The 2023-2024 girls basketball season has officially wrapped up with the conclusion of the NCHSAA state championships two weeks ago.

In the NCHSAA playoffs, Fayetteville represented well with eight girls teams, five teams from the 3A, and three in the 4A classifications competing and one succeeding at a high level, that was a 3A East Regional title run by the Terry Sanford Bulldogs that resulted in a loss to the defending champions of the 3A class, West Rowan.

GIRLS POY VOTING: Vote for the 2023-24' 910Preps Fans' Choice Girls' Basketball Player of the Year

BOYS POY VOTING: Vote for the 2023-24' 910Preps Fans' Choice Boys' Basketball Player of the Year

As we look back at the 2023-24 postseason, here are the eight Fayetteville girls teams who qualified, along with their final 910Preps power rankings and way-too-early predictions based on playoff production heading into 2024-25 season.

3A

No. 2 Cape Fear (27-2, 14-0 U8)

The Colts had a historic season led by Elon commit Jayda Angel. Though expected to reach the 3A state championship, Cape Fear fell in the fourth round to crosstown rival Terry Sanford.

No. 3 Terry Sanford (26-6, 14-0 AAC)

Terry Sanford saw the playoffs all the way through and won the 3A East after defeating top-ranked South Central, but fell in the championship game to defending champion West Rowan.

No. 12 E.E. Smith (20-8, 14-2 AAC)

E.E. Smith had a great season under legend Dee Hardy, but ran into a bump in the road across town that was the Terry Sanford Bulldogs. In the postseason, Smith fell to Western Alamance in the third round of the playoffs to end its season.

No. 17 Westover (14-11, 10-6 AAC)

Westover had a better season than most would have expected. After finishing fourth in the All American Conference, the Wolverines fell in the first round of the playoffs on the road to Vance County.

No. 22 Seventy-First (14-14, 9-6 U8)

Seventy-First shocked the state in the opening round of the playoffs, defeating No. 11 West Brunswick by 20 points. The Falcons completed the season fourth in the United 8 under coach Brandie Ingram.

4A

No. 8 South View (20-8, 11-3 U8)

South View had an extremely successful year under Travis Lemanski. Notching its first 20-win season since 2015-16, the Tigers made it all the way to the Sweet 16 before falling to top-seeded Hoggard.

No. 17 Jack Britt (18-7, 11-3 U8)

The McArthur-led Buccaneers were arguably the third- or fourth-best girls team in the Fayetteville public school sector, but met their match in the first round of the playoffs. After a flat second half, Jack Britt fell to Wakefield in the first round of the 4A playoffs.

No. 23 Pine Forest (11-15, 6-8 AAC)

Pine Forest's season went better than most Fayetteville fans thought. Going without their star player Amaya Hunt, the Trojans were still able to make the 4A East playoffs but fell to South View in a hotly contested matchup.

Way-too-early predictions

Cape Fear may take a step back next season

Cape Fear has maintained dominance for the last three seasons. Key players, Jayda Angel, Kayia Starling, Teralynn Harris, and Anijah Jones are all graduating this season and the Colts saw the majority of their production come from them. Unless the Colts can find scoring production to replace Angel, expect them to take a step back next season.

Terry Sanford will win 3A championship next season

Terry Sanford had a magnificent run to win the 3A East this past season. They'll only be losing three players next year — Rebecca Kaba, Skylar Young, and Jayla Brantley, who missed this season due to a knee injury. But the Bulldogs will still have Co-Player of the Year Breonna Roaf and 910Preps Preseason Player of the Year Ameya Brown, along with the Fab Four Freshmen returning for their sophomore season, expect coach Christopher Goodman to take them all the way there during Roaf's senior campaign.

E.E. Smith will make a deeper playoff run

The Golden Bullettes had a good run this past season. But it wasn't enough, as they fell to Terry Sanford four times over the course of the season. If you know Coach Hardy's pedigree, then you know that getting over the hump to be conference champions is a goal, and making a deep playoff run is the bigger picture. If the Golden Bullettes can get past Terry Sanford during the regular season, it'll equip them to also make a playoff run that goes deeper than the third round. They may not beat Terry Sanford more times than they'll lose, but they will make the season series nearly even.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: 2024 NCHSAA basketball season review and way-too-early predictions.