It’s our weekly District 3 Top 12 Girls’ Basketball Power Poll, a look at a dozen of the hottest squads around the district, any league, any classification.
It’s the 12 teams we think have the best shots at winning district gold and making deep postseason runs come late February.
Here’s our latest list …
1. Cumberland Valley (Mid-Penn Commonwealth, last week: 1, 15-1) — Snow cost the Eagles their much-anticipated rematch on Monday vs. CD East; they’ll try again next Monday. CV is still No. 1 in our state rankings and its next two games, with the East game PPD, are against Chambersburg, one of those a makeup. Circle Saturday’s nonleague tilt vs. District 11 heavyweight Parkland.
2. CD East (Mid-Penn Commonwealth, last week: 2, 16-0) — No game until Friday at Central Dauphin and then a Saturday nonleague clash with reigning District 3-AAAA champ Wilson for the undefeated Panthers. Gotta believe East was super amped to play CV on Monday before the snow hit. And this: Brittany Robinson (867) and Michaela Gelbaugh (861) are both closing in on 1,000 points.
3. Palmyra (Mid-Penn Keystone, last week: 4, 17-1) — Closing in on Keystone crown, with division games vs. Cedar Cliff and Bishop McDevitt this week, plus a tasty nonleague matchup with Lebanon County foe Cedar Crest on Wednesday. Circle that one.
4. West York (York/Adams Division II, last week: 5, 16-0) — One of the few undefeated teams not only in District 3, but around the state, Bulldogs have a 3-game lead in the division with four to go, plus an intriguing nonleague game vs. York Catholic on Saturday. Can they run the table?
5. York Catholic (York/Adams Division III, last week: 7, 15-2) — Bumped up the Fighting Irish after they knocked off uber rival Delone Catholic on Friday, letting everyone in Class AA — Delone, Camp Hill, Trinity, Biglerville, Steel-High, whom York Catholic beat by 40 on Saturday — know that they’re serious about making it an even 10 district crowns in a row.
6. West Perry (Mid-Penn Capital, last week: 8, 16-2) — Reigning District 3-AAA champs find themselves in a twisted-knot division race with Camp Hill and Trinity. Mustangs’ Feb. 3 trip to Camp Hill could have major division-championship ramifications. And they’d love some momentum heading into their district repeat run.
7. Lancaster Catholic (L-L Section 4, lastweek: 10, 16-2) — Winning streak is up to nine in a row and fifth consecutive Section 4 title is already under lock and key. Three more L-L wins to close out the regular season would make it 80 in a row for the Crusaders.
8. Mechanicsburg (Mid-Penn Keystone, last week: 3, 16-2) — Wildcats dipped a bit, but only after a tough 62-59 OT loss at Red Land last Monday. Needs help to catch Palmyra and defend Keystone title, but a fast finish should equal a nifty district seed.
9. Cedar Crest (L-L Section 1, last week: not ranked, 14-3) — Started the week riding a 10-game winning streak and tied atop the Section 1 hunt with Hempfield, and Falcons still face stiff nonleague tests against Lower Dauphin and Palmyra. Will be battle tested for the postseason with so many big games down the stretch.
10. Greencastle-Antrim (Mid-Penn Colonial, last week: 11, 15-2) — Successfully defended Colonial crown, and will go for back-to-back 12-0 runs vs. Northern York and Shippensburg. Blue Devils hoping three late nonleague dates will have them primed for Mid-Penn playoff semifinals.
11. Halifax (Tri-Valley East, last week: 12, 13-5) — Wrapped up the TVL East and locked up a spot in the league semifinals. A date with West co-leader Susquenita and Mid-Penn Capital combatant East Pennsboro remain on the Wildcats’ nonleague slate, and they’d love some momentum heading into the D3-A race, where they’ll have plenty of bull’s-eyes on their backs.
12. Berks Catholic (Berks League Section 2, last week: not ranked, 15-3) — Three wins in a row for the Saints, including a 42-40 victory over Delone Catholic in Red Lion’s showcase event on Saturday. No. 2 in District 3-AAA power ratings, and our (early) pick to win the Berks title.