The area's top three Catholic school girls basketball teams are headed to Cumberland for the 16th Annual Bishop Walsh Girls Invitational Tournament, which begins Thursday.
Seton Keough won the tournament last season, 55-43, over Elizabeth Seton, its first-round opponent this time. St. Frances took the consolation game.
Games begin with Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference champ and No. 1 St. Frances (22-3) taking on the host school, Bishop Walsh (5-17) at 3:15 p.m. No. 6 Seton Keough (14-10) and Elizabeth Seton, the Washington area's top team in the tournament, meet at 4:45. The Roadrunners (22-6) are the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champions and are ranked No. 6 in The Washington Post.
The other half of the bracket features No. 2 Spalding (21-5) taking on St. John's (23-6), the No. 7-ranked team in The Post at 6:15. Bishop McNamara (16-14), The Post's No. 12 team, plays first-time participant Springside, of Philadelphia, (14-11) at 8 p.m.
Games begin at 2:45 on Friday with the championship game tipping off at 6:15 Saturday night.