Three PennLive Class 3A girls’ basketball state-ranked squads lost games last week, so we had to break out the scalpel and do a little cosmetic surgery.
Nothing major, but there is one new team in the top 10 this week:
Say hello to coach Matt Cooper and Southern Lehigh, which checks in at No. 10 after the Spartans improved to 23-1 overall with a win over Palisades in the Colonial Conference championship game over the weekend.
That’s 23 wins in a row for Solehi, which opened the season with a 61-44 loss against Class 2A No. 3 Dunmore, and hasn’t lost since, heading into the District 11 playoffs. Impressive. So the Spartans are in.
Other changes:
We bumped Greencastle-Antrim down a few spots after the Blue Devils fell to Class 4A No. 6 Cumberland Valley in the Mid-Penn semifinals. Hardly a ‘bad’ loss, we know, so we kept G-A, which opens defense of its District 3 title this week, in the top 10.
Danville also dropped a few spots after the Ironmen lost for the first time this season against Mifflinburg after a superb 21-0 start. Danville bounced back with a victory over Class 2A No. 9 Mt. Carmel in the Heartland Athletic Conference title game, so the 1-loss Ironmen remained safely inside the top 10.
With Southern Lehigh coming up from the honorable mention list, we had to drop a squad, and that was South Park, which fell to No. 5 Trinity. Again, not a ‘bad’ loss for the Eagles, but now at 17-5, we wanted to give Solehi a shot at the top 10.
The top three remain the same: Archbishop Wood (Philly Catholic league semifinals), undefeated Villa Maria (No. 1 seed in District 10 bracket) and South Fayette (a WPIAL bracket favorite) all held steady.
Lancaster Catholic (Lancaster-Lebanon League champ), Trinity (which beat South Park), Hickory (capping a 20-1 regular-season run) and Ambridge (another WPIAL bracket favorite) all bumped up a spot.
There is a method to this madness, trust me.
Here is PennLive’s Class AAA top 10 through Feb. 14, plus honorable mention selections, with home district in parenthesis and overall record …
1. Archbishop Wood (12) 17-6 — previously: 1
2. Villa Maria (10) 22-0 — previously: 2
3. South Fayette (7) 18-3 — previously: 3
4. Lancaster Catholic (3) 24-1 — previously: 5
5. Trinity (7) 18-3 — previously: 7
6. Hickory (10) 20-1 — previously: 8
7. Greencastle-Antrim (3) 20-2 — previously: 4
8. Danville (4) 23-1 — previously: 6
9. Ambridge (7) 19-3 — previously: 10
10. Southern Lehigh (11) 23-1 — previously: HM
HONORABLE MENTION
Abington Heights (2) 16-6, Beaver Area (7) 14-6, Berks Catholic (3) 18-5, Bishop McDevitt (3) 17-5, Blackhawk (7) 16-6, Blue Mountain (11) 20-4, Boiling Springs (3) 18-3, Brownsville (7) 19-3, Dallas (2) 16-6, Fleetwood (3) 15-7, Forest Hills (6) 17-5, Girard (10) 16-6, Gwynedd Mercy (1) 19-4, Hampton (7) 17-5, Juniata (6) 16-7, Lewisburg (4) 15-7, Mars (7) 17-5, Mercyhurst Prep (10) 16-6, Mifflinburg (4) 16-6, Mount Pleasant (7) 15-7, Nanticoke (2) 20-2, Northern Lebanon (3) 23-2, Punxsutawney (9) 18-4, Slippery Rock (10) 15-7, South Park (7) 17-5, Susquehannock (3) 21-3, Susquenita (3) 21-3, West Scranton (2) 15-7, York Suburban (3) 17-5.
