High school girls basketball rankings: Archbishop Mitty climbs to No. 1 in MaxPreps Top 25 after Nike TOC championship

Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) climbs to No. 1 in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school girls basketball rankings this week on the strength of its Nike TOC championship run in Phoenix.


There were nine MaxPreps Top 25 teams in the Nike TOC bracket, meaning there were bound to be losses by ranked teams. No. 5 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) fell in the opening round to Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) 61-60 before bouncing back with wins over No. 19 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), Miami Country Day (Miami, Fla.) and a strong Folsom (Calif.) team.

No. 4 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) was upended by No. 7 Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.) 61-56 in a battle of the two top senior point guards in Jaloni Cambridge and Madisen McDaniel.

No. 10 Hebron Christian (Dacula, Ga.) and junior Aubrey Beckham, an all-tourney nod, impressed with an opening-round win over previously-ranked Hazel Green (Ala.) and losses to Long Island Lutheran and Montverde.



This week's action focuses on the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational with Montverde Academy, No. 16 Bolingbrook (Ill.) and No. 17 Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.) all participating.

Eyes will also be on Portland Holiday Classic and new No. 1 Mitty, which takes on DeSoto (Texas), Camas (Wash.) and junior Jazzy Davidson and Clackamas (Ore.). Also in Portland are No. 8 Etiwanda (Calif.) with games against Clackamas, Willamette (Eugene, Ore.) and Camas as well as Mater Dei taking on DeSoto, Camas and Willamette.
MaxPreps Top 25 girls basketball rankings

1. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.)
Record: 7-0 | Last week: 3
Monarchs won the Nike TOC for third time under head coach Sue Phillips.

2. Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.)
Record: 9-1 | Last week: 1
Crusaders are off until Jan. 7

3. Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)
Record: 9-1 | Last week: 2
Vivian Iwuchukwu committed to USC during halftime of ESPN's broadcast of the Long Island Lutheran-Mitty game.

4. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Record: 11-1 | Last week: 4
Tajianna Roberts was an all-tournament selection at the Nike TOC for the Ascenders.

5. Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.)
Record: 4-1 | Last week: 5
Beat Sierra Canyon 49-48 on Dec. 9 in Hawaii at the ‘Iolani Classic.

6. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)
Record: 11-1 | Last week: 6
Trailblazers headline the Platinum bracket this week at the West Coast Jamboree in the Bay Area.

7. Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.)
Record: 5-3 | Last week: 8
Two of three losses are to higher-ranked team and third is to Crestwood Prep of Canada in Nike TOC third-place game.

8. Etiwanda (Calif.)
Record: 9-2 | Last week: 9
The Eagles went 1-1 in the Bahamas, beating No. 17 Lake Highland Prep before falling 55-52 to DeSoto.



9. DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
Record: 13-0 | Last week: 10
Ines Goryanova leads three players averaging in double figures with 12.2 per night.

10. Morris Catholic (Denville, N.J.)
Record: 4-0 | Last week: 11
Mia Pauldo started her junior year strong averaging 20.3 over the first four games.

11. Hebron Christian (Dacula, Ga.)
Record: 10-2 | Last week: 12
Picked up quality wins at Nike TOC over Hazel Green and Arizona power Xavier College Prep (Phoenix).

12. Mansfield Timberview (Arlington, Texas)
Record: 19-1| Last week: 14
Split games with No. 13 Clark this season.

13. Clark (San Antonio, Texas)
Record: 19-1 | Last week: 15
Duke commit Arianna Roberson has been a force for the Cougars.

14. Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas)
Record: 12-3 | Last week: 16
Chloe Mann, Mariah Clayton and Kaylinn Kemp all are averaging double figures for the Pantherettes.



15. St. John's (Washington, D.C.)
Record: 8-1 | Last week: 20
Cadets beat a once-ranked Dr. Phillips team 59-44 before Christmas.

16. Bolingbrook (Ill.)
Record: 13-0 | Last week: NR
Sophomore Trinity Jones had 22 against Homewood-Flossmoor as the Raiders are looking like Illinois' best.

17. Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.)
Record: 9-3 | Last week: 17
Virginia Tech commit Lexi Blue is averaging 14.6 points per game for the Highlanders.

18. Johnston (Iowa)
Record: 11-0 | Last week: 22
The Dragons downed perennial Minnesota power Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) 70-61 on Dec. 19.

19. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Record: 10-3 | Last week: 13
The Monarchs downed previously-ranked Sacred Heart (Louisville, Ky.) before falling shorthanded to freshman phenom Kaleena Smith and Ontario Christian (Ontario) at Nike TOC. Kaeli Wynn was an all-tournament selection for Monarchs.

20. Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis, Mo.)
Record: 5-0 | Last week: 21
The win streak hit 105 but the Red Knights take on a tough Park Hill South (Riverside) squad Jan. 2 with super sophomore Addison Bjorn.

21. Grayson (Loganville, Ga.)
Record: 10-0 | Last week: NR
The Rams are one of three new teams in the rankings on the strength of an unbeaten mark and out-of-state wins over Maryland's McDonogh (Owings Mills) and Good Counsel (Olney).

22. Putnam City West (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
Record: 6-0 | Last week: 23
West's closest game was the opener, a 41-29 win. The other five wins have all come by margins of 20 points or more.

23. Pickerington Central (Pickerington, Ohio)
Record: 7-0 | Last week: 24
Signature win so far is a 53-52 win over once-ranked Purcell Marian (Cincinnati).



24. Bradley Central (Cleveland, Tenn.)
Record: 11-0 | Last week: 25
The Bears head to Florida for the Hilton Sandestin Invitational.

25. Thomas Dale (Chester, Va.)
Record: 9-0 | Last week: NR
Freshman Timani Harris had 27 points in a 61-46 win over Camden (S.C.).

On the bubble: Garfield (Seattle, Wash.), 4-0; Purcell Marian (Cincinnati, Ohio), 10-1; Clackamas (Ore.), 3-0; Summer Creek (Houston, Texas), 15-2; Rutgers Prep (Somerset, N.J.), 2-0