Making the journey more special was sharing it with her mother Chrissie Doogan, O’Hara’s girls’ basketball coach and one of the school’s best-ever performers. Like her mom decades earlier, Maggie eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau, finishing with 1,084.

A two-time first-team All-Catholic and two-time first-team all-state selection who averaged 16 points, seven rebounds, and three assists this year, the 6-2 forward/center will play at the University of Richmond.

“Being named 4A state player of the year is an amazing honor and I’m humbled to have been recognized for it,” said Allen. “It shows all of the hard work that not only me – but my team – put in to have the end result that we did as state champs.

“I couldn’t have gotten this without them doing what they do, too, so I’m super honored and appreciate all of the support.”

Wood coach Mike McDonald, the orchestrator of four PIAA/two PCL titles, has certainly seen his share of standout athletes during his outstanding career.

“It feels good to receive the Player of the Year award, and I’m honored because I’m finally getting the recognition I deserve,” said Hayes, who suffered the devastating loss of two siblings within about a year’s time. “This is another thing I accomplished for my brother and sister. It’s a great accolade to cap off my senior season.”

Neumann-Goretti coach Andrea Peterson has been one of Hayes’ top supporters throughout her career, particularly since the beginning of the season.

“She said, ‘What’s that?’” said Burbidge. “After I explained, she understood that it’s a very nice honor, and it definitely is.”

Smikle’s ability to consistently hit shots impressed Burbidge.

“She’s got really good range,” said Burbidge. “She shoots at a very high percentage. She’s effortless from 28 feet. She’s a great scorer, and a lot of times great scorers aren’t good shooters from distance and get a lot of their baskets around the basket, but Kaylene scores in a myriad of ways.”

Archbishop Carroll senior 5-4 guard Grace O’Neill, a three-time first-team All-Catholic, led the Patriots to a PCL title as a freshman and a PCL championship loss as a senior.

The Drexel University signee averaged 15 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3 assists per game. 

Cardinal O’Hara senior Sydni Scott, a 5-8 guard who will play at Marshall University, takes her second straight first-team, all-state award.

Scott reached 1,000 career points in January and became the third player in PCL history to be named first-team All-Catholic four straight seasons.

Cardinal O’Hara senior Annie Welde, who next year will attend Villanova University, is a 5-11 senior forward who averaged 8.0 points and 6.0 rebounds and an integral member of O’Hara’s two straight state titles and PCL championship this season.

Cardinal O’Hara freshman Molly Rullo averaged 10.5 points and five rebounds while shooting 60 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the free-throw line.

As the season progressed, Rullo occasionally led the Lions in scoring and established herself as one of the PCL’s up-and-coming players to watch.

St. Hubert’s senior Gianna Grassifulli is a three-sport standout in basketball, softball, and soccer, the latter of which garnered her a scholarship to play at St. Peter’s University.

The 5-7 guard/forward averaged 18.3 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.1 steals, and 3 assists en route to a first-team All-Catholic selection.

Lansdale Catholic 5-9 junior guard Gabby Casey improved from last year’s second-team selection by averaging 22 points, 9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.5 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game while taking the Crusaders to a fourth-place finish in a brutally competitive PCL and a berth in the state final, where she tallied 17 points.

Casey has scored 1,070 points in her career and was named first-team All-Catholic this year. 

Notre Dame Academy senior Maeve McErlane, the Inter-Academic League Most Valuable Player, finished her excellent career with more than 1,000 points.

The 5-9 guard averaged 17.8 points, 5 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 2.9 assists and signed with DePaul University.

Germantown Academy junior Kendall Bennett, a 6-3, forward/center, is a two-time, first-team All-Inter-Academic League selection.

Under the tutelage of legendary coach Sherri Retif, Bennett collected 14 double-doubles and averaged 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks while shooting 53 percent from the floor.  

Archbishop Wood 5-10 guard Bri Bowen emerged as one of the PCL’s best-ever defenders while dishing averages of slightly more than eight points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal.

A major pain to those she blankets, the Delaware University signee finished her high school career with 656 points, 520 rebounds, 173 assists, and 113 steals and was named first-team All-Catholic this winter.

Archbishop Wood junior Deja Evans overwhelmed opponents under the boards by averaging nine rebounds and two blocks.

In a state championship victory, the second-team All-Catholic seized a championship-game record 20 boards and added 15 points. During the state tourney, she averaged 10 points and 14.2 rebounds. 

Penn Charter junior Aleah Snead helped guide the Quakers to their first-ever outright Inter-Academic League title while averaging 15.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.8 steals, and 1.1 blocks.

A fantastic campaign led to a verbal commitment to play at St. Joseph’s University.

Neumann-Goretti senior D’Ayzha Atkinson established herself as one of the PCL’s top inside players.

The 5-7 forward averaged 12.2 points, 9.5 boards, and 1.2 assists.

Germantown Friends senior Clare Meyer, a 6-3 Dartmouth University signee, was a Friends Schools League first-team selection after leading GFS to an impressive 21-6 record.

Westtown School sophomore Zahra King, a 5-10 guard, was second-team all-state last year and this season was a Friends Schools first-team, all-league selection who averaged 9.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists.

Westtown School junior Grace Sundback, a 5-10 junior, averaged 11.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists.

(Contact John Knebels at jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)