The Villa Maria Academy girls basketball team finished the season by taking second place in the state championship game. The loss in the state championship game was the Victors’ only loss of the season, as they finished with a 20-1 record. By winning the District 10 Championship game against Fort LeBoeuf this year, Villa claimed the schools 25th District 10 title.
Villa cruised through the first game of the PIAA playoffs by defeating St. Mary’s 60-13 at the Mullen Gymnasium. In the next playoff game, the Victors had a very close game against Beaver High School. Senior Ava Waid hit the game-tying shot in regulation, and freshman Jayden McBride gave Villa the lead with late free throws in overtime as they advanced to the next round with a 29-28 overtime victory. Senior Rachel Majewski led the team with 8 points. The Victors were in need of just one more win to clinch a spot in the PIAA State Championship game. Villa faced off against Delone Catholic. Villa downed Delone Catholic 47-39 to take a claim a spot in Hershey at the Giant Center.
The Victors traveled down to Hersey for the biggest game of the season against Archbishop Wood in the PIAA State Championship game. Archbishop Wood came into the game with some very talented Division 1 recruits. Villa was not going to back down from anyone standing in the way of winning a championship. The Victors played a very competitive game before falling 44-34 in the state final and taking second place.
Senior forward Ainsley Thunell spoke on having the opportunity to play in the state championship game.
“It was an amazing experience and something we all worked so hard for,” Ainsley said. “I was so happy to have made it with this team and especially it being my senior year this has been our goal all along.”
Senior guard Rachel Majewski talked about how grateful she was to have a basketball season.
“At the beginning of the year, we weren’t sure we were going to be able to have a season, especially after the three-week shutdown,” Rachel said. “We would always have the mindset that any one of these games could be our last one, so each and every game, we played our hearts out. We were just so thankful to have a season together and we made it a memorable one.”
The Villa Victors basketball team had a very successful season. These group of seniors, including Ainsley Thunell, Rachel Majewski, Ava Waid, and Sydney Pearson led the team to their first state championship appearance since 2017. The Victors dominated the league all year and had great success under head coach Doug Chuzie once again.
