HS BASKETBALL: Scranton Prep girls and Holy Cross boys top The Times-Tribune preseason polls

Posted by Admin November 29, 2024 Basketball

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Scranton Prep’s Jenna Hillebrand.

Scranton Prep girls, Mountain View girls and the Holy Cross boys ended last high school basketball season at the Giant Center in Hershey, concluding thrilling runs through the PIAA playoffs.

All three earned silver medals.

The three teams return veteran and experienced lineups and are expected to contend for division, district and state titles. They are also among the top teams in the preseason rankings in The Times-Tribune High School Basketball Polls.

Scranton Prep opens as the No. 1 girls team while Holy Cross is No. 1 in the first boys poll.

The Classics played a daunting nonleague schedule, got rolling, and captured their seventh straight Lackawanna League Division I title, the District 2 Class 4A championship before losing to Blackhawk in the PIAA final. They finished 23-6 and have all five starters returning.

Jenna Hillebrand and Maya Jenkins are All-Region players. They were also selected for the Pennsylvania Sports Writers Class 4A all-state team. Hillebrand made the second team, and Jenkins was a third-team selection.

Bella Dennebaum, Claire McGrath and Ashlyn Moore are also back for Scranton Prep, making the team the overwhelming favorite to win Division I.

Scranton, which shared the top ranking with the Classics in last season’s final poll, is ranked second.

The Lady Knights dominated last season, won the District 2 Class 5A title and reached the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals. They return Chrissy Jacklinski, an All-Region player, and sharpshooter Maggie O’Shea. However, they lost last season’s Times-Tribune Player of the Year, Zya Small, who transferred to Friends School in Philadelphia after an all-state freshman season.

Scranton will compete in Class 6A this season.

The top six teams in the girls ranking reached the PIAA playoffs last season, with five winning at least one game.

Abington Heights, which reached the Class 5A quarterfinals, is ranked third, Mountain View is at No. 5 after reaching the Class 1A final, and Valley View is sixth after reaching the Class 4A quarterfinals.

No. 4 Dunmore is favored to win the Lackawanna Division II title.

Mountain View has several starters back, including last season’s PSW Class 1A state Player of the Year Addison Kilmer. This season, however, the Lady Eagles move up to compete in Class 2A.

Three teams that moved from Lackawanna Division II to Division I this season are ranked, including Honesdale at No. 7, Wallenpaupack at No. 8, and North Pocono, last year’s Division II champion, at No. 9.

Elk Lake returns four starters and is expected to challenge Mountain View for the title in Lackawanna Division III. The Lady Warriors are No. 10

In the boys ranking, Holy Cross is coming off an impressive run to the PIAA Class 2A final. The Crusaders have all five starters returning, including All-Region and Class 2A all-state guard Michael Hughes. They are moving up to compete in Class 3A and had an outstanding summer.

At No. 2 is Riverside, which returns its starting lineup, including All-Region guard Gerry Rose and adds collegiate prospect and dynamic freshman Nico Antoniacci. The Vikings and Crusaders will compete for the Lackawanna Division II and District 2 Class 3A.

After Holy Cross and Riverside, teams from Division I fill the next four spots: Scranton Prep, Scranton, Valley View and Abington Heights.

Scranton Prep found the winning formula late last season and reached the PIAA Class 4A semifinals. Scranton won the District 2 Class 6A championship and has three starters returning. Valley View reached the PIAA Class 4A second round and has three starters back. Abington Heights has a new coach in JC Show and two starters returning.

No. 7 Old Forge, No. 8 Lakeland and No. 9 Dunmore are expected to battle with the heavyweights in Division II.

Elk Lake coach John Warnero is returning for his second stint. The Warriors are favored to win Lackawanna Division III and are ranked at No. 10.