For the Warren Central Lady Vikes, two is greater than one.

The Lady Vikes missed a chance to go into the Division 4-6A tournament as the No. 1 seed when they lost to Murrah last week, but in so doing they earned a more favorable matchup in the first round.

Instead of a toss-up game with Clinton, the Lady Vikes will face Greenville — a team they beat by 39 points earlier this season — when the tournament gets under way Monday at Warren Central. The benefits of being the No. 2 seed, in this case, were not lost on WC coach Jackie Martin-Glass.

Warren Central has won three in a row over Greenville on its home floor and four straight overall. It has lost 11 of its last 14 meetings with Clinton, and six of the last seven meetings were decided by seven points or less.

“It’s bittersweet. Bitter that we lost (to Murrah), but sweet that we get the matchup with a team that I feel we match up well against,” Martin-Glass said. “For some reason, when we play against Clinton there’s a psychological issue. I feel like they’re more of a rival than Greenville is. But regardless of who we play, you’ve got to come out prepared to play, execute and play your very best. It’s not do-or-die, but you want to come out number one in your district.”

Warren Central (21-7), with its deep and balanced roster, has emerged as a contender for the Class 6A championship. Unfortunately, it’s not the only one in Division 4-6A.

All four teams — Warren Central, Murrah, Clinton and Greenville — have won at least 16 games this season. Murrah (19-6) is the defending Class 6A champion, and both of Warren Central’s meetings with Clinton weren’t settled until the final shot.

Warren Central’s 68-29 rout of Greenville on Jan. 20 was the biggest margin of victory within the league this season, but the rematch in Greenville on Feb. 3 had a 48-45 final.

Martin-Glass wasn’t taking Greenville (16-9) lightly, especially considering their last meeting, but said it did seem the best of three treacherous paths to the next round.

The first-round winners automatically advance to the Class 6A state tournament and play for the division championship on Friday. The losers play an elimination game for the division’s third and final spot in the state tournament on Thursday night.

Murrah and Clinton (18-10) will play in the other first-round game Tuesday at 6 p.m.

“It’s quite bit of pressure every year to get out of district, but when you feel like you have a really good team it’s a lot more pressure. If you’re the underdog and you’re scrapping you can say, ‘It’s not how you start, it’s how you end.’ If you can make a run here and knock somebody off that’s not expecting it, it’s a great turnout,” Martin-Glass said. “But right now, having a good team and finishing up good, puts a little more pressure because everybody expects you to be there. So there’s pressure on the kids, coach, everybody to get to that championship game.”

On the boys’ side of the bracket, Warren Central (10-14) did not get a favorable matchup in round one. The Vikings will play Monday at 7:30 p.m. against Clinton (19-7), which won the two head-to-head meetings in the regular season 57-40 and 78-53.

“The Clinton match is going to be a tall order for us. Galin Smith’s size gives us trouble,” Warren Central coach Bruce Robinson said, referring to Clinton’s 6-foot-8 Alabama signee. “And we’ve got to figure out how to slow (guard Robert) Davis. At the end of the day we have to win one out of two games to get to the playoffs. That’s the big picture.”

Top-seeded Murrah (18-4) plays Greenville (10-16) in the other first-round game Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Like the girls’ bracket, the third-place game will be played on Thursday and the championship game on Friday.

Warren Central has not won its division tournament since 2004, and might have an uphill climb to end that streak this week. It beat Greenville twice in the regular season, but was blown out twice each by Clinton and Murrah.

Murrah handed the Vikings an ugly 84-51 loss last Tuesday. Warren Central has not won back-to-back games since early December, and it has had five games decided by three points or less.

“It’s not going to be easy to shake that loss off,” Robinson said, “but we must attack adversity head on and move forward. This has been a strange and trying year.”

Whatever happens in the tournament, Robinson said he was looking forward to hosting it. Some work was recently done in Warren Central’s lobby and hallways to spruce up their look and showcase the school’s basketball program.

Getting some big crowds to watch the tournament is a chance to show off both cosmetic improvements and, Robinson hopes, win a game or two and get the community excited about the product on the court.

“This is another step in the changing of the culture surrounding Viking Basketball. We have had tremendous crowds this year. It’s a far cry better than what it was in the past. We are able to compete and beat some of the best teams in the state,” Robinson said. “I feel that we are right on the edge of winning constantly. The culture has changed. Now it’s time to win. A trip to the playoffs will really help usher Viking basketball into the next phase.”

DIVISION 4-6A TOURNAMENT
At Warren Central
Girls
Monday, 6 p.m. – Greenville vs. Warren Central
Tuesday, 6 p.m. – Murrah vs. Clinton
Thursday, 6 p.m. – Third-place game
Friday, 6 p.m. – Championship game
Boys
Monday, 7:30 p.m. – Clinton vs. WC
Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. – Greenville vs. Murrah
Thursday, 7:30 p.m. – Third-place game
Friday, 7:30 p.m. – Championship game