A pair of Midwest schools hold the longest active boys and girls basketball win streaks and both teams are creeping close to the state's all-time win streak record.
For the boys, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (Coraopolis, Pa.) has won back-to-back Class 2A state championships in the Keystone State and is 18-0 this year in search of a third crown. The Chargers' 58 straight wins ranks fifth all-time in state history, although they can move past Carbondale, which had 59 wins from 1993-94, with two more victories.
West Philadelphia holds the state record, winning 68 straight behind the play of three-time All-American Gene Banks from 1976-78. West End St. James won 66 games in a row in the early 1950s and Allentown won 60 in a row in the late 1940s, although many of those wins were negated due to the High Canaries using two fifth-year seniors in 1946-47.
The
all-time national record for boys basketball consecutive wins is 159 by Passaic (N.J.) from 1919 to 1925.
The girls leader is Mount Notre Dame in Cincinnati, although the streak comes with a bit of an explanation. The Cougars lost to Princeton (Cincinnati) in late December, ending Mount Notre Dame's streak at 79. However, Princeton later took a forfeit loss when it self-reported using an ineligible junior varsity player in what was otherwise a blowout win over the Cougars, according to Clay Kallam who compiles the MaxPreps Top 25 girls rankings.
After receiving the forfeit win, Mount Notre Dame has gone on to win 14 more games for a streak of 94 in a row. The Cougars have won three straight Division 1 state championships and are 22-0 this year.
Baskin (La.) set the national record with 218 wins in a row from 1947 to 1953 during the 6-on-6 era. The longest 5-on-5 girls basketball win streak is 138 in a row by Central Plains (Claflin, Kan.) from 2015 to 2020.
Win streaks listed below are for games as of Feb. 16.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart players celebrating their Pennsylvania 2A title last season. The Chargers have the longest active boys basketball win streak at 58 games stretching over three seasons.
File photo by Paul Burdick
Boys
58
— Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (Coraopolis, Pa.)41
— Weddington (Matthews, N.C.)40
— Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)38
— Centerville (Ohio)37
— Avoca Central (Avoca, N.Y.)35
— Bristol Central (Bristol, Conn.)32
— Plano (Texas)32
— Franklin Road Christian (Murfreesboro, Tenn.)31
— Beverly (Mass.)30
— Lapwai (Idaho)30
— Prattsburgh Central (Prattsburgh, N.Y.)30
— Cusick (Wash.)29
— Ponderosa (Shingle Springs, Calif.)29
— Beech (Hendersonville, Tenn.)Girls
94
— Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati)60
— Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis)57
— Cedar Park (Texas)55
— Hazel Green (Ala.)48
— St. John-Vianney (Holmdel, N.J.)47
— Central Fellowship Christian Academy (Macon, Ga.)43
— Conant (Jaffrey, N.H.)43
— Hydro-Eakly (Hydro, Okla.)42
— Blackman (Murfreesboro, Tenn.)41
— Century (Bismarck, N.D.)40
— Melbourne (Ark.)39
— Houston Christian (Houston)37
— Incline (Incline Village, Nev.)37
— Ramapo (Franklin Lakes, N.J.)36
— Volcano Vista (Albuquerque)34
— Sterling (Kan.)34
— Warden (Wash.)33
— Argyle (Texas)32
— Platte Valley (Kersey, Colo.)30
— Holy Cross (Waterbury, Conn.)30
— East (Cheyenne, Wyo.)29
— Oceanside (Rockland, Maine)29
— Neshoba Central (Philadelphia, Miss.)
