Compiled By Mitch Stephens/Jason Hickman
MaxPreps.com
For the third time in three weeks, the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 has a new No. 1 girls basketball team.
Murry Bergtraum (New York, N.Y.) holds down the top spot after previous No. 1 Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati, Ohio) couldn’t slow down University (N.J.), which shot at a sizzling pace to win going away.
University would have moved well up from its No. 24 spot, but it lost to an unranked team in Ohio powerhouse Lakota West.
Nimitz (Houston. Texas), led by the nation’s top recruit Brittney Griner, and Fargo South (N.D.) are the only teams to break into the Xcellent 25.
About the Rankings: MaxPreps already provides the most comprehensive high school sports ratings with the MaxPreps National Rankings presented by the National Guard, a computer model developed by Ned Freeman. Now, it’s time to get the human element involved.
Each Monday, staff writers Jason Hickman and Mitch Stephens will run down the top 25 girls basketball teams in the country – weighing record, quality wins and losses and other factors to determine the best of the best.
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 (Games from Jan. 12-19)
1. Murry Bergtraum (New York, N.Y.) 17-0 overall (4-0 last week) – First close game of the year, the Blazers pull out 70th straight win overall, 61-59 over St. John-Vianney (Holmdel, N.J.).
2. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 19-0 (3-0) – After three more blowouts, Monarchs host undefeated Orange Lutheran (15-0) on Thursday night.
3. Washington (South Bend, Ind.) 18-0 (2-1) – Nation’s highest scoring team fights back from five-point deficit with 38 seconds left to beat previous No. 13 Bolingbrook 66-65.
4. Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) 18-0 (2-0) – Handles state’s No. 15 team Decatur Central with little trouble, winning 52-38.
5 Heritage Christian (Indianapolis, Ind.) 17-0 (2-0) – Kelly Faris (14.4) and Claire Freeman (13.1) not only lead the team in scoring, but assists as well at 4.2 and 4.3, respectively.
6. Cardinal O’Hara (Springfield, Pa.) 14-1 (2-0) — Winning 63-34 is one thing. Beating Little Flower Catholic for Girls seems borderline sacrilegious.
7. Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.) 21-1 (3-0) – Sophomore point guard Chanise Jenkins starred (21 points, 11 assists) as Young had little trouble with previously unbeaten Wheeling (73-53) in McDonald’s Shootout.
8. Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati, Ohio) 13-1 overall, (2-1 last week) — Second straight week, No. 1 loses. MND watches No. 24 University shoot sizzling 59 percent in 63-54 defeat. Read more.
9. Cajon (San Bernardino, Calif.) 16-0 (3-0) – After two ridiculously lopsided wins – 79-17 and 78-15 – the Cowboys earned second win (57-50) over strong Etiwanda squad.
10. Brea Olinda (Brea, Calif.) 15-2 (2-0) – Jeff Sink’s team is beginning to flex after two wins by combined 143-60 count.
11. Kentwood (Covington, Wash.) 13-0 (4-0) – Busy week for Conquerors who get slight tussle from Federal Way (76-64).
12. St. Michael Academy (New York, N.Y.) 14-2 (1-0) – In what fiveborosports.com calls the most intriguing game of the Kennedy Challenge on Saturday, rarely challenged Eagles play South Shore.
13. Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 13-2 (2-0) – Tianna Hawkins, Jazzmine Johnson and Tierre Hawkins combined for 41 in tough 55-44 win over Western.
14. Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) 15-2 (3-0) – Has won seven straight by average margin of 37 since loss to Riverdale Baptist.
15. Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 13-1 (3-0) – Trailed by two points at half to very good 14-1 Bishop O’Dowd, before winning 70-45 at MLK Jr. Classic in Marin. See story.
16. Horizon (Thornton, Colo.) 14-0 (3-0) – Hawks continue to peak after scoring season high in 90-53 win over Boulder. Brenna Malcolm-Peck leads four in double figures with 21.
17. St. Mary’s (Stockton, Calif.) 14-3 (3-0) – The Rams are really ramping up with wins over West (105-17), Sacramento (72-49) and Reed (88-40). The West game should have been stopped in the first quarter. The Sacramento win extremely impressive.
18. Bolingbrook (Ill.) 11-4 (1-1) – Hard to knock down a team that lost by a bucket to the nation’s No. 3 team.
19. Westbury Christian (Houston) 33-1 (1-0) – Has scored more than 60 points in every game but one since Dec. 4.
20. Dulles (Sugar Land, Texas) 25-2 (2-0) – Has scored less than 60 points only twice this season.
21. Fayetteville (Ark) 17-0 (2-0) – Two wins by a combined 83 points last week. Should get some competition tonight at undefeated Rodgers.
22. Nimitz (Houston, Texas) 25-1 (1-0) – Baylor-bound Brittney Griner is averaging 27 points, 13.1 rebounds and 8.7 blocks per game.
23. University (Newark, N.J.) 7-3 (2-1) – Big win over top-ranked Mount Notre Dame but lost to another Ohio power Lakota West (West Chester).
24. Detroit Country Day (Mich.) 9-0 (3-0) – Has allowed less than 40 point in seven of nine games this season.
25. Fargo South (Fargo, N.D.) 9-0 (1-0) – Five players average in double digits, led by 5-10 sophomore Meghan Roehrich (13.8 points per game) and 5-11 junior Siri Burck (13.4).
10 on the bubble: Archbishop Carroll (Radnor, Pa) 10-1; Cedar Hill (Texas) 19-4, Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.) 11-4: Detroit Community (Detroit, Mich.) 8-0; Foothill (Santa Ana, Calif.) 16-1; Germantown Academy (Pa.) 13-0 (1-0): Irving MacArthur (Irving, Texas) 27-2; Lakota West (West Chester).11-2; Lewis & Clark (Spokane, Wash.) 13-0; St. John-Vianney (Holmdel, N.J.) 13-1
Past weeks: Jan. 5, Jan. 12
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