while the Cavaliers are 2-17.

At Hamilton

Lakeland Christian Academy received a bye into a semifinal game of the Class 1-A Hamilton Sectional. The Cougars, who are 12-10 under first-year coach Allison Kauffman, will play the winner of the Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian (11-9) versus Elkhart Christian Academy (3-15) game.

LCA is 1-3 during the regular season versus the sectional field. The Cougars defeated ECA 49-48 in overtime on Jan. 7. LCA will play at Blackhawk Christian Thursday in their regular-season finale.

Area sectional winners will play in regionals at LaPorte (4-A), Columbia City (3-A), Winamac (2-A) and Caston (1-A). Semistate hosts for the North this year will be Carroll and Crown Point. The State Finals will be played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Sectional Pairings

Class 4-A
At Goshen
Feb. 2: 7 p.m.: Elkhart Central (7-14) vs. Warsaw (8-13).
Feb. 3: 6 p.m.: Elkhart Memorial (10-11) vs. Penn (20-2);   7:30 p.m.: Northridge (19-3) vs. Goshen (17-4).
Feb. 5: 6 p.m.: Concord (4-16) vs. Central or Warsaw; 7:30 p.m. Memorial or Penn vs. Northridge or Goshen.
Feb. 6: 7:30 p.m.: Championship Game

Class 3-A
At Tippecanoe Valley
Feb. 2: 6 p.m.: Tippecanoe Valley (19-1) vs. Wawasee (7-13); 7:30 p.m. Lakeland (2-18) vs. NorthWood (13-9).
Feb. 5: 6 p.m.: West Noble (14-7) vs. Valley or Wawasee;  7:30 p.m. Fairfield (11-8) vs. Lakeland or NorthWood.
Feb. 6: 7:30 p.m.: Championship Game

Class 2-A
At Central Noble
Feb. 2: 7 p.m.: Bremen (9-11) vs. Whitko (14-6).
Feb. 3: 6 p.m.: Fremont (14-7) vs. Prairie Heights (4-16);  7:30 p.m. Westview (16-5) vs. LaVille (7-13).:
Feb. 5: 6 p.m.: Central Noble (17-5) vs. Bremen or Whitko;  7:30 p.m.: Fremont or Prairie Heights vs. Westview or LaVille.
Feb. 6: 7 p.m.: Championship Game

Class 1-A
At Culver
Feb. 2: 6:30 p.m. Argos (16-3) vs. Culver (2-17):  8 p.m. North Miami (10-11) vs. Triton (9-12).
Feb. 5: 6:30 p.m. LaCrosse (12-8) vs. Argos or Culver:  8 p.m. South Central (17-5) vs. N. Miami or Triton.
Feb. 6: 7 p.m.: Championship Game.

Class 1-A
At Hamilton
Feb. 2: 6 p.m. Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian (11-9) vs. Elkhart Christian Academy (3-15):  7:30 p.m. Bethany Christian (11-8) vs. Hamilton (6-13).
Feb. 5: 6 p.m. Lakeland Christian Academy (12-10) vs. Blackhawk or ECA:  7:30 p.m. Lakewood Park Christian (2-16) vs. Bethany or Hamilton.
Feb. 6: 6 p.m.: Championship Game