Go-To 25 Girls’ Basketball Rankings, March 13, 2013

BENSALEM, Pa. – Seems every year the Blue Star Media Go-To 25 high school girls’ basketball rankings go down to the wire, with teams jockeying for a coveted slot in the final rankings and invariably California figure prominently.

Funny how things shake out that once again, California, is heavily involved with four teams—three in the Southern Region—eyeing the newly added Open Division title. Last week we mentioned this is a great concept, where powerhouse teams regardless of school enrollment are pooled in the same bracket. When the brackets were released the selection process was met with mixed but mostly frosty reviews. Of course, the final word will come when the tournament wraps up on March 23. So with the Blue Star Media National Championship on iced, No. 5 Windward (Los Angeles), No. 9 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) and No. 23 Corona (Calif.) Santiago will fight it out to be the southern representative while No. 14 Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland) is the frontrunner in the north. Santiago and Mater Dei played late Tuesday night in the semis.

Just over half of the Go-To 25 have won state, conference or national championships while two schools fell in their respective state final. Three of the championship squads still have work left. No. 10 Dr. Phillips (Orlando, Fla.) is headed for the third straight year to the National High School Invitational on April 5 and 6 in Maryland; No. 12 Shabazz (Newark, N.J.) took the Group 2 title but now shift its focus to the State Tournament of Champions, where unranked Rancocas Valley (Mount Holly) is the main threat—with the final on March 19 in Trenton; and No. 25 Life Center Academy (Burlington, N.J.) is off to the NHSI as the winner of the National Association of Christian Athletes title holders.

Six Midlands Region schools will conclude their seasons this weekend. In Michigan, No. 15 Martin Luther King (Detroit) has a tough road to the Class A championship. No. 17 Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) is the clear-cut favorite in Class 4A but strange things usually happen in Minneapolis. No. 4 Marion County (Lebanon, Ky.) needs to win the single-class Sweet Sixteen title in the commonwealth or the last six years of the Makayla Epps and Kyvin Goodlin-Rogers (both headed to UK) era would go unfulfilled. The Knights need to finish with hardware! Perhaps the top tournament is Ohio’s Division I, where No. 21 Twinsburg and No. 24 Fairmont (Kettering) could meet in Saturday’s final in Columbus.

If you’re keeping count, Go-To 25 teams could push the state championship total to 17 if the four of them win out. California will be decided next weekend, with regional semifinal games played on Tuesday (March 12), which will determine the Final Four. Once again this is the greatest time of the year and those who attend championship games know the feeling and the passion permeating the arena.

Better head out to a postseason game locally, it’s the last time until next winter. Hope to see you at a game soon. Enjoy a game in your area this weekend and if you are in Chicago, buy tickets for the McDonald’s All American Game on April 3, which supports a great charity. Those in New Orleans, the 2013 WBCA All-America Game is free on April 6, the weekend of the Women’s Final Four at the New Orleans Arena. – Christopher Lawlor

Varsity Letters

Player of the Week

Saniya Chong, senior, Ossining (N.Y.): On the surface, Chong might be a labeled a pure scorer. But really, she is a complete player, who is know learning to become a leader. Chong showed, again, that she can carry a team as she churned out 41 points, eight steals and six assists as Ossining punched its ticket to the Class AA semifinals with a 79-50 thrashing of Monroe-Woodbury (Central Valley) in the regional final Sunday in West Point, N.Y. After another memorable performance, Chong moved into fourth place on New York State’s all-time girls’ scoring chart with 2,901 points. She has an outside chance to crack 3,000 if the Pride reaches the State Federation Tournament on March 23 in Albany. Chong also scored 39 points in the Section 1 final. The Connecticut-bound guard wasn’t selected for the McDonald’s All American Game but will go to the 2013 WBCA All-American Game in New Orleans.

Places To Be

There several state tournaments this week but clearly the Ohio High School Athletic Association has the goods, with four state titles decided Saturday at Ohio State’s Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus. Division I is the key the bracket with Friday’s semifinals: defending champion No. 21 Twinsburg vs. Olentangy Orange, 6 p.m. EDT and No. 24 Fairmont (Kettering) vs. Notre Dame Academy (Toledo), 8 p.m. The Championship Saturday schedule: Division III (10:45 a.m.), Division II (2 p.m.), Division IV (5:15 p.m.) and Division I (8:30 p.m.). For more visit http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/bk/girls/2013/2013GBKcoverage.htm.

Go-To 25 girls’ basketball rankings, March 13, 2013

1. Duncanville, Texas (42-0)**

Previous ranking: 1.

Low-down: The Pantherettes became the first team in 11 years to repeat as Class 5A champions. Coach Cathy Self-Morgan’s team won the eighth crown in program history and her fifth overall. Season complete.

2. St. Mary’s, Phoenix (29-1)**

Previous: 2.

Low-down: Won Division I championship for third straight state title. Season complete.

3. Riverdale, Murfreesboro, Tenn. (35-0)**

Previous: 3.

Low-down: The Lady Warriors won their second straight Class AAA championship, beating ranked Science Hill (Johnson City), 78-69, as Alex Middleton scored 20 points in the team’s 58^th straight victory. Season complete.

4. Marion County, Lebanon, Ky. (35-0)

Previous: 4.

Low-down: The Lady Knights defeated LaRue County (Hodgenville), 82-60, in 5^th Region championship. Up next is Bowling Green in the Girls’ Sweet Sixteen Tournament first round on Wednesday at Western Kentucky University’s E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green.

5. Windward, Los Angeles (30-0)

Previous: 5.

Low-down: After an opening round bye, the Wildcats played La Jolla Country Day Tuesday in the CIF Southern California Open Division Tournament. The final is Saturday.

6. Incarnate Word Academy, Bel-Nor, Mo. (29-0)

Previous: 6.

Low-down: The Red Knights pounded Kirksville, 78-26, in Class 4 quarterfinals. Sophomore Napheesa Collier scored 25 points. Up next are the semifinals Friday against Dexter in Columbia. The winner gets Webb City or Smithville in Saturday’s championship.

7. Bedford (Ind.) North Lawrence (28-0)**

Previous: 8.

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

8. St. John’s, Washington, D.C. (33-1)**

Previous: 11.

Low-down: The Cadets won the Bishop Walsh Tournament in Cumberland, Md., defeating Archbishop Spalding, 54-44, in final for the third straight year. Tori Oliver posted 18 points and 12 rebounds. Season complete.

9. Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif. (29-1)

Previous: 10.

Low-down: Played ranked Santiago (Corona) in Southern California Region Open Division semifinals Tuesday. A victory could set up a region championship tilt Saturday against No. 5 Windward (Los Angeles).

10. Dr. Phillips, Orlando, Fla. (29-3)**

Previous: 12.

Low-down: Won third straight Class 8A championship. The Panthers earned a third straight invite to the National High School Invitational in April.

11. Marian Catholic, Chicago Heights, Ill. (33-1)**

Previous: 12.

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

12. Shabazz, Newark, N.J. (31-1)**

Previous: 13.

Low-down: Won Group 2 championship, hammering Willingboro, 71-44, for its sixth straight group crown and fourth straight in Group 2. Naqaiyyah Teague scored a career-high 19 points, sank three 3-pointers, and Zaire O’Neill added 18 points and six rebounds. The Lady Bulldogs, who have 10 overall state titles, are the top seed in the State Tournament of Champions and face Point Pleasant Beach or Trenton Catholic in the semifinals on Thursday at the Pine Belt Arena in Toms River.

13. Central Catholic, Portland, Ore. (26-3)**

Previous: 14.

Low-down: Won the elusive Class 6A championship, defeated South Medford, 57-36, in final. Stanford-bound Kailee Johnson had 22 points and 15 rebounds and Tennessee-bound Jordan Reynolds contributed 15 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and five steals for the program’s first-ever title after making the championship game in five of the previous eight years. Season complete.

14. Bishop O’Dowd, Oakland, Calif. (27-3)

Previous: 15.

Low-down: Duke-bound Oderah Chidom had 15 points and 13 rebounds and Breanna Brown provided 13 points and 13 rebounds in a 55-30 win over Brookside Christian (Stockton) in the opening round of the Northern California Region Open Division Tournament. The Dragons played regionally ranked St. Mary’s (Albany) Tuesday in the semifinals.

15. Martin Luther King, Detroit (22-0)

Previous: 16.

Low-down: Won Class A Regional 7, beating Mercy (Farmington Hills), 44-39, in two overtimes. DePaul-bound Antania Hayes scored 16 points and Marte Grays added 11. Played John Glenn (Westland) Tuesday in state quarterfinals. The semifinals are Friday at the Breslin Center in East Lansing and the title game follows Saturday.

16. Dutch Fork, Irmo, S.C. (29-0)**

Previous: 17.

Low-down: Won the Class 4A championship for the second straight year. Season complete.

17. Hopkins, Minnetonka, Minn. (28-1)

Previous: 18.

Low-down: Nia Coffey shot the Royals back to the Class 4A state tournament, burying Minnetonka, 65-35, in the Section 6 final. Coffey threw in a game-high 15 points. The Royals face St. Michael-Albertville in the state quarterfinals Thursday at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The winner plays St. Paul Central or Osseo in the semifinals on Thursday. The final is Saturday.

18. Norcross, Ga. (28-5)**

Previous: Not ranked.

Low-down: Won the Class AAAAAA state championship, defeating then-No. 7 North Gwinnett, 63-42. North Carolina-bound Diamond DeShields pumped I 24 points as the Blue Devils won their third title in four and coach Angie Hembree became the fourth coach in Georgia history to win six state championships, including three at Collins Hill (Suwanee). The Blue Devils showed dominance in the states, winning five games by an average of 32 points. Season complete

19. Pflugerville, Texas (38-1)*

Previous: 19.

Low-down: Advanced to Class 5A state semifinals. Season complete.

20. North Gwinnett, Suwanee, Ga. (30-2)*

Previous: 7.

Low-down: Lost in Class AAAAAA final. Both losses were to No. 20 Norcross, including in the state final, 63-42. Season complete.

21. Twinsburg, Ohio (28-0)

Previous: 21.

Low-down: The defending champion Tigers, riding a 42-game win streak, are back in the Division I state tournament semifinals Friday in Columbus against Olentangy Orange (Lewis Center)  at 6 p.m. EDT. The winner gets ranked Kettering Fairmont or Notre Dame Academy (Toledo) on Saturday for the hardware.

22. Southwood, Shreveport, La. (33-1)**

Previous: 23.

Low-down: Won the Class 5A championship, crushing Natchitoches Central, 62-34, in final. It was the Lady Cowboys first state title since 2008 and 11the overall. Coach Steve McDowell has led them to all 11 plus five runner-up finishes. MVP Jessica Ellis fired in 20 points, sinking 10 of 15 shots. Season complete.

23. Corona (Calif.) Santiago (29-2)

Previous: 22.

Low-down: Idle. Played No. 10 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) in Southern California Region Open Division semifinals. The championship is Saturday.

24. Fairmont, Kettering, Ohio (25-1)

Previous: 24.

Low-down: The Firebirds advanced to the Division I semifinals following a 58-46 win over rivals Centerville in the regional final. Up next is Notre Dame Academy (Toledo) in state semifinals at the Value City Arena in Columbus. If the bracket holds, a dream matchup between the Firebirds and title holders Twinsburg would materialize.

25. Life Center Academy, Burlington, N.J. (28-2)**

Previous: 25.

Low-down: The National Association of Christian Athletes Division I Tournament champions will compete in the National High School Invitational in April.

Dropped: No. 20 Science Hill (Johnson City, Tenn.).

High-Fives by Region

East

1. Lake Taylor, Norfolk, Va. (28-1)**

2. Archbishop Spalding, Severn, Md. (29-2)**

3. Ossining, N.Y. (20-4)

4. Good Counsel, Olney, Md. (27-6)*

5. McAuley, Portland, Maine (22-0)**

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

Midlands

1. Grosse Pointe (Mich.) South (23-1)

2. Rolling Meadows, Ill. (30-4)*

3. Notre Dame, Quincy, Ill. (30-0)**

4. Montini Catholic, Lombard, Ill. (35-2)*

5. Edwardsville, Ill. (30-1)*

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

South

1. Dillard, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (28-2)**

2. Bay, Bay St. Louis, Miss. (36-0)**

3. Ensworth, Nashville, Tenn. (27-1)**

4. Hoover, Ala. (28-4)**

5. New Hope Christian Academy, Thomasville, N.C. (31-2)*

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

Far West

1. St. Mary’s Stockton, Calif. (30-2)

2. Regis Jesuit, Aurora, Colo. (24-2)

3. Reno, Nev. (27-3)**

4. St. Mary’s, Albany, Calif. (30-4)

5. Mead, Spokane, Was. (24-1)**

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

** Denotes state, conference or national tournament champion

* Season complete

Records are though Monday.

About: The Blue Star Media Go-To 25 Girls Basketball Rankings are released weekly 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 league, conference, region or district. The rankings are compiled by Blue Star Media’s Senior Writer Christopher Lawlor, who consults with a national network of coaches, talent evaluators and prep sports writers. Follow him on Twitter at clawlor or BlueStarMedia1, and www.bluestarmedia.org.