Last season, the top seed Centreville Wildcats suffered a disappointing loss in the semifinals of the Concorde District basketball tournament.
The girls high-school team continues to bounce back strong since that setback.
The Wildcats immediately responded last season by winning the 6D North Region tournament with a 3-0 record. Two of those victories were over Concorde rivals Madison and Oakton, always top contenders and former champions in that league.
Centreville then went on to finish 1-1 in the Virginia High School League Class 6 state tournament, losing in the semifinals to the eventual champion Manchester Lancers.
This winter, the Wildcats were off to a 10-2 start overall when this week began, including a 1-0 record in the district. That league win came against Madison by a lopsided 62-31 score on the Wildcats’ home court Jan. 10.
Standout returning starter Kennedy Parrott scored 21 points and had two assists for the Centreville girls against Madison.
Amaya Jackson is another top returner for the Wildcats, in addition to Claire Kang and Maila Siriwardene, who had 18 points with five rebounds and two steals against Madison.
Kang had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Daniela Cuellar also was on last year’s team. She had six rebounds against Madison. Molly Veley is back, as well. She made two three-pointers off the bench in the Madison game.
The Concorde District is expected to be strong again this season. Madison (6-6) will be a top contender, despite that blowout Jan. 10 loss. The Oakton Cougars and Chantilly Chargers are two other strong teams.
Oakton won last season’s district tournament, then lost to Centreville in the region-championship game. Oakton entered this week’s action with an undefeated 13-0 record. Chantilly was 8-4.
Centreville is scheduled to host those two teams Friday, Jan. 24 against Chantilly and Tuesday, Jan. 28 against Oakton. Madison is on the schedule again Friday, Jan. 31 away in Vienna.
