BENSALEM, Pa. – Strike up the band, the Saints are marching home with ton of silverware!

Top-ranked Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) was at it again last Friday at the GIANT Center in Hershey, Pa. The Saints extracted a huge thorn when it hammered Seton-LaSalle (Pittsburgh) in the Class AA state final. It completed a perfect 31-0 season and added the most coveted piece of hardware: the PIAA trophy.

Coach Andrea Peterson, the national coach of the year, guided the Saints to the Philadelphia Catholic League and District 12 championships and then finished off five opponents to make history. Coincidentally three other PCL boys’ teams won state titles, including Neumann-Goretti, and one boys’ team from the Philadelphia Public League (Constitution High in Class A). That’s five overall state champions from the City of Brotherly (and Sisterly) Love.

If you are keeping score at home that’s 21 state champions in the Elite 25. This weekend, California and New York crown more champions.

And when the state championships are settled, there’s more.

Three Elite 25 teams will compete in the Dick’s Sporting Goods High School National Tournament starting on April 3 in New York. Here are the semifinal-matchups with tip times at Christ the King High School’s Father John Savage Memorial Gymnasium in Middle Village, N.Y. (All games shown on ESPNU):

11 a.m., Miami Country Day vs. Gonzaga Prep; and 1 p.m., Dillard vs. South Shore (Brooklyn, N.Y.). The championship game is April at Madison Square Garden. Dillard is making its third appearance in the tournament.

Check back periodically at www.bluestarmedia.org for staff updates from showcase events all season. Our staff will be busy through August and next week at the McDonald’s All American Game in Chicago and the Dick’s Nationals in New York. The Elite 25 girls’ rankings return on April 6 with the final edition.

We hope to see you at a game soon. – Christopher Lawlor

Blue Star Media Elite 25 Girls’ Basketball rankings, March 25, 2015

1. Neumann-Goretti, Philadelphia (31-0)*

Previous rank: 1.

Low down: The Saints are National Champions after pummeling Seton-LaSalle (Pittsburgh), 79-34, in Class AAA state championship. A 28-6 second quarter by the Saints run put away the team they had lost to in the 2014 final. A.J. Timbers scored a game-high 20 points, Ciani Cryor had 11 points, and 15 assists, Texas-bound Christina Aborowa tallied 13 points and Sianni Martin added 16 points. They also stopped Holy Redeemer (Wilkes-Barre), 77-41, in semifinals as Kamiah Smalls scored 18 points, Cryor had 17 and Martin added 12. Season complete.

2. Blackman, Murfreesboro, Tenn. (32-2)*

Previous: 2.

Low down: Won second straight Class AAA championship. Season complete.

3. St. Mary’s, Stockton, Calif. (33-1)

Previous: 3.

Low down: The Rams drained nine 3-pointers, including five from junior Kat Tudor (team-high 16 points) in a 67-52 win over Miramonte (Orinda) in the Northern California Region final. It was the Rams’ 10^th Northern California title and first in the Open Division. In the semifinals, the Rams held off Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco), 70-65. Freshman sensation Aquira DeCosta’s layup with 70 seconds left in the game gave them a 65-63 lead after trailing by eight points, 38-30, at the break. The dream matchup is set for Saturday when the Rams face No. x Mater Dei (Santa Ana) in the final the Cal Berkeley’s Haas Pavilion.

4. Myers Park, Charlotte, N.C. (29-1)*

Previous: 4.

Low down: Won second consecutive Class 4A state championship. Coach Barbara Nelson bagged her ninth state title (seven at Providence County Day of Charlotte) as the Mustangs became Mecklenburg County’s first 4A girls’ basketball to repeat as state champions. Season complete.

5. Dillard, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (30-1)*

Previous: 5.

Low down: Won Class 5A state championship. An invite to the Dick’s Nationals on April 3 in New York has been accepted.

6. Cypress Woods, Cypress, Texas (35-1)*

Previous: 6.

Low down: Won Class 6A state championship. Season complete.

7. Marian, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (26-1)*

Previous: 8.

Low down: Won second straight Class A state championship, defeating DeWitt, 51-37, in the final. Sophomore Samantha Thomas scored 12 of her game-high 17 point in the second half and her sister, junior Bailey Thomas, added all 12 points after the break. It was the sixth title for coach Mary Cicerone, also winning in 1988, ’92, ’96 and ’98. In the semifinals, the Mustangs defeated King (Detroit), 57-37 and Kettering (Waterford), 51-42, in the quarterfinals as Brittany Gray scored 12 points and Bailey Thomas nailed seven clutch free throws in the final period. Season complete.

8. Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif. (31-2)

Previous: 9.

Low down: Won the Southern California Region Open Division championship, beating then-No. 7 Chaminade (West Hills), 48-44. With the score at 44, Andee Velasco sank two frees with 51 seconds left and Katie Samuelson (16 points), who earlier last week was named Gatorade’s national player of the year, added two more for the margin of victory. In the semifinals, Samuelson was unconscious from three-point land, dropping in five treys en route to a 30-point performance as the Monarchs knocked off then-No. 18 Poly (Long Beach), 60-44. The Loyola Marymount-bound Velasco added 17 points. The Monarchs play No. 3 St. Mary’s (Stockton) on Saturday’s final in Berkeley.

9. Paul VI, Fairfax, Va. (32-2)*

Previous: 11.

Low down: Won the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and a ninth straight Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division I championship. Season complete.

11. Miami (Fla.) Country Day (30-2)*

Previous: 11.

Low down: Won second consecutive Class 3A state championship. MCD is headed to the Dick’s Nationals on April 3 in New York.

12. Braintree, Mass. (25-0)*

Previous: 12.

Low down: Won second straight Division I championship. Season complete.

13. Cumberland Valley, Mechanicsburg, Pa. (32-1)*

Previous: 13.

Low down: Win second straight and third overall Class AAAA state championship, downing Central Bucks West (Doylestown), 40-35. Villanova-bound junior Kelly Jekot led all scorers with 13 points. The Eagles defeated Norwin (North Huntington), 56-40, in the semifinals as Jekot sisters combined for 40 points, with Kelly scoring a game-high 22. Season complete.

14. Capital Prep, Hartford, Conn. (25-1)*

Previous: 14.

Low down: Won Class L state championship, trouncing Northwest Catholic (West Hartford), 87-59, in the final. Kiah Gillespie, Maryland signee, had an impressive double-double with 42 points and 22 rebounds. She will play in the McDonald’s All American Game on April 1 in Chicago. Junior Desiree Elmore, a Syracuse recruit, had 30 points, 17 rebounds and 8 assists for the program’s third overall crown and second in Class L. Season complete.

15. Columbus (Ind.) North (28-1)*

Previous: 15.

Low down: Won Class 4A state championship. Season complete.

16. Canyon, Texas (34-3)*

Previous: 16.

Low down: Won second straight Class 5A championship. Season complete.

17. Archbishop Alter, Kettering, Ohio (30-0)*

Previous: 17.

Low down: Won second Division II state championship, defeating Rogers (Toledo), 57-42, in the final. Emma Bockrath tallied a game-high 21 points and Maddie Bazelak added 12 for the Lady Knights, who led 43-34 after three. In the semifinals, the Lady Knights toppled West Holmes (Millersburg), 53-37, as Bockrath scored 13 of her game-high 23 points. Season complete.

18. Ursuline Academy, Wilmington, Del. (24-1)*

Previous: 19.

Low down: Won 15^th state championship in 22 appearances. Season complete.

19. Gonzaga Prep, Spokane, Wash. (27-0)*

Last week: 21.

Low down: Won second straight Class 4A state championship. The Bullpups carry a 50-game win streak into the Dick’s Nationals on April 3 in New York.

20. Hopkins, Minnetonka, Minn. (30-1)*

Previous: 23.

Low down: Won fourth Class 4A state championship in five years, defeating Eastview (Apple Valley), 68-60, in the final. Nia Hollie tossed in 26 points, Iowa State-bound T.T. Starks had 16 and Ashley Bates had 15. The Royals also stopped Shakopee, 64-33, in the semifinals and Mayo (Rochester), 62-35, in the quarterfinals. Season complete.

21. Konawaena, Kealakekua, Hawaii (30-1)*

Previous: 20.

Low down: Won Division I state championship, Season complete.

22. Benet Academy, Lisle, Ill. (34-3)*

Previous: 23.

Low down: Won first-ever Class 4A state championship. Season complete.

23. Pius XI, Milwaukee (28-0)*

Previous: 24.

Low-down: Won second overall WIAA Division 2 state championship. Season complete.

24. Poly, Long Beach, Calif. (26-4)

Previous: 18.

Low down: The Jackrabbits are done following a 60-44 loss to then-No. 9 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) in the Southern California Region Open Division semifinals. Season complete.

25. Holy Cross, Covington, Ky. (33-3)*

Previous: 25..

Low-down: Won Kentucky Sweet Sixteen State Championship, becoming the first Northern Kentucky school to win the single-class state crown. Season complete.

Dropped: None.

High-Fives by Region

East

1. Manasquan, N.J. (31-2)*

2. St. Rose, Belmar, N.J. (32-2)*

3. Central Bucks West, Doylestown, Pa. (32-2)

4. Long Island Lutheran, Brookhaven, N.Y. (19-4)

5. McDonogh, Owings Mills, Md. (28-3)*

Geography: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.

Midlands

1. Lakota West, West Chester, Ohio (28-2)*

2. Whitney Young, Chicago (28-2)

3. Incarnate Word Academy, Bel-Nor, Mo. (29-2)*

4. Heritage Christian, Indianapolis (28-2)*

5. Eastview, Apple Valley, Minn. (30-2)

Geography: Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

South

1. Warren Easton, New Orleans (36-1)*

2. Natchez, Miss. (24-1)*

3. McEachern, Powder Springs, Ga. (24-6)*

4. Lake Highland Prep, Orlando, Fl. (29-2)*

5. Jeff Davis, Montgomery, Ala. (31-5)*

Geography: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Far West

1. Centennial, Las Vegas (31-2)*

2. Sierra Canyon School, Chatsworth, Calif. (24-5)

3. Miramonte, Orinda, Calif. (30-3)

4. Sky View, Smithfield, Utah (25-0)*

5. Broomfield, Colo. (26-2)*

Geography: Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

* Won state, national or conference postseason tournament championship

 About: The Blue Star Media Elite 25 High School Girls’ Basketball Rankings are released weekly from November until the conclusion of the high school season. Criteria considered are the quality of the team and its players, strength of schedule, tradition, and quality of the team’s league, conference, region or district. Teams with fifth-year or postgraduate players are not eligible to be ranked. The rankings are compiled by Blue Star Media’s Christopher Lawlor, who consults with a national network of coaches, talent evaluators and prep sports writers. The final rankings will be released on April 4. Follow him on Twitter: @clawlor.