Wire to wire.
From our preseason rankings in early December, until the Vikings raised the PIAA Class 3A state championship gold trophy in Hershey’s Giant Center over the weekend, Archbishop Wood never budged from the 1-line in our PennLive state girls’ basketball rankings.
The Vikings capped their ride with the program’s fourth state title, a grind-it-out 46-29 win over previously unbeaten Villa Maria in the championship game, as Archbishop Wood overcame losses in the previous two state-title games vs. Blackhawk to hoist gold this time around.
Villa Maria, which had an amazing 29-1 campaign, finished firmly at No. 2, while state semifinalists Berks Catholic and South Park rounded out our final top four in 3A this season.
Archbishop Wood was No. 1, Berks Catholic was No. 3, South Park was No. 8 and Villa Maria was No. 10 to open the season.
Here is PennLive’s Class AAA top 10 through the PIAA championships, plus honorable mention selections, with home district in parenthesis and final overall record …
1. Archbishop Wood (12) 25-6 — previously: 1
2. Villa Maria (10) 29-1 — previously: 2
3. Berks Catholic (3) 24-7 — previously: 3
4. South Park (7) 22-8 — previously: 4
5. South Fayette (7) 24-4 — previously: 5
6. Gwynedd Mercy (1) 24-5 — previously: 6
7. Northern Lebanon (3) 28-4 — previously: 7
8. Bethlehem Catholic (11) 18-11 — previously: 8
9. Lancaster Catholic (3) 29-2 — previously: 9
10. Danville (4) 27-2 — previously: 10
HONORABLE MENTION
Abington Heights (2) 21-6, Ambridge (7) 21-6, Bishop McDevitt (3) 19-8, Blackhawk (7) 19-8, Blue Mountain (11) 21-5, Boiling Springs (3) 18-4, Bonner-Prendergast (12) 16-9, Brownsville (7) 19-4, Conrad Weiser (3) 15-12, Dallas (2) 17-7, Forest Hills (6) 19-6, Girard (10) 17-7, Greencastle-Antrim (3) 24-4, Hampton (7) 20-7, Hickory (10) 21-2, Mars (7) 19-7, Mastery Charter North (12) 20-7, Mercyhurst Prep (10) 19-8, Mifflinburg (4) 18-8, Nanticoke (2) 23-4, Pope John Paul II (1) 15-12, Punxsutawney (9) 20-5, Scranton Prep (2) 16-11, Southern Lehigh (11) 27-2, Susquehannock (3) 21-4, Susquenita (3) 21-4, Trinity (7) 21-5, Universal Audenried Charter (12) 16-10, York Suburban (3) 19-8, West Perry (3) 16-7.
