By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
NILES - It would appear that no one has a shot at knocking eight time Class B district champion Niles from its perch this season.
The Lady Vikings (17-3) are as big a favorite as you will find heading into the tournament which begins tonight at Lakeshore High School with a pair of games.
Niles is led by two Division 1 bound standouts - Sarah Dreher and Brandie Radde.
Dreher, who will play at Western Michigan University next season, leads the Lady Vikings in scoring with an average of 22.5.
Radde, who will play for Louisville, is averaging 16.6 points per contest.
Both Dreher and Radde have broken the all-time career scoring mark at Niles held by Timothea Clemmer.
Dreher set a new school record for points in a game with 39 earlier this season, while Radde entered this season as the school's top three-point shooter of all-time.
The Lady Vikings will take on the winner of tonight's game between St. Joseph (11-9) and Coloma 5-15.
Niles already owns a pair of victories over the Lady Bears having beaten them in Big 16 Conference West Division action 59-33 and 55-27. The second win came just last week.
Host Lakeshore and South Haven will face each other tonight as well.
The Lady Lancers are 5-14 on the season while the Lady Rams are 8-12.
The winner advances to Wednesday's semifinal contest against Dowagiac.
The Chieftains are 6-14 on the season. Dowagiac is led by sophomore Katy Stuppy who is the area's third leading scorer, averaging 19.6 points per contest.
The finals are scheduled for Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
Class B at Sturgis
Edwardsburg faces Sturgis tonight in the tournament opener.
The Lady Eddies (7-12) defeated the Lady Trojans (7-13) earlier this year 35-29.
Sturgis played that game without leading scorer Astynn George, who was out with an injury.
The winner will face Three Rivers (13-7) in the semifinals.
The finals are set for 7 p.m. on Friday.
Class C at Watervliet
Bridgman (19-1) came into the district as a big favorite to win its third straight title, however, with the loss of All-State guard Heather Seyfred to injury, the district could be wide open.
Seyfred went down with a knee injury on Thursday night as the Lady Bees captured the Lakeland Conference championship with a 38-36 win over Cassopolis.
Seyfred will have an MRI on Tuesday and will miss the Lady Bees' opening round game against Waterliet (18-2).
Also tonight, Brandywine (11-9) will take on Lakeland Conference foe River Valley (7-13).
The Lady Bobcats lost twice to the Lady Mustangs during the regular season (50-46 and 49-35).
The winner advances to face Lakeland Conference foe Buchanan in the semifinals. The Lady Bucks are 9-11 on the season.
The winner of the Bridgman-Watervliet match-up will face Berrien Springs of the Lakeland Conference in the other semifinal on Wednesday.
The Lady Shamrocks are 3-17 on the year.
The finals are set for 7 p.m. on Friday.
Class C at Cassopolis
Defending Class C district champion Cassopolis will host the district this year.
The Lady Rangers (18-2) will open up their title defense tonight against Constantine (5-15) at 7 p.m.
Cassopolis is led by Kelsey Gordon, who is averaging just over 14 points per game. Dee Dee Hawkins is also averaging in double figures with 11.8 points per game.
The winner advances to Wednesday's semfinal against Marcellus (13-7). That game will also start at 7 p.m.
White Pigeon (16-4), which lost to Cassopolis in the district finals last season, will play on Thursday against the winner of the Centreville-Colon contest on Tuesday night.
The finals are set for Saturday at 6 p.m.