Final Rankings
1. Bishop Ireton (31-6)–The Cardinals put another punctuation on an already fantastic state-title year when they won “The Throne” Tournament in late March. Along the way in that one they defeated Bishop McNamara (MD), which won the WCAC and defeated Ireton three times earlier in the year. Nothing left to accomplish for this team of legend.
2. Paul VI (21-10)–The Panthers finished strong, decimating supposedly higher-seeded Catholic in the semis of the VISAA Tournament before giving Ireton a much-closer game than they had earlier in the year. PVI loses the Rileys (Miller and Hamburger), two good players, but those two were the only seniors on the roster.
3. Virginia Academy (23-8)–VAA won another Division II VISAA title with a 62-56 victory over Norfolk Christian. Believe the Patriots will move up to Division I next season, which will be a challenge. Virginia Academy loses Leah Keyes (George Mason) and a couple others, but does have a good amount of firepower coming back so expect success again next season.
4. Osbourn Park (27-3)–Finish as state champs in Class 6, which pretty much looked close-to-inevitable most of the year. Kudos for Chrissy Kelly for challenging this team with a tough out-of-district schedule that kept the Jackets razor-sharp all season. Alex Brown (Stony Brook) graduating will hurt, but do-everything Key Rainey and a whole lot of firepower returns.
5. Potomac School (18-12)–A very disappointing one-point road loss to a very good St. Anne’s Belfield team ended Potomac School’s season in the VISAA Division I Quarterfinals. Panthers will lose two starters in Catherine LeTendre and Zora Burrell next year but have good firepower back with Anderson, Eldredge, Sewall, and others.
6. Robinson (23-5)–Season ends in disappointing fashion at Manchester, though Robinson delivered another impressive regional title in a loaded Occoquan, and defeated Oakton first round of states. It’ll be weird seeing Georgia Simonsen play for Radford instead of Robinson. We’re excited for her, and excited to see how Rams freshman London Augustin progresses.
7. Heritage (25-3)–An amazing season for the Pride ends in a Class 4 state title with a 46-37 win over Salem in Richmond. This team played fantastic defense but got potent offense when it mattered–in the state title game junior Alyssa Stanford delivered 23 points and 15 boards. She’ll be back, plus Dulles POY Riley Makitka, and others.
8. West Potomac (25-5)–Wounded Wolverines minus Abby Beddis and Jill Humphreys had no chance at Osbourn Park, but what a season for the Wolverines. Had a hard road, having to win at Hayfield and at a neutral site versus SoCo to even make states. Then, to go outscore a red-hot Langley team 35-9 in the second half at states to advance? Wow.
9. Langley (24-4)–The loss to West Potomac doesn’t diminish much a fantastic season for Langley, which won the Northern Region Tournament by going through half the Concorde District, to include Centreville and Oakton. Anya Rahman and Peyton Daley will be missed. They are the only graduating seniors, though, and you know about Langley’s fabulous freshman class.
10. Centreville (21-5)–Centreville-Langley was an exciting Northern Region Semifinal matchup, but somebody had to lose and miss states. That was Centreville, which nonetheless had an amazing season. Kennedy Parrott will play her college ball at Colgate next season. That’s a big loss, but the Wildcats retain a very good junior class with Claire Kang running the show.
11. South County (20-5)–South County established itself as a major player this season, winning the Patriot District Tournament, and only falling short of states because of a last-second West Potomac buzzer-beater. Laila Tull is one of the best guards in Northern Virginia and tall guard-forward Natalya Wooten has massive upside. Both should be back next year.
12. Oakton (23-6)–After getting swept by Chantilly and Centreville during the regular season, Oakton won the Concorde Tournament and made states yet again. Sophie Toole and Brooke Chang combined to score over 30 a game this season–they’ll return, and sophomore forward Jocelynn Kinelaw has real next-level potential.
13. Edison (23-4)–Edison was right there with Robinson in the Occoquan Semis, and only came a few baskets away from returning to states. Got an important win against Hayfield to win the National District Tournament as well. Sarah Chawki and Shannon Heiner are big losses, but nevertheless the Eagles should be able to test Hayfield next year.
14. Hayfield (20-7)–This year losing the National Tourney had consequences, as it matched the Hawks up with West Potomac in the Occoquan Quarters. They lost, but this roster is young, loaded and the Hawks are a contender to go much deeper next year.
15. Chantilly (17-8)–Disappointing one-point loss to Oakton ended the Chargers’ season in the Northern Region semis. Still, going 9-1 during the Concorde regular season despite a season-ending injury to Abigail Goodman was impressive. She’ll form a really good backcourt next year with Alivia Tarry, though graduations to Emerson Mustard and Madeleine Bernet will hurt.
16. Woodgrove (19-9)–Wolverines fell to Salem at Class 4 states but had an excellent year against an ambitious schedule. Woodgrove loses three seniors including the underrated Valerie Blankenship, but there’s a ton of young talent on this roster that returns. Sophomore May Marsh’s inside-outside scoring ability makes her a threat to average 20 ppg next season.
17. Flint Hill (21-8)–Flint Hill quietly had a very good season under Sedrick Winston. They went undefeated in the ISL lower division, sweeping teams like Stone Ridge and Episcopal (which beat O’Connell at VISAAs). Trouble is, now the Huskies have to navigate the top division next year without all-world senior Raigan McCalla, who is a ready-made college basketball player.
18. Gainesville (15-13)–The Cardinals had a pretty good year against a tough schedule, which included four losses against Osbourn Park. Junior Peyton White remains the headliner for a team that loses only two seniors, and Gainesville should be even better next season if everyone returns.
19. Potomac Falls (22-5)–One of the quietest 20-win campaigns this season belonged to Potomac Falls, which won the Potomac District and 5D Regionals. We like the younger talent on this roster a lot, though it will be almost impossible to replace the energy and skill underrated senior guard Brynn Hunter brought to the team.
Others Receiving Votes–Washington-Liberty (17-9), John Handley (20-5), O’Connell (15-14), Episcopal (14-11)