Archbishop Wood (17-5) starts its quest for its first Philadelphia Catholic League title since 2021. With their 80-26 dismantling of Archbishop Ryan on Feb. 8, the Vikings successfully ran the table in PCL play, going a perfect 11-0.
2021 was also the year Wood won its first of three straight state titles – two as a Class 4A and last year as a 5A school. The Vikings hope to defend their 5A PIAA crown.
Top-seeded Wood begins PCL play on Thursday when it hosts No. 8 Conwell-Egan in the quarterfinal. PCL semifinals are on Feb. 20 with the finals six days later at the Palestra.
Wood beat Conwell-Egan 80-58 in its Jan. 4 regular season matchup.
Signature win: The Vikings have two. Lauren Greer’s buzzer-beater gave Wood a 46-44 win over nationally ranked McDonogh School two days after Christmas. The Vikings rallied frenetically to score the last 16 points of the game to knock off third-place Archbishop Carroll 51-46 on Jan. 20.
Three teams are in the District One 6A tournament. All first-round action is Friday; second-round play is on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Twelve teams will make the state tournament.
Central Bucks East earned the eighth seed and final first-round bye. Winners of a quarterfinal game in the recent SOL Tournament, they will host the winner of No. 9 Neshaminy/No. 24 Ridley. East (18-6, 11-5 SOL) was the runner-up in the SOL Colonial.
Signature win: The Patriots entered the Tampa Bay Invitational on the heels of their worst game of the year. East responded by beating Seffner Christian, who had a 13-1 record, 53-48 to claim the Anna Maria Island bracket. Anna Barry scored 16 and won the bracket’s MVP.
No. 18 Council Rock South (14-8, 10-6 SOL) heads to No. 15 Unionville with the winner to face No. 2 Conestoga. CR South closed the year with three double-digit wins.
Signature win: The Golden Hawks dominated CB East 48-15 four days before Christmas. Cam Gregory had 17 as CR South exploded for a 20-0 third quarter that put the game away.
No. 23 Central Bucks South (12-10, 8-8 SOL) goes to No. 10 WC Henderson with the winner taking on No. 7 Garnet Valley.
Signature Win: The Titans beat Great Valley 35-33 in the opener of the Garnet Valley Holiday Tournament, erasing a 23-20 fourth quarter deficit to win. Yoyo Samayoa paced South with a dozen points.
New Hope-Solebury (11-10, 8-8 SOL), as the lone 3A Suburban One League team, more than handled the bigger competition. The team hosts No. 3 Morrisville in the Feb. 20 semifinal with the winner facing No. 1 Renaissance Academy/No. 4 Bristol in the Feb. 24 final for the 3A PIAA berth.
Signature win: The Lions roared loudly on opening night. They beat Lower Moreland, one of the top teams in 5A, 45-36, at the Bristol Tipoff Tournament behind Izzy Elizondo’s 13 points. NH-S won the tournament the next night.
Faith Christian (14-8) ends the regular season as winner of four of its last five. The Lions are hoping to earn their third straight District One title, and repeat as 2A champions. Faith hosts No. 4 Delco Christian on Tuesday with the final and lone PIAA berth at Bensalem on Feb. 24.
Signature win: The Lions made short work of 4A MaST Charter, 35-26, on Jan. 23. MaST had just one Bicentennial Athletic League loss entering the game.
Upper Bucks Christian (10-12) will enter District One A playoffs as the No. 2 seed; the team had two agonizing one-point losses to No. 1 Jenkintown so a PIAA berth is a strong possibility. Upper Bucks hosts No. 3 Phil-Mont Christian – who Upper Bucks beat 21-18 in the regular season – on Feb. 20 with the district final set for Feb. 24 at Bensalem. Three teams from the District One/12 combined regional make states.
Signature win: Upper Bucks handled Calvary Christian, a playoff bound 2A team, 29-22 on Jan. 8.
South Hunterdon (6-17) concludes the regular season on Saturday. The Eagles drew the eighth seed in the Central Jersey Group 1 tournament and will host No. 9 Keansburg on Feb. 22. By the time you read this, junior Kadie Fleming (990 career points entering South Hunterdon’s Thursday night game) might already be in the Eagles’ 1,000-point club.
Signature win: The Eagles knocked off Group 3 Hamilton West on Dec. 16 28-21. Fleming had a game-high 12 points.
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