NATIONAL CHAMPIONS: No. 1 Mount Notre Dame (OH) collects second straight Blue Star Media Elite 25 girls’ crown; Cincinnati school carries 72-game win streak into next season

BENSALEM, Pa. – For the second straight year the Mount Notre Dame Cougars of Cincinnati, Ohio are top cats of girls’ high school basketball.

They are the Blue Star Media Elite 25 Girls National Champions in a sweet, sweet repeat!

Whenever a team is considered for elitism in a high school sports, it starts with quality of talent, coaching and tradition.

The all-girls Catholic school checks all the boxes and then some.

We announced recently that state championships were contested in Minnesota, Michigan and Kentucky and that spring seasons would yield champions from New Mexico, Oregon, West Virginia and Washington – California for the second consecutive year won’t be conducting state championships –but it’s hard to imagine anyone from these states will match the Cougars from the Queen City.

MND (28-0) started the season at ranked fourth in the Elite 25. That was a year after the Cougars were robbed, as were many others when the pandemic forced the cancellation of the  2020 Ohio Division I state tournament as they amassed a 28-0 record. In 2019, the Cougars finished 27-2 and won it all in Division I. The Cougars last lost Centerville (Ohio), 70-56, on Jan. 14, 2019.

In the Division I final, the Cougars needed two overtimes to capture a second state crown in the past three seasons. It was MND’s eighth state championship overall, the most in Ohio High School Athletic Association history.

If you are counting, MND carries a sparkling 72-game win streak into the 2021-22 campaign.

Dr. Scott Rogers’ team will return plenty of firepower led by guard K.K. Bransford, who named Ohio’s Ms. Basketball, after averaging 21.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.0 steals. She also shot 51.5 percent from the floor and buried 40.5 percent of her threes. Bransford was clutch in the state final, sinking a jumper with 22 seconds left in the second overtime to hold off No. 24 Newark (Ohio), 57-55.

Just because the race for the top spot is over, there’s ball to be played in five states, notably California. No. 15 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) has played seven games and No. 16 Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) started its season this week. We’ll shift to a bi-weekly ranking until the season concludes later this spring.

The Blue Star Media Elite 25 girls’ rankings will return on May 5.

Check back regularly at www.bluestarmedia.org for our staff updates. We’ll keep you abreast of what’s breaking in girls’ basketball. For now, get vaccinated, practice social distancing and mask up. We’re aiming for immunity in every community.

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

Blue Star Media Elite 25 Girls’ Basketball rankings, April 21, 2021

1. Mount Notre Dame, Cincinnati (28-0)* @

Previous rank: 1.

The Low-down: Blue Star Media Elite 25 National Champions. Won the Ohio Division I state championship.

2. Westlake, Atlanta (21-0)* !

Previous: 2.

The Low-down: Won GEICO High School Nationals championship and Georgia Class AAAAAA title.

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

Previous: 3.

The Low-down: Won Class 6 state championship.

4. Paul VI, Chantilly, Va. (11-1)

Previous: 4.

The Low-down: Completed an undefeated regular season and advanced to the GEICO Nationals title game.

5. Lake Highland Prep, Orlando, Fla. (19-1)*

Previous: 5.

The Low-down: Won FHSAA Class AAAA state championship and earned an invitation to the GEICO Nationals.

6. DeSoto, Texas (28-2)* #

Previous: 6.

The Low-down: Won UIL Class 6A state championship.

7. St. John Vianney, Holmdel, N.J. (14-0)

Previous: 7.

The Low-down: In spite of no state playoffs in New Jersey, won the Shore Conference Tournament Pod A title.

8. Cypress Creek, Houston (32-1)

Previous: 9.

The Low-down: Advanced to the Class 6A state final.

9. Hazel Green, Ala. (36-1)*

Previous: 9.

The Low-down: Won Class 6A state championship.

10. Hoover, Ala. (32-1)*

Previous: 10.

The Low-down: Won third Class 7A state championship since 2017.

11. Edison Public Academy, Detroit (11-1) #

Previous: 11.

The Low-down: In a season cut short for a second straight year by the coronavirus, there was a ray of happiness last week when Michigan State-bound Damiya Hageman was named Michigan’s Miss Basketball. She is the third Edison player in as many seasons to nab the honor, joining former teammates Rickea Jackson (now at Mississippi State) and Gabrielle Elliott (Clemson).

12. Valor Christian, Highlands Ranch, Colo. (17-0)*

Previous: 12.

The Low-down: Won Class 5A state championship.

13. Chaska, Minn. (18-0)*

Previous: 13.

The Low-down: Won Class AAAA state championship.

14. Hopkins, Minnetonka, Minn. (16-1)

Previous: 14.

The Low-down: Advanced to Class AAAA semifinals where it saw its win streak snapped at 78 games.

15. Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif. (7-0)^

Previous: 15.

The Low-down: The Monarchs are perfect through seven games. They defeated Fairmont Prep (Anaheim), 60-47, at the Matt Denning Nike Hoops Classic, and Anaheim, 98-37.

16. Archbishop Mitty, San Jose, Calif. (0-0)^

Previous: 16.

The Low-down: The Monarchs opened the season Tuesday night.

17. Rutgers Prep, Somerset, N.J. (13-0)

Previous: 17.

The Low-down: Won the Skyland Conference Blue Division Tournament. There were no playoffs this season in New Jersey.

18. Winston Salem Christian, Winston-Salem, N.C. (25-1)

Previous: 18.

The Low-down: Advanced to the Independent School National Tournament final.

19. Cardinal Newman, Columbia, S.C (18-1)*

Previous: 19.

The Low-down: Won third consecutive SCISA Class AAA state championship.

20. New Hope Academy, Landover Hills, Md. (14-3)*

Previous: 20.

The Low-down: Won the Insider Exposure Independent School National Tournament.

21. Fremont, Plain City, Utah (26-1)*

Previous: 21.

The Low-down: Won Class 6A state championship and earned an invitation to the GEICO Nationals.

22. Archbishop Wood, Warminster, Pa. (17-2)*

Previous: 22.

The Low-down: Won PIAA Class AAAA state championship and Philadelphia Catholic League crown.

23. Converse (Texas) Judson (26-2)

Previous: 23.

The Low-down: Advanced to the UIL Class 6A semifinals and won Region IV title.

24. Newark, Ohio (29-2)

Previous: 24.

The Low-down: Advanced to the Ohio Division I state final, falling to top-ranked Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati) in double overtime.

25. Montverde (Fla.) Academy (22-2)

Previous: 25.

The Low-down: Played in the Independent School National Tournament.

Dropped: None.

High-Fives by Region

East

1. Princess Anne, Virginia Beach, Va. (10-0)*
2. 2. North Allegheny, Wexford, Pa. (27-1)*
3. Trenton Catholic Academy, Hamilton, N.J. (14-1)
4. Madison, Vienna, Va. (16-1)*
5. St. Elizabeth, Wilmington, Del. (14-0)*

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

Midwest

1. Pius X, Lincoln, Neb. (25-0)*
2. Crown Point, Ind. (25-1)*
3. Germantown, Wis. (29-1)*
4. Northwest, Shawnee Mission, Kan. (23-0)*
5. Kenwood Academy, Chicago (13-0)

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

Southland

1. Norman, Okla. (19-0)*
2. Duncanville, Texas (28-3)
3. Northside, Fort Smith, Ark. (26-2)*
4. Cedar Park, Texas (27-1)*
5. Vance, Charlotte N.C. (12-0)*

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

Far West

1. Windward School, Los Angeles (1-0)^
2. Valley Vista, Surprise, Ariz. (17-1)*
3. Seton Catholic Prep, Chandler, Ariz. (17-1)*
4. Grandview, Aurora, Colo. (16-1)
5. Mountain View, Meridian, Idaho (20-2)*

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

@ Blue Star Media Elite 25 National Champions

* Won state championship or national tournament title

 ! GEICO High School Nationals champion

 # Includes forfeit loss or a forfeit postseason loss due to coronavirus

^ Currently playing a spring season

Records are through Monday

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 nationwide. 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. 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. Follow him on Twitter at @clawlor.