STATEMENT WEEK: Six schools in Blue Star Media Elite 25 girls’ basketball rankings go for state titles

BENSALEM, Pa. – Top-ranked Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) received a scare and three schools with championship pedigree have been added to the latest Blue Star Media Elite 25 girls’ basketball rankings.

Neumann needed to rally in the fourth quarter to hold off Dunmore in the Class AA quarterfinals. The bracket has been condensed to the Final Four and there are no more free passes in the final week of the Pennsylvania campaign.

No. 21 Gonzaga (Spokane, Was.), No. 24 Pius XI (Milwaukee) and No. 25 Holy Cross (Covington, Ky.) are in the Elite 25. Gonzaga recorded an unblemished season and bagged the program’s second straight Class 4A championship. In Wisconsin, Pius XI claimed its second WIAA title but first since 2010. In the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Holy Cross made history by becoming the first northern Kentucky school to take home the hardware in the single-class tournament. The key win occurred in the quarterfinals when Holy Cross edge then-No. 10 Elizabethtown, 41-40. The Indians used last-second heroics to win the state championship.

Heading into this week, 15 Elite 25 schools have won state, national or conference postseason championships. Six more may be crowned this weekend from Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Minnesota, Ohio and Michigan.

Now for the Dick’s Sporting Goods High School National Tournament.

It appears at least three schools will be heading to New York for the tournament that tips on April 3 with the final a day later at famed Madison Square Garden. Three schools from the Elite 25 receiving invites are Dillard (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Miami Country Day and Gonzaga Prep. A team from either North Carolina, New York or Utah will fill the final slot. Too many permutations are still bouncing around but the field will be sorted out by late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Check back periodically at www.bluestarmedia.org for staff updates from showcase events all season. Our staff will be busy through August. The Elite 25 girls’ rankings return on March 25 with the penultimate edition.

We hope to see you at a game soon, but you better hurry. – Christopher Lawlor

Blue Star Media Elite 25 Girls’ Basketball rankings, March 18, 2015

1. Neumann-Goretti, Philadelphia (29-0)

Previous rank: 1.

Low down: There were a few nervy moments but the Black and Gold triumphed over Dunmore, 64-61, in the Class AA quarterfinals. The Saints also stopped Minersville, 56-21, in the second round as Cryor had a solid all-around game with 18 points, 8 dimes and 5 steals. Last week, coach Andrea Peterson, who was appointed to Neumann’s head position in November, was named the Naismith National High School Coach of the Year. The Saints are back in action on Tuesday in the AA semifinals against Holy Redeemer (Wilkes-Barre) in Bethlehem. The winner goes to the Friday’s final facing defending champion Seton-LaSalle (Pittsburgh) or Bishop Canevin (Pittsburgh) at the GIANT Center in Hershey.

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

Previous: 3.

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

3. St. Mary’s, Stockton, Calif. (31-1)

Previous: 3.

Low down: The Rams moved the winning streak to 26 games, shredding Modesto Christian, 90-65, in the Northern California Region first round. Naje Murray netted 15 points; Angel Johnson had 13 and MiCole Cayton 12. The semifinals will be a real challenge against Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) on Tuesday.

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

Previous: 4.

Low down: Won second consecutive Class 4A state championship, outlasting Southeast Raleigh, 61-46, in final. Tournament Most Valuable Player D.D. Rogers overcame early foul trouble to score 13 of her team-high 15 points after the break. Aliyah Mazyck added 12 points and secured 6 rebounds and coach Barbara Nelson bagged her ninth state title (seven at Providence County Day of Charlotte). 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 should be in the offing. Regular season is complete.

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

Previous: 6.

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

7. Chaminade, West Hills, Calif. (26-3)

Previous: 7.

Low down: Star Valerie Higgins, who scored 13 points, surpassed the 1,000-point career barrier during an 82-53 victory over Narbonne (Harbor City) in the Southern California Region Open Division first round. After trailing by one point early in the game, the Eagles rattled off 22 unanswered points to put it away. Paige Fecscke topped the winners with 23 points. Next up is Clovis West (Fresno) in the semifinals on Tuesday.

8. Marian, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (23-1)

Previous: 8.

Low down: Stopped Mercy (Farmington Hills), 49-33, the Class A, Regional 5 final and Southfield-Lathrup, 47-36, in semifinals. Next up is Kettering (Waterford) Tuesday in the state quarterfinals.

9. Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif. (29-2)

Previous: 9.

Low down: Katie Lou Samuelson, the national player of the year, threw in a school-record 42 points as the Monarchs pummeled Palisades (Pacific Palisades), 99-73, in the Southern California Region Open Division first round. Up next is a semifinal matchup with No. 18 Poly (Long Beach) on Tuesday.

10. 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: 13.

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

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

Previous: 14.

Low down: Won second straight Division I championship, crushing Springfield Central, 64-43, in final. Junior Brianna Herlihy scored 15 points and Pennsylvania-bound Ashley Russell scored 12 of her 14 points when the Wamps built a 17-2 in the first period and 43-20 at the break. Also headed to Division I school are Bridget Herlihy (Villanova) and Molly Reagan (Liberty). Several locals are calling this team the greatest in Massachusetts’s girls’ scholastic basketball history. Hard to argue with the results. Season complete.

13. Cumberland Valley, Mechanicsburg, Pa. (30-1)

Previous: 15.

Low down: Katie Jekot tossed in 16 points as the Eagles flew by Abington, 46-42, in the Class AAAA quarterfinals. They also defeated Cedar Crest (Lebanon), 55-28, in the second round. The Eagles play Norwin (North Huntington) in the semifinals on Tuesday.

14. Capital Prep, Hartford, Conn. (24-1)

Previous: 16.

Low down: The Trailblazers used a 24-2 blitz in the opening half to knock out previously unbeaten Farmington, 69-61, in Class L semifinals as sophomore Angelique Rodriguez scored 17 points and Syracuse-bound junior Desiree Elmore added 15. Also defeated Daniel Hand (Madison), 92-36, in the quarterfinals. Next up is the state championship on Northwest Catholic (West Hartford) at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville.

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

Previous: 17.

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

16. Canyon, Texas (34-3)*

Previous: 18.

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

17. Archbishop Alter, Kettering, Ohio (28-0)

Previous: 21.

Low down: Defeated Tippecanoe (Tipp City), 64-33, in Division II, Region 8 final. And Bishop Hartley (Columbus), 65-21, in the semifinals. Now it’s off to Columbus for the Division II state championship for a date with West Holmes (Millersburg) on Friday afternoon, with the winner meeting Rogers (Toledo) or West Branch (Beloit) on Saturday for the title.

18. Poly, Long Beach, Calif. (26-3)

Previous: 19.

Low down: Tania Lamb, a Pittsburgh recruit, dropped in 15 points rallying the Jackrabbit past Mission Hills (San Marcos), 58-41, in the Southern California Region first round. Next up is the biggest test of the season with No. 9 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) in the semifinals on Tuesday.

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

Previous: 24.

Low down: Won 15^th state championship in 22 appearances, taking out Caravel Academy (Bear), 53-41, in the final. Villanova-bound G Adrianna Hahn bucketed 29 points. In the semifinals, the Raiders beat archrivals St. Elizabeth (Wilmington), 61-43, as Hahn scored 17 points. Season complete.

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

Previous: 20.

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

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

Last week: Not ranked.

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. Laura Stockton, whose father John is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, was named the tournament most valuable and teammate Otiona Goldon was all-tournament. Regular season is complete.

22. Hopkins, Minnetonka, Minn. (27-1)

Previous: 23.

Low down: Junior G Ashley Bates scored a game-high 22 points and Iowa State-bound T.T. Starks netted 12 of her 16 in the fist half, propelling the Royals to an 81-55 blowout of rivals Minnetonka in the Class 4A, Section 6 final. The Royals qualified for their ninth state tournament, which tips off Tuesday against Mayo (Rochester) at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The semifinals are Thursday and the final and third-place game Saturday—all at the University of Minnesota’s Williams Arena (a.k.a. The Barn).

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

Previous: 25.

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

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

Previous: Not ranked.

Low-down: Won Division 2 state championship, beating Cedarburg, 54-36, in final. Bradley-bound Gabby Green finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. The Lady Popes showed dominance this season winning games by at least 30 points on 12 occasions. It was the program’s second WIAA title and first since 2010. [Previously, the Lady Popes had won 18 WISAA crowns but the independent governing body dissolved in 2000]. Season complete.

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

Previous: Not ranked.

Low-down: Won Kentucky Sweet Sixteen State Championship, edging Allen County-Scottsville, 35-32, in final. The unlikely heroine was senior Anny Hassert, who hit a layup and free throw with 5.5 seconds left to snap a 32-all tie. Senior Deja Turner, a Wright State recruit, scored 13 points. In the quarterfinals, the Indians upset then-No. 10 Elizabethtown, 41-40. Along the way, the Indians won the All Class A State championship and became the first Northern Kentucky school to win the single-class state crown. Season complete.

Dropped: No. 10 Elizabethtown, Ky.; No. 11 Olive Branch, Miss.; and No. 22 Maize, Kan.

High-Fives by Region

East

1. Central Bucks West, Doylestown, Pa. (31-1)

2. Manasquan, N.J. (29-2)*

3. St. Rose, Belmar, N.J. (31-1)*

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. Martin Luther King, Detroit (23-1)

2. Whitney Young, Chicago (28-2)

3. Incarnate Word Academy, Bel-Nor, Mo. (27-2)

4. Eastview, Apple Valley, Minn. (28-1)

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

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. Miramonte, Orinda, Calif. (29-2)

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

3. St. Ignatius, San Francisco (22-6)

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

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

* Won a 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.