By Mitch Stephens and Jason Hickman
MaxPreps.com
There was only one significant move from the first to the second MaxPreps Girls Basketball Xcellent 25 and that was at the very top.
Last week's No. 1 team Cardinal O'Hara was stunned on Friday, dropping the Springfield Pa., team all the way to No. 7. Everyone moved up, including Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati, Ohio), which skipped from No. 2 to the top spot.
The only other loss by any of the excellent bunch was by No. 24 Bob Jones (Madison, Ala.), which moved out, opening the door for new No. 25 Detroit Country Day.
MaxPreps Xcellent 25
1. Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati, Ohio) 11-0 — As expected, Gabby Smith and Kendall Hackney leading troops, but sophomore guard Kathryn Reynolds really stepped up.
2. Murry Bergtraum (New York, N.Y.) 13-0 – Has now won 66 straight after Doris Ortega and CeCe Dixon combined for 35 in big Showcase TOC win over Bloomfield Tech.
3. Washington (South Bend, Ind.) 16-0 – Nation’s highest scoring team piled up 174 points in two wins last week and has surpassed 90 six times this season.
4. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 16-0 – Won three games by average margin of 39.9 last week, including 73-10 (eek) over Paloma Valley, which entered 6-6.
5. Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) 16-0 – Giants won two games by combined 159-58 count last week. Will be tested Thursday against state No. 15 Decatur Central.
6. Heritage Christian (Indianapolis, Ind.) 15-0 – Had third closest game of the season in 59-48 overtime win at 14-2 Fishers on Saturday. Kelly Faris had 25 for the winners.
7. Cardinal O’Hara (Springfield, Pa.) 12-1 — Stunning 53-41 loss to average Archbishop Wood squad on Friday. See column by Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer Rick O’Brien.
8. Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.) 18-1 – Scored lucky 74 in both blowout Windy City West league games last week.
9. Cajon (San Bernardino, Calif.) 13-0 – The Cowboys will have 15-day layoff before Wednesday’s home game against San Gorgonio.
10. Brea Olinda (Brea, Calif.) 13-2 – Scored huge 71-59 win over previously unbeaten Foothill as 5-2 PG Jonae Ervin outscored USC-bound Christina Marinacci 28-22.
11. Kentwood (Covington, Wash.) 8-0 – Sanda Milovic had 24 points and Kentwood went on 25-0 run in the first quarter of 83-27 win over Kent-Meridian on Thursday.
12. St. Michael Academy (New York, N.Y.) 13-2 – Eagles hope to get healthy by their next big game against South Shore at the JFK Challenge on Jan. 24.
13. Bolingbrook (Ill.) 10-3 – After pair of lopsided wins last week, the Raiders have huge game with No. 3 Washington (South Bend) on Saturday.
14. Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 11-2 – Tianna Hawkins, a 6-3 seniors, leads four girls in double-digit scoring at 13.8 ppg to go along with nine rebounds per game.
15. Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) 12-2 – Twice last week and eighth time this season gave up less than 37 points.
16. Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 10-1 – Opened rugged West Catholic Athletic League with two easy wins, but Tuesday gets arch-rival and 12-1 St. Ignatius.
17. Horizon (Thornton, Colo.) 11-0 – Meagan Malcolm-Peck was leading scoring in two pedestrian wins last week. She leads the squad with averages of 18.8 ppg and 8.9 rpg.
18. St. Mary’s (Stockton, Calif.) 11-3 – After 10 days off, the Rams play 8-8 West (Tracy) Tuesday before big showdown with NorCal power Sacramento on Saturday.
19. Westbury Christian (Houston) 32-1 – Yet another tall Texan, 6-6 senior forward Waltia Rolle leads squad with averages of 17.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg while shooting 61 percent.
20. Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.) 10-3 – It’s nice that the Raiders could catch their breath from rigorous non-league season, but a 97-7 win over Valor Christian does no one good.
21. Oak Ridge (Tenn.) 13-2 – The Wildcats scored an easy 62-32 win over Hardin Valley Academy and will likely score three more lopsided league victories this week.
22. Dulles (Sugar Land, Texas) 23-2 – Jasmin Henderson (13.2 ppg), a 5-9 senior, is a very consistent support to the country’s No. 2 recruit Kelsey Bone.
23. Fayetteville (Ark) 15-0 – Other than three single-digit wins over Texas teams, no one has come within 14 of Bulldogs in Arkansas.
24. University (Newark, N.J.) 5-2 – Have lost by single digits to No. 3 and 12 teams but last week rolled Kinnelon 72-37 before squeezing out 75-68 win over Colts Neck.
25. Detroit Country Day (Mich.) 6-0 – An impressive 17-point win over Chaminade-Julienne (Dayton, Ohio) legitimized squad, which has not allowed 44 points this season.
10 on the bubble: Archbishop Carroll (Radnor, Pa) 9-1, Central Dauphin (Harrisburg, Pa.) 12-0, Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.) 9-4, Detroit Community (Detroit, Mich.) 6-0, Fargo South (Fargo, N.D.) 8-0, Foothill (Santa Ana, Calif.) 14-1, Germantown Academy (Pa.) 12-0, Irving MacArthur (Irving, Texas) 26-1, Nimitz (Houston, Texas) 24-1, Wichita Heights (Wichita, Kan.) 7-0.
Past Weeks: Jan. 5
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