MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Postseason play in girls basketball begins across the state in just two weeks. At this point in the season, there are very few surprises and the importance of each contest only grows. A look at the bigger picture in each class with the regular season winding down.
Class AAA
— Wheeling Park (18-2) is an efficient offensive team with a variety of scoring options. The Patriots are 15-1 against state competition, with their only losses against Huntington and Indian Creek (Oh). The Patriots have already beaten defending runner-up University three times, along with defending state champion Parkersburg back on Dec. 11.
— Speaking of the Big Reds, they’ve rattled off six straight wins to improve to 12-5 overall. After playing eight straight games against out-of-state teams, PHS has hit its stride and recently beat South Charleston and Cabell Midland consecutively.
— Greenbrier East is also among the top teams at 14-2 overall. A semifinalist a season ago, the Spartans only in-state setback came Jan. 25 against Woodrow Wilson.
— After winning each of its first 13 games, Cabell Midland dropped three straight before getting back on track by beating St. Albans. The Knights suffered their first loss to Beckley, before back-to-back double-digit defeats to Parkersburg and George Washington.
— Martinsburg has won 13 consecutive games since a 1-2 start. The Bulldogs, scheduled to play Greenbrier East later Saturday, last loss Dec. 20 to Fairmont Senior.
— Woodrow Wilson is 13-3 overall with two of its three defeats having come against GW. The Eagles recently completed a stretch of four straight wins over the likes of Cabell Midland, Greenbrier East, Huntington and Morgantown.
— George Washington (11-5) got off to a 2-3 start, but has since shown it will be a force come March. The Patriots have two wins over Beckley and have also beaten Huntington, Cabell Midland and Summers County.
— Despite a loss to Huntington in its last outing, South Charleston has navigated its way to a 12-4 record through a challenging schedule.
— The Highlanders have also faced a difficult slate and are 12-6 with three straight wins.
Class AA
— With Thursday’s 69-68 victory against Fairmont Senior, North Marion completed a regular season sweep of the Polar Bears and won its seventh straight to improve to 18-1. The Huskies have only three regular season games remaining.
— Frankfort (15-1) is unbeaten outside of a one-point loss to the Huskies back on Dec. 14. The Falcons beat Petersburg (16-4) convincingly for the second time in their most recent game and have won all eight games in 2020 by double digits.
— Defending state champion Fairmont Senior (15-3) has won all 15 games its played against teams other than North Marion or Frankfort. Two of the Polar Bears’ losses are by one point, including the most recent one to North Marion that snapped a 10-game win streak.
— Winfield (15-2) had its nine-game win streak snapped last week with a 51-47 setback to South Charleston. The Generals won all nine games during the streak by double digits.
— Wayne is 14-2 overall with losses to North Marion and Winfield. Although both setbacks came in lopsided fashion, the Pioneers have several quality wins. Wayne was supposed to battle Mingo Central (14-4) on Thursday, but the game was postponed until Feb. 15.
— Lincoln (12-5) has won three straight since it gave North Marion all it could handle in a 68-65 loss.
Class A
— After winning its first 17 games, Saint Joseph Central (18-1) suffered its first loss to Mount Notre Dame of Cincinnati, 80-72. The defending state champion Irish have played only two state schools (Spring Mills and Lincoln) as they’ve largely run through a challenging national schedule.
— Parkersburg Catholic is the only undefeated team remaining in the state. The Crusaderettes (18-0) have won every game by double digits as they seek to play on championship Saturday in Charleston for a second straight year. A year ago, Saint Joseph defeated Parkersburg Catholic in the Class A title game.
— Despite losing twice in the Big Atlantic Classic, Summers County (11-5) has proven it’s among the top Class A teams. The Bobcats’ only defeat to a Class A school came against Pocahontas County afer Summers had beaten the Warriors in their first matchup this season.
— Gilmer County (14-4) also has just one loss to a Class A school — that being a lopsided defeat at the hands of Parkersburg Catholic. The Titans’ other three losses all came against Class AA teams.
— Pocahontas County (14-4) has won eight of its last nine since falling to the Crusaderettes in their final game in 2019. The Warriors’ lone loss over that time was to Tucker County by two points.
— The Mountain Lions have won three in a row and five of six since losing by two points to Pocahontaas County on Jan. 17. Tucker County later got even with a 41-39 win over the Warriors, meaning the two teams have an even scoring margin (86-86) in two regular season matchups.