In a major turnaround that not only affects the national rankings but also the Player of the Year award, No. 2 St. John's (Washington, D.C.) got late permission from its administration and will play in the GEICO National High School Championships April 5 and 6 in New York.
St. John's addition to the field means that a national champion will be crowned on the court, because the other three teams are No. 1 Miami Country Day (Miami) – which beat St. John's by three in the Nike TOC back in December – No. 3 Centennial (Las Vegas) and No. 5 New Hope Academy (Landover Hills, Md.).
In addition, if one of the top players from one of those teams caps a stellar season with a breakout two-game performance to lead her team to the title, a Player of the Year award isn't out of the question either.
Of course, there was plenty of action on the court this past week as well, as four teams dropped out of the Top 25, starting with No. 12 Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), which lost in double-overtime to Houston. Putnam City West (Oklahoma City) was knocked off in Oklahoma by Mustang, Oregon's Southridge (Beaverton, Ore.) was shocked by Benson Tech, and Highlands Ranch (Colo.) lost in the Colorado semifinals to Cherry Creek.
The chances of similar upsets are shrinking, however, as there aren't that many states still playing. With California moving its state games up two weeks, the straggler will be New York, which finishes at the end of March. Oh, and the reason the GEICO championships are so late? ESPN, which airs the games, wants them on the same weekend as the NCAA Final Four.
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MaxPreps Top 25 national high school girls basketball rankings
Miami Country Day has survived out-of-state test after out-of-state test, and "all" that's left is the GEICO National High School Championships, which begin April 5. Joining MCD will be No. 2 St. John's, No. 3 Centennial and No. 5 New Hope, so this will be the toughest test yet.
After a loss last year in the Nike TOC kept St. John's out of the top spot, and another one in the same tournament this year, St. John's decided to take another shot at No. 1 by going to the GEICO championships.
The first Nevada team to play in the GEICO National High School Championships, and there are those who say, just like Central Valley last year, that the only Western representative will fly home with the trophy.
Hiland has been a tough out for Africentric the last two years — a one-point win in 2018 and a six-point loss in 2017. And Hiland is Thursday's opponent in the Ohio semifinals, with 25-0 Waynesville and 26-1 Chippewa on the other side of the bracket.
Can a three-loss team win a national title? New Hope can make us think pretty seriously about that with two wins at the GEICO in New York.
Bishop McNamara just can't quite get over the hump — and this goes back years, as a late collapse against Maya Moore in Collins Hill back in the day cost McNamara a shot at a national title. This year, St. John's was the major villain.
Edison begins the 32-team Division 2 state final playoffs Monday against Detroit Media Arts and Communication High School, which has a record of 4-13. It will get a little harder each time out, but the first real challenge might not come until March 22.
Glen Oak has won 19 games in a row, and is Mount Notre Dame's opponent in Friday's Division I semifinals. The winner of No. 14 Pickerington Central and Notre Dame Academy would be next.
Thirty-six up and none down is pretty impressive no matter who you're playing, but there are still some questions about just how good the schedule was.
Beaver Dam beat Monroe 65-46 to win the Division 2 title, and that 19-point victory was the closest postseason game. Average margin of victory in the playoffs? 35.5 points.
Christ the King is the clear favorite as New York's playoffs wind down. All will be settled March 24-26 in Glens Falls.
Easily handled once-ranked Pinewood in the California Open Division championship, and that only loss, to Windward, was offset by two wins against Windward.
After taking care of Wayzata, the consensus second-best team in the state, for the third straight time, Hopkins is on the home stretch. Lakeville North and Stillwater, two of the three teams left, have already lost to Hopkins by 42 and 22 points, respectively, and Centennial has four losses.
Pickerington Central has won 20 in a row since losing to No. 17 Roland Park, and has a chance to do even more in a possible matchup with No. 8 Mount Notre Dame in the Ohio Division I playoffs.
Franklin continues to roll, and is the Group 4 champion — which means the public school moves on to the New Jersey Tournament of Champions Tuesday.
With casualties opening up some room, Mansfield Timberview jumps two spots without playing a game.
Roland Park's limited postseason cost the Baltimore team a chance to rise even higher.
Two losses to Roland Park keep St. Frances tucked in right behind their Old Line State adversaries.
Travel is broadening, they say, and it also counts in the Top 25 rankings. Germantown's trip to Louisiana, where it handled some of that state's best, earned a jump into the Top 20.
Winning the 6A title in Texas is a major accomplishment, so even with five losses, Judson has earned its spot.
The only loss was to No. 5 New Hope but the lack of quality opposition otherwise keeps Princess Anne near the bottom of the Top 25.
Westlake completed an undefeated run through Georgia, and beat once-beaten Collins Hill in the AAAAAA finals. It wasn't a great year in Georgia, but Westlake was clearly the top team.
Hoover moves into the Top 25, with the only loss, by one point, to a strong Hazel Green team. The out-of-state schedule was not dazzling however, so it's hard to justify a ranking much higher than this.
Won the Indiana 4A state title, always a strong statement, but like No. 22 Westlake and No. 23 Hoover, didn't sign up for much out-of-state competition.
After Riverdale got taken out by Houston in a high school classic, Bradley Central handled Houston to win the Tennessee 4A title. A win over Dillard, a Florida state champion, added to the resume.
Dropped out: No. 12 Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), No. 16 Putnam City West (Oklahoma City), No. 22 Southridge (Beaverton, Ore.), No. 25 Highlands Ranch (Colo.)
Judson won the Texas UIL 6A girls basketball title.
Photo by Kenneth Toso
