There are some big changes in this week’s PennLive girls’ basketball Class 3A state rankings, as the season shifts to mid-January and everyone’s district-playoff chase gets ratcheted up a notch across the Commonwealth.
South Fayette and Gwynedd Mercy suffered losses this past week and yes, despite another loss and a losing overall record, back-to-back PIAA runner-up Archbishop Wood — still one of our choices to make it to Hershey’s Giant Center in March — is still anchored at the top.
District 10 kingpins Villa Maria also got a big bump; the Victors went 3-0 and won their bracket against national competition in the KSA Events tourney in Orlando over the holidays, and that certainly opened a lot of eyes, including ours. Villa has been playing so well, we made the executive decision to leapfrog them over several teams this week to reward them for their success.
We’re all about rewarding the hot teams, and Villa certainly falls under that category. Coach Doug Chuzie and his Victors also recently picked up a national ranking, and at 12-0 and playing great, we thought it was time to make some changes and give the Victors a shot on the 2-line, behind Archbishop Wood.
One new team also graces the top 10: Forest Hills out of District 6 is in, after the Rangers knocked off Class A heavyweights Bishop Guilfoyle and Bishop Carroll last week, giving Forest Hills 10 wins in a row.
Archbishop Wood remains No. 1 with a 5-6 mark; the Vikings toppled New Jersey heavyweight Malcolm X Shabazz 55-28 on Sunday in the Play-By-Play Classic in Philadelphia for their second win in three games — after a 4-game losing slide.
With order restored, we’ll see if coach Mike McDonald’s club can pile up some wins with Philly Catholic League games vs. Neumann-Goretti and Cardinal O’Hara off the slate; Vikings lost to those undefeated foes earlier.
Here is PennLive’s Class AAA top 10 through Jan. 10, plus honorable mention selections, with home district in parenthesis and overall record …
1. Archbishop Wood (12) 5-6 — previously: 1
2. Villa Maria (10) 12-0 — previously: 6
3. South Fayette (7) 9-2 — previously: 2
4. Trinity (7) 10-2 — previously: 3
5. Berks Catholic (3) 9-2 — previously: 4
6. South Park (7) 9-1 — previously: 5
7. Hickory (10) 10-0 — previously: 7
8. Blackhawk (7) 8-3 — previously: 8
9. Greencastle-Antrim (3) 11-1 — previously: 10
10. Forest Hills (6) 11-1 — previously: HM
HONORABLE MENTION
Ambridge (7) 10-2, Bethlehem Catholic (11) 9-3, Blue Mountain (11) 11-1, Bonner-Prendergast (12) 8-2, Brownsville (7) 11-2, Danville (4) 11-0, Fleetwood (3) 9-3, Girard (10) 9-2, Gwynedd Mercy (1) 9-3, Hampton (7) 8-2, Lancaster Catholic (3) 11-1, Mercyhurst Prep (10) 9-3, Merion Mercy (1) 8-4, Nanticoke (2) 9-2, Northern Lebanon (3) 13-0, Southern Lehigh (11) 11-1, Susquehannock (3) 12-2, Susquenita (3) 11-2, St. Marys (9) 10-3, York Suburban (3) 11-2.
