PGH:VHSL State Championship Preview

Rasheen Johnson March 10, 2025 @ 09:35 AM

Osbourn Park Vs Manchester Manchester is making its third consecutive appearance in the state title game and are the defending champs. OP has been the clear cut favorite since the middle of the season and goes into this game with a lot of momentum! Op has a stacked roster and convincely beat Manchester earlier this year. Manchester is one stranger to this situation, last year's state title game they were able to beat a loaded Thomas Dale team and bring home the title!     Keys to Victory   Osbourn Park   Continue to use that depth! Usually in big games coaches tend to shorten the bench but this is a deep team that can wear you down over that course of the game.   Two Key players: [player_tooltip player_id='239413' first='Keyarah' last='Rainey'] [player_tooltip player_id='749391' first='Payton' last='Walters']   Manchester   Outside the usual suspects Manchester is going to have to find production from players on the bench and in the starting line up! If they can find 25+ points off the bench I believe they will have a puncher's chance.   Two Key players: [player_tooltip player_id='376327' first='Finley' last='Weaver'] [player_tooltip player_id='304787' first='Rayne' last='Wright']   Princess Anne Vs William Fleming    A true David versus Goliath match up in the class 5 title game! You might have to fact check me on this but PA may have more state titles than any girls program in the state of Virginia and are defending champs! William Fleming who lost the region final to LC Bird was able to avenge that loss in a exciting game where they hit a buzzer beater to claim this spot in this title game!  Keys to Victory   Princess Anne    The only thing that stops this freight train from finishing this title run is that they can not get key players into foul trouble. Since they have so many key players it looks like they will be almost impossible to do!   Two Key players: [player_tooltip player_id='443350' first='Micah' last='Ojo'] [player_tooltip player_id='443360' first='Ellery' last='Giddens']   William Fleming   70 points is the number! If William Fleming can be the first team to 70 points we would think to be at least in the game. As a team they will have to limit turnovers to less than 10! The starters will have to produce that lion share of the points to even have a shot in this game!   Two Key players  [player_tooltip player_id='409779' first='Amari' last='Worsham'] [player_tooltip player_id='815658' first='Signae' last='Houston']     Salem Vs Heritage   Salem puts its 27-2 record on display in the state championship final which came on the heels of a 21st straight at home winning streak dating back to last season. Heritage will roll in looking for their 18th straight win after a first round blowout win 72-37 and a 10 point win over class 4 runner up Hampton!   Keys To Victory    Salem   The atmosphere in Salem gym was unmatched versus Manor if they can travel well to Richmond. That may be something that doesn't show up in the stat sheet that can be a game changer!   Two Key players: [player_tooltip player_id='438497' first='Emerson' last='Custer'] [player_tooltip player_id='731303' first='Gabby' last='Crawley']   Heritage    Consistent scoring as a team! Round point total was 72 and the second round game was 41 for a 56.5 average. That might not get it done versus a Salem team that has go to players that get buckets when needed!    Two Key players [player_tooltip player_id='1213227' first='Riley' last='Makitka'] [player_tooltip player_id='985809' first='Alyssa' last='Stanford']