Excitement is building for the Subway/Columbus North Invitational, an eight-team girls basketball tournament that will be Friday and Saturday (Dec. 21-22) at Columbus North High School.

Through Dec. 19, the eight-team field has compiled a combined record of 56-12.  Thus, it appears the two-day, 12-game event in Columbus will make for an outstanding competition.

Action begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday when Class 4-A No. 2 host Columbus North (8-0) meets Avon (3-5) in Gym 1 and Class A No. 1 Fort Wayne Canterbury (8-1) faces Class 4-A No. 11 Roncalli (9-1) in Gym 2. At 8:15 p.m., Class 3-A No. 2 Norwell (7-0) plays Notre Dame of Park Hills, Ky., (5-2) in Gym 1 and Class 4-A No. 3 Fort Wayne South (7-1) squares off against Class 4-A No. 17 Mishawaka (7-1) in Gym 2.

Consolation semifinals are in both gyms at 10 a.m. Saturday, and championship semifinals follow at 11:45 a.m. Saturday.

Placement-round games are later Saturday — fifth- and seventh-place games both at 3:30 p.m., the third-place game at 5:15 p.m. and the championship game at 7 p.m.

A three-session ticket available on Friday only is $12 per person. A two-session pass available on Saturday morning is $8 per person. Single-session tickets available at all sessions are $5 each.

At the conclusion of the event, team awards will be presented to the championship and runner-up teams. Also, 10 players will be recognized individually on an all-tournament team.

Five of the teams are rated in the top 12 of the IBCA’s all-class Top 20 released on Dec. 16. They include Columbus North at No. 1, Fort Wayne South at No. 5, Norwell at No. 9, Fort Wayne Canterbury at No. 10 and Roncalli at No. 12

Tournament schedule