Maryland public schools athletics officials have had to come up with a contingency plan for the girls state basketball tournament at UMBC's RAC Arena in case the UMBC women's basketball team hosts the America East tournament championship.

The America East final would take place at 7 p.m. March 12 -- the scheduled date for the MPSSAA state finals.

The Retrievers won the regular-season conference title, and if they are the highest seed to make it to the tournament championship, they would host the title game. The semifinals are March 6. If the Retrievers host the game, RAC Arena would be closed to the high school tournament March 11 for preparations as well as March 12.

Under the contingency plan, the state semifinals would be held March 9 and 10, with the title games March 14 and 15.

State officials took into consideration the history of playing at UMBC and the desire to keep the tournament at a Division I facility in making their decision.

Here is the contingency plan:
State semifinals
Wednesday, March 9
Class 1A: 3 and 5 p.m.
Class 2A: 7 and 9 p.m.
Thursday, March 10
Class 4A: 3 and 5 p.m.
Class 3A: 7 and 9 p.m.

State finals
Monday, March 14
Class 1A, 5:30 p.m.
Class 3A, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 15
Class 2A, 5:30 p.m.
Class 4A, 7:30 p.m.